It is been almost a year since we completed "Bill and Nance's Excellent Vacation" across the country. A few post trip thoughts are in order:
Bill did some work on the Buick after we got home. He fixed a small leak in the radiator with JB Weld and that repair has held up to this day. He also took off the oil pan and found all the bearings to be in great shape. He was relieved to find no metal particles or chucks of broken babbitt clanking around in the sludge. The head was retorqued and the head bolts did advance a flat or two from this process. Valve clearances were right on spec, they stayed that way throughout the trip. So much for fear about valve recession caused by no lead in modern gasoline. The troublesome left rear wheel was dismantled. The tenons on the spoke ends were build up with some epoxy and fiberglass and a double set of shims were added. The wheel was very hard to reassemble with all these changes, but if finally snapped back together. The spokes have remained very tight since.
You would think we had enough of driving this old car, but Bill and his friend Wendell Walker decided to drive the car from Albuquerque to Plano and the Amarillo Texas in June, 2004. We wanted to take in the Buick Nationals in Plano and the VMCCA Chrome Glidden® in Amarillo. This turned into a most interesting drive, another pleasant 1600 miles in our Buick. The car collected a Buick Driven Award in Plano and many enjoyed seeing her in Amarillo. We had a few problems, just to keep it interesting: a bronze seat fell out of one of the vacuum tank poppet valves and that stopped us cold. It took a while to figure out what was wrong, especially since it was very hot (around 100F) and we were not thinking all that clearly. But, someone stopped to help us and once we found the problem, a little JB Weld fixed it and it never acted up again. Days later we had a flat that caused some trouble because I forgot some of those useful wood blocks you need to make up for a jack that is too short! Again, with some help from passersby, we got the tire changed and were quickly on the road again. We made it home with just a short list needing work: The tires are now mostly worn, we will need new one's if we take another long trip; The cylinder head leaks a bit, we are getting some bubbles and foam in the coolant. This latter item may require a bit of work, but Bill is in no hurry right now. We are going to give the Buick a rest for the remainder of the 2004 old car driving season.
Yes, we know that the Dean campaign that Nance worked so hard on collapsed after the Iowa primary. Nance even went back to Iowa to help the campaign with the primary and came back tired and discouraged. We don't think is was the overplayed scream that did him in. Rather, it was dueling negative ads between Dean and Gephardt that soured many Iowans and regular democrats on both candidates -- while Kerry's and Edwards' positive campaigns were slowly but surely gathering voters. The leaders of the democratic party were never thrilled with Dean either, and did all they could to discredit his campaign. Neither Nance nor I have any regrets being "Deniacs" though. It was fun to participate in the democratic process. We met a lot of new friends and did not lose many old ones -- even those who disagree with us. We are looking forward to fighting the good fight and plan to stay actively involved in politics.
Now back to the past, and enjoy our blog across a big part of America, we are glad to have you aboard....
Please join us in virtual travel through America's heartland. This blog describes our daily adventures in our 1927 Buick Master on our 3917 mile round trip from Albuquerque, NM to Flint, MI. The log is ordered from the last day of the trip to the first. We started on Friday, July 11, 2003 and arrived home on Sunday August 3.
We went to visit our niece and her family in Madison, Wisconsin, to attend the Buick Centennial in Flint, and to witness Nance's daughter, Malli's .graduation from US Army Basic Training at Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri. Driving our Buick cross country celebrated the wonderful cars and history of Buick's hundred years. Plus, we enjoy the fun and adventure of riding in our 75 year old Buick and seeing just a few of the interesting back roads that connect the countryside.
The Buick ran like a train for most of this journey. It's far better at being on time than we are. Bill is very proud of how the car performed; it was a testament to his restoration skills. But the car's original design and construction quality deserves most of the credit. This car is far more comfortable than we imagined. It handled very hot weather well and took hills, traffic, rough roads and long days in stride. While this Buick was never designed for freeway speeds, it negotiated the beautiful country roads we used with competence and grace. And with minimal repairs. We had more problems with the computer we brought along to record this log and upload it to our website.
If you own an older car, we urge you to drive it to your next car event. People enjoyed seeing, hearing, and smelling our car. Too few folk remain who can remember cars of this vintage. Having the car on the road brings out smiles, curiosity and relief from very busy and difficult lives. We met so many people on this trip who enjoyed sharing their experiences with us. Old cars can bring out the historians in all of us.
We learned just a bit of what it was like75 years ago to travel in an old car.. We imagined how owners of a new 1927 Buick would be very pleased and proud to own such a capable, comfortable, and attractive machine. Now, we're thinking about other trips and hope you'll enjoy coming for another virtual ride. It's been even more fun having you along.
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From Panhandle, Nance calculated that Albuquerque was about 380 miles away. This would be one of our longest driving days, but with a good road and the pull of getting off the road and into home, we thought we would make it easily.
Nance found a way to get off US 60 to avoid Amarillo and it worked well -- except for one critical turn south of town. We pulled over to figure things out, and some friendly Texas utility workers stopped and gave us excellent directions to rejoin US 60 in Canyon, south of Amarillo. (We'd been on the right road after all.) We drove by all the restaurants in Canyon and motored on to Hereford., in Deaf Smith County, which has more organic grain growers than any place in the country. Arrowhead Mills, a leading purveyor of such products, is based here. Understandably, Hereford hosts a very active Dean "Meetups." We were starved enough to go to a crowded McDonald's for breakfast. To Bill's delight, the healthy places were all closed.
Our next stop was the New Mexico state line just outside of Clovis. How
great to be back home! Bill was
astonished at how well the Buick
had done. Here we are nearly home and yet had covered all those miles with
very few problems with the car. Drive one of these cars this far and
you'll understand why this Buick was a premium car for the era. It is
quiet, comfortable, and powerful. It can take long trips and provide
excellent service. This Buick enjoyed the trip as much as we did. It
runs better now than it did when we left.
We had many curious approach us on this leg, many wanted to know about the car and its adventures. We were used to questions, but the folks around Clovis and Ft. Sumner were even more active than usual. One young gal photographed the car on the road, then stopped to take some more shots when she saw it in the gas station. What a great welcome for us!
One last bit of serendipity struck when Jock and Sandi Finley of Estancia
passed us near Moriarty in their cream colored 1953 Packard. This was the third or fourth time we met friends we did not expect on our
journey. We exchanged pleasantries, and motored on. Naturally, the
Packard wanted to stay a bit longer and produced a vapor lock. With a bit
of Bill's gas from our running board, some cold water, and strong language, the
Packard took off again. We could not
stay with this "modern" Packard, it jumped to I-40. We drove
instead on the frontage road, thinking of the earlier times we tested this Buick
here and watched it suffer and groan to climb these hills, often with cool-off
stops to rest the engine. Today it crested them easily in high gear.
The dogs wished we had never gone. But that did not diminish their enthusiasm for our return. We played with them for a while and visited with son David, who had kept things running in our absence. Then Bill went to the computer to let you all know we're home, and Nance dragged stuff in from the car. The real unpacking will be tomorrow, and we have a "car guy" houseguest coming. Good thing the only thing they notice is the cars.
Starting Mileage 39246
Ending mileage, Albuquerque 39625
Total trip mileage: 3917
Oil Consumption, Day 24: 1 qt
Fuel Consumption: 35 Gallons
Total Dean contacts, 350-400: hope you see you at a Meetup or on the www.deanforamerica blog. Really hope to see you at the Inauguration in Jan. 2005!
Today offered many new challenges for us. Last night, Nance tripped over the modem cable and cracked our high tech modem card. The modem was a total loss. No sparks, just silence. We continued to write our log, but this put us off the air for a few days. We found another Staples in Enid OK later on, but they did not have the same type of modem in stock. We decided updates could wait until we returned to Albuquerque and our beloved cable modem.
Our small power failure forecasted a larger one. A most spectacular storm attacked our motel. It was an amazing light and sound show. Hail pounded the roof and Nance was concerned about the Buick. But there was little we could do about any of this. The hail finally abated, but the lightening and rain continued. Around 3AM the power went out and never returned. We managed to get an early start, with no showers, breakfast, or coffee to slow us down. The storm had moved out by then; only partially cloudy skies and the sweet smells of the grasslands that always follows the rain,
We headed southwest back to Oklahoma and Route 60. This is not one of our favorite roads, but we were feeling ready to get home, and this route looked pretty direct. On the way, we stopped Caldwell, the home of our friendly Bi-State Strummers. They had electricity there, and we enjoyed a C-store breakfast of hotdogs and other unhealthy food. We turned toward Enid on State Road 81. Enid was a big town, but the Buick negotiated it well. We connected with Route 60, the US highway that would ultimately leads us to Vaughn, Willard, and Mountainair, names familiar welcoming to all New Mexicans.
Our next event was in the town of Fairplay. We stopped for gas, but
Bill noticed when we slowed down that the Buick was making a pretty serious
clunking sound from the rear end. You could feel this in the brakes as
well. Bill thought our bad rear wheel was going to need some major
shimming. When we stopped, the wheel was loose, but not much more than
usual. Nance drove the car by Bill and he could see a bulge in the rear
tire on the inside sidewall. Indeed, a motorist had mentioned this to us
the day before, but we could not see any obvious problem from a cursory look at
the tire. We pulled off the road into a cemetery entrance (great symbolism
here) and pulled out the tools. Bill tried to shim the spokes, but they
were really
pretty tight. He finally decided to jack up the car and take
off the tire/rim assembly. When jacking the car, he could see the real
problem: the rim had an enormous fracture along the inside bead! No
doubt, the goo that had been observed on day 17 was metallic dust from
this fracture. We had never seen or heard of such a thing, a wheel rim is
a very sturdy item. It is not obvious how it could fail so miserably.
Because of the damage to the rim, we had a tough time demounting it from the wheel. Nance was about to call AAA when Bill finally wedged it off with a good crowbar he packed at the last minute. Quickly, we mounted one of our spare rim/tire assemblies and we were on the road again.
The car was so smooth and quiet now, it gave us new energy and enthusiasm. Bill couldn't believe he had not checked the wheel, but the damage was very difficult to see even under the car. We drove on making this a 300 mile plus day, ending in bleak looking but friendly Panhandle, TX. This was probably our hottest day as well. The temperatures were definitely over 100 from 1PM on. The western sun poured in though the windshield, making it downright uncomfortable. But the Buick managed to keep it's engine running between 180 and 200 F -- except on long hills or with tailwinds, when the needle would disappear past 210 F.. We added about a quart of water in Panhandle. After an excellent Dairy Queen dinner (the only restaurant in town) we collapsed in our very clean local motel (the only motel in town). Freight trains on the heavily used track next door serenaded us to sleep.
Starting Mileage 38934
Panhandle, TX mileage: 39246
Oil Consumption: none
Fuel Consumption: 32 gallons
Dean contacts: Nance met several folks who expressed their interest and anger with the Bush administration.
Today started out badly. Nance discovered that the day before we had passed the George Washington Carver National Monument that she wanted to see. We thoughtfully negotiated a plan to backtrack a few miles to the monument and then proceed north skirting Joplin to the south, connecting up with US 166 to take us west through southern Kansas. This would get us off the difficult US 60 and back to more rural travel.
Signs clearly direct visitors to the site of the old Carver farm. With the 4-H, the Parks Service is working to restore the tall grass prairie that dominated the landscape form long before Carver's birth until the late 1800's. The prairie surrounds the museum and children's science center (open for student groups only, apparently).
Nance knew a bit about Carver's research and teaching at Tuskegee but neither
of
us knew about the depth and breath of this extraordinary man's
accomplishments. He was a gifted musician, artist and needle worker.
He played piano, fiddle, harmonica ( I wish I'd taken notes); he knitted
and crocheted--an elaborate lace collar is on display. He ran a laundry
service to pay for art school and some of his time at Agricultural College in
Ames, IA, where he was the first African American to earn a Masters and later
teach.. His spiritual writings and and practice read very much like St.
Francis, Teresa of Avila, Gandhi or Hindu spiritual leader Ammachi.
At Tuskegee, Carver found science labs woefully lacking in equipment. From local dumps--at a time when little was wasted--he fashioned the equipment he needed to do research and teach. The extent of his studies on the cultivation and uses of both peanuts and sweet potatoes have never been matched by any other western scientist working on a single crop.
After leaving the Carter Monument we negotiated Joplin pretty well and were dealing OK with the considerable traffic. Just west of town in the rural areas, Bill said, "Nance, we really need to stop at the next available gas sta. . ." "Cough.....sputter....gasp." Silence.
Yes, the Buick was stone dead on
a rural road pointed uphill with no shoulder. Fortunately, the engine gave
one last cough and we managed to get in the driveway of an angel named Lynda
Gipson, visiting with neighbor Jeff Tackett. Why now to run out of gas?
The Buick has an adjustable fuel gauge. We won't go into the details, but
Bill would often adjust it when we filled the
tank. It had
been reading low, so he had cranked it up.
This time he went too far. When the car quit the gauge indicated 4 gallons
remaining. Fortunately, we carry a spare two gallons on the running board
and our new found friends in Joplin--they want everyone to know they are
members of the Moose Lodge there-- gave us another gallon or two. The car
finally got running again after some difficulty getting the vacuum tank primed
up.
In about a half hour, we were back on the road again. The first gas station we came to was an anachronism. "Ding ding" went those drive over bells as we approached the pumps. A young boy popped out of the station to fill 'er up and clean the windshield. His granddaddy (he looked like one anyway) with few teeth appeared, covered with grease from working under the '64 Merc in the bay. We enjoyed answering their questions. The boy, too young to drive legally, was especially curious about how to drive the car. We left with a horn honk and a lighter wallet: nostalgia cost $1.65 a gallon. The modern C-store station just a few hundred yards down the road had gas for $1.43. Oh well, it was worth it. Attempting to photograph this trip back in time led to another delay: Her Forgetfulness left the camera at Lynda's house and we had to backtrack six miles for it.
We made it to US 166 and it too was originally part of Route 66. This road vectored us into Kansas, and we began to make up for some of that lost time. Traffic is light here, but motels are few and far between. Gas stations, no problem. We stopped at almost every one -- not wanting to repeat our earlier mismanagement of fuel supply. Finally, a motel appeared before our bleary eyes at the intersection of 166 and I-35. We checked in without even looking at the room (it was comfortable and clean) and tried the Cafe.
There we found the "Bi-State Strummers", a local country western band of
retirees and friends from Caldwell, KS. The town is just on the border between
KS and OK, hence the name. We had a wonderful dinner here and Nance got to
join in for a few of the numbers. We all had a ball, and the band members
all left with information on Howard Dean. Many had voted for him but are
looking for someone different next election..
The band is made up of whoever shows up. They play in Caldwell on
Saturdays and at Kathy's Place at I-35 and 166 on Fridays. Tonight Gene
and Thelma Struble played mandolin and clog dolls "Herkimer and Ellie Mae;"
Garrett Thompson, Betty Scott and Tommie Hutsler played guitar and Tommie did
most of the vocals; Barry Hutsler was on banjo and Ruth Dermid on keyboard.
Betty
was born in Melrose, NM, and Thelma has family, including a brother who
works at Sandia, in Albuquerque. We seem to have connections wherever we
go. (Except right now: Nance tripped over the cord for the third
time and murdered the modem.) Fortunately, she did unplug it. By 2 AM,
violent thunderstorms knocked out all power in the area, leaving us without
light, air conditioning, hot water or morning coffee.
Starting mileage: 38716
Ending mileage (I-35 and US 166) 38934
Oil Consumption: 1 qt added.
Fuel consumption: More than we expected!
We left St. Robert around 11AM, after a morning of sleeping late and catching up on laundry. We managed to avoid I-44 completely via frontage roads and proceeded south on state route 17. There we discovered that this road was part of the very earliest (pre 1930) alignments of Route 66. This reminded us of home, since we live just blocks from the Mother Road. This Missouri section lived up to its heritage; we saw many Route 66 style architectural remnants, gas stations and motels, along the road. Most are deserted. I-44 gets all of the business today. But a young man from Minnesota chased us down at a small town gas station and told us his family had a '28 Dodge. We talked for a while, he loved our car and old cars in general.
Nance guided us in a southwest direction through many obscure county roads.
We began to cruise up and down through still more green, hilly farm country.
The Amish were here in force. We think they may be sweeping clean the
countryside, their farms are so neat and tidy.
Rain was threatening, but only a few drops fell. The big storms could be seen a few miles to the north or south Our drive bucolic drive ended at US 60, near Seymour, MO. It was a bit of a shock to get on 60, it was definitely an interstate wannabe, except it has only two lanes, an occasional stoplight and even meaner trucks. Nance drove for a while and battled with road construction and constant stopping and starting. She picked up a few skills on double clutching the Buick, as did Bill. Shifting a sliding gear transmission like these is a lost art, but we can now usually shift it without grinding at all -- provided we are not hurried or flustered.
Getting through Springfield was tough and later we made an error turning into maze through the old parts of Neosho, MO. After driving into it, we made so many turns we could not remember how to get out. No motels were found, so we finally asked for help. "How do you get to route 60?" Confused stare, followed by rapid fire series of "go right then left then right then left....". We would get a bit farther then ask again. When Route 60 appeared, we took it for a few miles and stopped at fine Best Western, near Joplin but technically still in Neosho. We collapsed briefly, than walked to dinner at a nearby chain. On the way Nance found a passion vine growing wild, with dozens of blooms.
Starting mileage: 38512
Neosho mileage: 38716
Oil Consumption: None
Fuel Consumption: 23 Gallons
We connected with Malli's dad Dave, boyfriend Mike and brother David at the Motel 6 in St. Robert. They drove from Albuquerque in about 14 hours on I-40 and I-44. We noted the contrast as we faced three or four days of driving to make it home. Interstates are ugly but they are fast.
This tiny military gate town is packed. The training base graduates classes here every week. Malli's class involves one company, approximately 200 soldiers. The first event on the schedule was a marching competition between the four platoons. We had heard that Malli would not be in this demonstration because she had developed a stress fracture in her pelvis while completing her PT (physical Training) requirements with a pulled groin muscle! She was going to graduate, but we thought she might be on crutches.
After
some problems figuring out where things were on this very large post, we located
the parade grounds. We enjoyed the marching, very precise and very
difficult. It was a competition of sorts among the four platoons in
Malli's company. Suddenly, from the edge of the field, Nance noticed a subdued
wave from one of two soldiers standing at ease Malli!. We rushed to
see her, but had to wait until given permission by the authorities. There
were many tears of joy seeing Malli, on her feet without crutches and looking
very lean and strong.
The troops then marched to their barracks and we had several hours to kill before the formal graduation ceremony. We all decided to walk to the post museum. It was a mile or two to get there, but well worth it. This museum documented the life and times of Gen. Leonard Wood. Bet you know all about him. Well, he was born in 1860 and died in 1927, just when our Buick was made. Ran for republican nomination for president but was beaten by Warren Harding who the power brokers felt was more "manageable." The corruption during that administration certainly confirms the choice. He was involved in the Spanish American War, the primary tracker in Geronimo's successful pursuit, and training troops for WWI.
Ft. Leonard Wood trains engineers, chemical soldiers, military police and, of
course basic combat training. The museum displays many dioramas of
military bridges, buildings, and dredges very well
with
documentation. It traces the historical development of the
disciplines it trains in. Nance was particularly interested in the Bailey
Bridge system that was so important for crossing Europe in WWII. It is
probably still used today and reminded Bill of the older truss type bridges we
used to cross the formidable Mississippi and Missouri rivers the last few days.
The graduation ceremony finally started in an auditorium packed with family and friends. It was a good turn out, probably around three visitors for every graduate. Except for a film that not too subtlety connected the Iraqi war with the 9/11 attacks (it was "Our Turn" to return the 9/11 favor), it was an inspiring and touching ceremony. The officers and drill sergeants came across as tough but fair and caring. Perhaps it was just a show for the families, but we felt that Malli had been in good hands.
Most of the soldiers were to proceed from this to AIT (Advanced Individual Training), but Malli is a "split". She says that most of the splits are 17 year old high school juniors who return home to complete their senior year. Since she could leave, the first thing she did was change into civilian clothes.
We
were treated to a wonderful Italian dinner for Malli and her friend Chris
Cameron from NY by Malli's father Dave and Chris' parents. Both women were
happy to be done with this, but also delighted in telling numerous stories
about the grueling and sleepless life of basic. Chris, at 35, was the senior
member of the unit. She goes to Sam Houston to complete 16 weeks of medic
training, then back to California to work on her nursing degree. Malli
will do 10 weeks training next summer in fuels inspection.
We slept well, knowing the Malli had survived and even prospered. Tomorrow, we are back on the road again. Our goal is to sleep a bit late and try to make it to Oklahoma. There were bad storms there today. We hope they will clear for our journey.
We had an early start in light fog from our plush motel on the western bluffs
overlooking the Mississippi River. We were on the road by 8:30, a record
for us on this trip. We needed to meet Nance's cousins Craig and Nancy
Battersby by 10 AM in Troy, an outlying St. Louis sprawl area. Nance found
county road D, a serpentine, narrow county road that winds
through the green hills of this forgotten corner of Missouri. There was little
traffic and even fewer tourists around here. There are no major
attractions, just a multitude of minor
ones: A beautiful
San Angelo Horse Farm, , a
lovely pond, a Victorian home, an abandoned gas station. The Buick usually
gets quite a few waves on this sort of route. Lack of shoulders and the
constant turns presents a problem for those wanting to pass us, but most are
patient. And the Buick's 40 mph on these routes is not hopelessly out of
line with normal driving speed. The Buick on these roads feels very young
again, winding, climbing and diving. Perhaps like a sports car with
platform shoes, maybe!
Our rural idyll ended when we reached US 61, a major north-south arterial
connecting St Louis with Bowling Green, Hannibal and other points north along
the Mississippi. We could feel the pull of St. Louis; traffic volume and
speed grew as we proceeded south. Gratefully, we stopped at Troy to meet the Battersby's at
a designated Dennys. Thank goodness for cell phones; these impromptu
connections could not happen without them. Driving the Buick through St. Louis
to visit our urban relatives at their home was not an option.
We had a relaxed breakfast and tried to update our families. It had been 9 years since our last visit. Then, we were driving a minivan with the kids across the country to meet both sides of the family. The Battersby's are expecting their first grandchild, and their youngest is getting close to graduating from engineering school.
After saying some quick goodbyes, we made our way east out of the congested,
busy Troy. We expected urban sprawl for miles, but found pleasant Missouri
country very quickly, just a few miles east of town. Our route to Ft.
Leonard Wood followed a collection of federal, state, and country roads.
They took us across the Missouri River (yet another narrow truss bridge,
probably built before WWII), up and down the many hills and bluffs
here. Nance was busy most of the day keeping us on track and off I-70 and
I-44, the two pipelines that carry 98% of all the E-W traffic in Missouri.
It worked well, we arrived fairly well rested at the Motel 6 in St. Robert, MO.
Our trip from Louisiana was just about 200 miles.
The Buick took this is stride. But the weather started to warm up again, the
first
time for us in many days. It was probably only about 85 on our
route, but the engine did heat up slightly on some of the very long hills.
The idle started to get a bit slow and Bill leaned out the carburetor to improve
this. Big mistake, the car lost power at speed. The carburetor was
reset and we proceeded with the marginal idle. It was easy to control with
the throttle lever on the steering wheel.
Starting odometer: 38318
Ft. Leonard Wood, MO odometer: 38500
Oil Consumption: 2 quarts added
Fuel Consumption: 20 gallons gas
Dean contacts: several in the town of Belle, where the local paper is "The Unterrified Democrat." Now isn't that a great modifier for Howard Dean!
Nance checked the map last night and it looked like it was a looooong way to Ft. Leonard Wood. Rain was threatening again. Nance wanted to connect with her delightful cousins, Craig and Nancy Battersby of St. Louis. It seemed like our best option was to go for another 300 mile day and try for two states in a day, Indiana and Illinois.
Road options were limited, but Nance came up with a pretty efficient path taking us more or less diagonally on state and country roads across Illinois. Illinois route 54 was the workhorse here, we went over a hundred miles on it. It is a farming road with limited traffic and plenty of good scenery and services. There was fairly heavy rain in the morning, but it let up by early afternoon. Nance drove about 100 miles this day, and Bill appreciated the breather. We actually passed two vehicles today: a pair roadside mowing tractors working in tandem.
As beautiful as the scenery was, recent excessive rains have flooded patches of land, leaving a cumulative thousands of acres of carefully planted fields ruined. At our motel we spoke with a 70+ year old farmer who was transporting a Wisconsin made "Cadillac of manure spreaders" to Ohio. He reported that last year drought took the crops, this year it's rain. Like the car guys who mourn the loss of old cars going to the crusher, this fellow mourns the loss of good farms to shopping centers and suburbia, but understands why folks give it up.
We avoided all the big cities except for Springfield and Jacksonville. These towns approximate Las Cruces and Las Vegas, NM in area. The Buick got through Springfield easily by staying on major streets that showed up on the inset map. Unfortunately, we managed to lose our route in Jacksonville and it cost us about 45 minutes. No map, with routes poorly marked within city limits can definitely lead to problems. Maybe GPS next time.
Nance really wanted to make it into Missouri, so we drove to Louisiana, MO.
The county roads south of I-72 that we wanted were difficult to find. When
we'd finally located them, they were worth it: the first hills since Wisconsin,
winding roads, surprising architectural gems in Pittsfield. And two river
crossings on beautiful, tall, old truss bridges. Cross the Mississippi on US 54!
This bridge looks like a Route 66 relic, it is so long and narrow. The
Rivers Edge Motel sits 
right at the end of the bridge on the Missouri side
-- and there we decided to stay. A great choice, we found an
immaculate and large room for $50, a restaurant within walking distance, and
several parks and walks next to the beautiful Mississippi River. There we met a
woman whose tales, though somewhat confused, much resembled those of Samuel
Clements in their height!
Starting odometer: 38017
Louisiana, MO odometer: 38318
Oil Consumption: None
Fuel Consumption: 25 gallons gas
Dean cards given out: 11, including a delightful woman in Roberts, Ill. who copied our impossible web address, loves the net, and "didn't vote for the one who's in there now." Is a Meetup possible there?.
It was sad to leave Flint. Playing days and nights with the Buick enthusiasts was too much fun.. But we have a new mission now. We needed to get to Malli's graduation at Fort Leonard Wood, MO by July 30. Our initial calculations showed the distance at about 650 miles. But experience showed that these initial estimates are always low. Could be that the destination might be 700 miles or more. We had to step up the pace above our 200 mile/day rate on the way out.
We struggled with loading the 1.5 carfulls of stuff we brought on this trip-- down from the fifth floor of the hotel. In the middle of loading, Bill noticed a father and son team struggling with their 1928 Buick Master coupe. They had driven their collector car from Cleveland, about 250 miles to the south. It suddenly began to run very poorly, not nearly well enough to get them home. Fortunately, Bill remembered diagnosing this sort of problem for several others in the Buick club. He thought it was a stuck valve in the vacuum tank. Bingo!. They were delighted and amazed with this quick and effective diagnosis. The car was running perfectly in a few minutes. We wonder, though, if the valve stayed unstuck for that long ride home.
We finally got on the road and Nance plotted an excellent path through rural
Michigan -- avoiding all the major cities that blockade most routes to the south
of Flint. Thank God for Sunday traffic and few "Sunday drivers." The
muggy, overcast day finally produced rain It was very cool, even chilly at
times, and definitely wet. Being from NM, our Buick has hardly been driven
in the rain. We knew the Buick had no functional wipers. RainX seemed to work
OK. We discovered that the brakes are almost useless in the rain.
They aren't much good when dry, but in the rain stopping distance grew
even greater. We still had the emergency brake (it uses an internal lining
like a modern car) if we needed it, but mainly we just drove a bit slower and
started our stops sooner.
Southern Michigan has a large Amish community, and they were out on the road this Sunday traveling too and from worship. We saw many of the children playing in groups wearing their Sunday best. some even jumping on a trampoline! We did manage to actually pass a wagon, the third vehicle we passed since leaving Albuquerque. The other two were a tractor and a combine.
We crossed uneventfully into Indiana and continued through the rain. We ended up driving a bit further than we wanted because motels were few and far between. Just when we were getting really tired, the Monticello Inn showed up in Monticello, IN. We found very clean rooms at reasonable rates, with lots of flowers in the front. Petunias appear everywhere in Indiana which has enough rain to sustain them.
The Buick seemed to enjoy being back on the road. The rain may have
tightened
up the balky rear wheel a bit. It was still loose, but seemed to
be getting no worse. It does two quirky things. The lugs on this
wheel loosen up, they need tightening every day. And, mysterious black
stuff exudes from the wheel onto the whitewall. This is probably the essence of
wheel disappearing into the ether. On the positive side, the engine ran cooler than ever, it was rarely over
170F and needed no oil after 300 plus miles of continuous driving from
Flint. We missed the meet, but a caravan of Buicks passed us, like a wave
of nostalgia, just as we began to despair of ever finding an inn with a room. So
we drove on, celebrating that we're getting closer to home -- and would
incur smaller towing charges should disaster happen!
Starting odometer: 37701
Monticello IN odometer: 38017
Oil Consumption: None
Fuel Consumption: 30 gallons gas
Welcome to our new BLOG format: most recent stuff first. This is the most obvious and common way to do these things, but newbies like us were slow to figure it out. This format matches Nance's favorite Dean BLOG.
The Buick got some needed attention in the morning. Bill took her to a quick lube joint for an oil change and grease job. The workers there were delighted with the task: "This car has 35 grease fittings!" It probably has more than that, but he managed to find 35. Naturally, they charged a bit for each one, but we left with new oil, ready for a long drive home.
Flint
really knows how to boogie and hooped it up on the last day of the meet on
Saturday. The public came out in droves along with many more Buicks.
Parking was tight but the '27 managed to find a good spot in the shade next to a
lovely reflecting pool
.
Some of the interesting new arrivals included a 1927 Buick bus and a very
concours 1931 dual windshield phaeton. All the curious onlookers enjoying
the cars made them hard to photograph. Items that folks had waited to buy
at the swap meet found new homes and the enterprising Wiegands sold out their
beautiful metal Buick signs.
Bill spent some time around the Buick answering questions. There were
many visitors. Most notable were several folks who had lived in New Mexico
or had relatives living there. All of them enjoyed talking about Land of
Enchantment. Probably the best visit was from a family with a 10 year old
boy who had a burning curiosity about the car. He asked (children often
ask this) if it had one of those "things" in the front to start it. Bill
told him that, yes, it did have a crank. He pulled it out and decided to
demonstrate how to start the car with a crank. To Bill's and the boy's
amazement, the car burst to life on the second half-turn of the crank!
Seeing the boy's delight definitely made our day, perhaps the whole week.
We both delighted it the Flint Art Gallery, Bill on Friday, Nance on Saturday. Wow! What an impressive collection! Nance will report on it later. If you travel within reach of Flint, this museum is well worth a special trip.
The day ended with an excellent banquet for 2500 that was served fast and delicious in two seatings at several sites in the complex . Impressive. There was still more: a snappy presentation on the past and future of Buick general manager Roger Adams. Female vocalist Kim Matsko sung the classic 20's ballad "My Buick, My Love and I" (note the subject order here) with the audience singing along for the chorus. Huey Lewis and The News rocked on with a blowout concert. A few of the older folks seemed a bit shocked by this music, but most really got into it. Many danced in the isles, Nance among them. A few geezers were probably hurting the next day, and felt it was darn well worth it.
Knowing that we had no extra time to reach Ft. Leonard Wood, we reluctantly drove away around 11 PM. It seemed like we had months of enjoyment packed into these two weeks. And yet we're only half way done with this trip.
The BCA knew wisely scheduled few extra events so Buick devotees could
exchange tales, tail lights, and transmission tips. But the days seemed totally filled with all the general
movement of people, cars, parts and activities. Nance managed to slip into
a museum or two, and Bill finally made it to the very full and lively swap meet.
Most of the day vanished in endless discussions about car parts, upholstery
fabrics, and
Buick history. Nance added politics to the mix, engaging many in talking about the Dean campaign.
In a place with 16% unemployment and lots of racial tension, the American dream
seems distant: many folks are looking for hope and change. The celebration and
Dean's campaign offered both. Most responded with
enthusiasm to all of this, it was a very social and memorable day.
Bill was frequently asked about our trip and how the car performed. Some were incredulous. A father and son pair from Buffalo expressed disbelief that we had actually made this trip. Bill finally convinced them, but they really wanted to "see the bodies". Many of the visitors were GM engineers and plant workers, unfortunately now retired or laid off. They delighted in pointing out parts coming from their factories. I learned that the speedometer on our Buick was an AC Delco unit, built nearby in Flint. Others noticed our chili hood ornament or the Albuquerque VMCCA plate and asked questions about our home.
Peter Scavone, aka
Monty
Burns, organized lunch at the Country Inn Buffet for our 1927
Buick internet group. About 20 attended, meeting their
virtual cohorts after several years of chatting on the net about our prized 6
cylinder Buicks. We invited new 20's Buick owners who want to join the internet conversation and add their own knowledge to the mix.
Happily, we are really geezers among these mostly young 27 Buick enthusiasts.
Not all car collectors are old, slow and cranky! We look forward
to meeting with this group at the next National.
When we returned to the show field later in the afternoon, we found it densely packed with still more interesting Buicks. Crowds increased all afternoon as Flint turned out for a TGIF Buick party. fire works were scheduled for the evening. An talented local band started playing around 5PM, prepared for music from four generations. Nance cut up the street with enough dancing to wear out her tires -- and her knees, she walked a bit slower the next day, but winning one the many Buick frisbees for the dogs was worth it. The streets were filled with locals and BCA folks, all coming to this park setting for an evening of fun and fireworks. Numerous small children loved it all until they crashed in their parents arms on in strollers. Older ones staed at the cars, asking owners to honk the horns. It was looking like a real 100 year birthday party, and Flint was going to enjoy every minute of it.
Darkness fell and a large bang announced the start of fireworks. What
followed was a 45 minute continuous crescendo of pyrotechnics. It ended
with enormous finale. By then, we were all numb and we sleepily squinted
our way home followed the dull glow of our very tired headlights.
This is the biggest car show we have ever seen. We are entry number
1210 and we entered around February. Someone said there were 2500 entries.
By 4 p.m., about 1800 cars had arrived. There are more Buicks here than anyone
could possibly see in just the three days of this event. But the
organizers picked display areas
more of less by year, so groups of similar cars
are near each other. Most areas are also shaded so the owners can usually
be found near their cars. Many locals come by, and food vendors all
contributed to a
carnival atmosphere. We enjoyed quite a few visits from
members of the Yahoo 1927 Buick group. It was fun to see their faces and
also learn that some were actually reading this log. We met (see photos) Brian Heil (23
Touring) , Michael Wolfe and family (27 Std), Dennis and Marla Kluge (26 Std),
and Gregory Nelson. And, of course, we saw Barbara and Terry Wiegand working
hard at the swap meet, selling beautiful Buick signs. Lunch is scheduled
for Friday and all are looking forward to meeting other early Buick nuts.
We did manage to make the tour to the last Buick operation in Flint, the V-6 engine plant. Sorry, this was a photogenic tour, but no photos were allowed. Busses took thousands of us to the expansive plant This factory was completed in 1953 and its first job was producing the famous 322 cubic inch "nailhead" Buick V-8. They produced virtually all of Buick's V-8 and V-6 engines through 1995 or so. They now build the 3800 cc pushrod engine that is used by Buick and all other GM division intermediate size cars. The engine is currently built in supercharged and normally aspirated forms. Bill recalls that about 2000 engines per day are built here.
The tour was unguided and we were given almost carte blanche to move about the plant as we pleased. Bill fiendishly looked for red buttons to push while Nance asked workers about their families and working conditions. Workers would explain the processes they were involved in based on specific questions. We were able to get a good overview of the plant. While the plant is very automated, there is still a lot of manual labor that goes into assembling these engines; most parts are fitted with human hands. Watching engines grow as workers added parts station by station, seeing them dancing about briskly on their automated trolleys, examining quality control graphs while listening to clanks, bangs and pneumatic socket wrenches tighten braces of bolts at a time, smelling machine steel and machine oil--Bill thought he'd died and gone to heaven!
Bill was surprised to learn that these engines are not started at any point in this plant. Apparently, that process was eliminated in April of this year. In the past, the engines were started and run 30 seconds or more. It was costly, noisy, and dangerous and rarely discovered any problems with an engine. Instead, the engines are briefly motor driven, pressure tested, and inspected. Data from these tests determine if the engine is OK. The engines are not started until they are installed in a completed car.
Other factoids: engines are no longer painted as an assembly. Individual components are painted or finished separately. This is a return to the methods used before 1935. Pistons are no longer fitted to each cylinder bore. Dimensional tolerances are sufficient to allow all pistons made to fit into any cylinder. Unfortunately, this plant may be closed in 2008 when GM converts to an overhead cam replacement for this 3.8L engine.
In awe of the vastness of the plant, and reluctant to break any rules, Nance only started making Dean contacts on her way our. But she did give encouraging words and Dean cars to over 25 workers and college interns, plus two managers. One EE student from University of Texas at El Paso seemed particularly pleased to hear about Dean.
We had enough activity at this point, but returned to sweep through the
extensive swap meet. Quite a few parts were there for cars of our
vintage.
Bill looked for a lens to replace our cracked unit, but did not find an exact
replacement. We did see Barbara Wiegand who was relaxing after a long day
selling some very attractive Buick signs she and husband Terry had made.
Nance tried to get though the Museum but found it far too interesting to
finish before we had to go. The Sloan displays not only automotive
history, but Native anthropology--Algonquin ancestors were mining and
manufacturing copper as early as 6000 BC--trapping, lumbering, wagon building
and the region's social history.
After a mere 207 miles through the Michigan countryside, we made a confusing landing in Flint. We had some problems following faulty Mapquest directions, proving that not everything you get from the Internet is accurate. Finally the Ramada Inn appeared and we felt a great sense of delight in completing the first half of our adventure. In the end, the total distance traveled was 1900 miles indicated on the Buick's odometer. Not a bad trip for a 75 year old car.
Buicks were everywhere around the hotel, but no one seemed to know exactly where the show was. Nance asked for information (guys can't do this of course), and usually got directions to take I-75. We finally figured out our own route through town. The road was rough and frost damaged and Bill groaned for our worn, wooden wheels on every pothole. After bouncing over roads that probably reminded the Buick of her youth, getting hung up on downtown one-ways, Flint's finest directed us to Mott College. There, surrounding the Sloan Museum, we found acres of shaded grass that was largely filled with Buicks of every variety and condition. Volunteers directed us through registration and parking. We relaxed and felt very much at home, here at the town of our Buick's birth.
Flint, unfortunately, is a very depressed town that contrasts so much with the relative prosperity of rural America we had seen in the last two weeks. While much of the Heartland is mortgaged and all of it facing falling prices and rising costs, it hasn't the broken and hopeless look of Flint. The details of Flint's struggle to survive the general decline of Buick operations is well documented and the management of the once thriving industrial center is now in the hands of the state of Michigan. We're just glad to be here and grateful for the smiles and waves we get from folks as we drive through the poorer sections of town. It's important that friends of Buick automobiles at least bring their dollars and memories to this historic town. Perhaps it will make a difference and give Flint a lift.
Soon after we'd parked in Section B, a woman from Wisconsin came over seeking a Dean pin. Unfortunately, we only had the ones we were wearing left. Nance suggested she go to "Dean Mart" and the "DemStore" on the web.
We found the lakeshore route from Sheboygan to Manitowoc after some difficulty navigating through downtown Sheboygan. This was a pleasant alternative from the freeway style Route 42. We enjoyed meandering the two lane route along the shore and had minimal contact with traffic. The lake actually has some white sandy beaches along this road, but the very low water and air temperatures kept the beach crowds to zero.
We
arrived with plenty of time to get the Buick in line for loading and watching
the landing of the SS Badger. The ship, built in 1952, is the last reciprocating
steam powered vessel in regular service. It holds 180 cars, and there were
quite a few more than that queuing up to load. Not just cars, either,
quite a few motorcycles, motor homes and boats showed up for the party. It
took a couple of hours to load all aboard. Most of the vehicles were
driven on by skilled staff, who knew how to pack the cars in tight without
hitting anything. Bill was relieved when asked to drive the Buick in.
There would be no need to teach the staff about the inverted shift pattern, the
alligator clip ignition set up, and how to shut off the gas when parking the
car.
The four and a half hour voyage was over quickly. Nance really didn't
want to get off
the vessel. The food on board was good, there were plenty of places to sit
or walk around. Winds were stiff and the ship definitely rocked and rolled
a bit. Some managed to get sea sick, but fortunately Bill did not see them
or he would have joined in. Several children from an Iowan Amish family suffered
terribly. They were on their way to Chicago to report their findings in
agricultural field studies.
Most impressive was the landing. This 450 foot ship made a 180 degree turn in a channel only about 600 ft wide. Obviously, they had done it before. But the winds were brisk and I could easily see how a small mistake could get the ship aground very quickly. No tugboats were around to bail us out. But this landing was uneventful, just like the thousands of others this elegant ship has experienced in its 50 year career.
Unloading was a bit quicker, and we found the small and comfortable Lighthouse Motel on the lakeside for just $65. We were greeted by Buick nut Bill Miller who lives across the street. He offered us air for one of our soft tires and great conversation. He had a '57 Buick 4 door hardtop and several other cars. He and his family were going to Flint, and he said quite a few Buicks had been disembarking from the Badger.
Our motel neighbors included two travelers from Scotland in Michigan for a family wedding. One runs a B&B, Abbey Cottage, in St. Andrews but she doesn't golf. Another couple was from Connecticut, near where Nance's cousin lives. Like us, they enjoy backroads trips and visiting with locals. They also are Dean fans and were encouraged by our "Green Dean Machine" to get active and "Get Local."
Ludington is a long time summer resort. The pier in Manitowoc is next to massive coal piles; the one in Ludington by yacht moorings and a hotel we couldn't afford. Yet Manitowoc had an art gallery showing Marc Chagall prints. Regrettably, Nance saw the poster only thirty minutes before sailing and we missed the show. But everywhere we've gone local treasures abound.
We had a great meal in the local ice cream parlor . Try it, you'll like it! It was good for breakfast too.
Starting odometer: 37358
Ludington MI odometer: 37395
Oil Consumption: None
Fuel Consumption: 3 Gallons gas and 10 tons of black coal
Just when we were getting to feel comfortable around Madison, it was time to load up and head for the ferry in Manitowoc. We thought Manitowoc was just a hundred miles or so from Madison that we could catch the noon ferry by leaving Madison early in the morning. More careful review of the map indicated that the distance was much farther and likely to be a slow and congested. We decided to leave Madison today in the afternoon and spend the night in Sheboygan with Joe and Marion.
We spent the morning packing and playing swings, follow the leader, smell the
flowers
and drive the Buick with Celeste. She apparently has some of
Bill's genes: she loves cars. Car is a word she says often and extricating her
from the Buick was a challenge After a leisurely lunch with Kelly
and Celeste in a superb Thai restaurant, we reluctantly said our goodbyes and
worked our way across Madison into rural Wisconsin. Nance found an array
of beautiful farming roads and got us to Sheboygan slowly but surely. The
Buick enjoyed being on the road after resting in Madison.
In Sheboygan we met Joe and Marion and had an excellent seafood dinner at the
Mucky Duck restaurant on the lake. Marion had scouted out the American Inn there and the
accommodations were excellent and reasonably priced (i.e. cheap). Marion
and Joe reported their delight with touring the Kohler factories there.
Kohler makes, among other things, bathroom fixtures and electrical generators
and you actually tour the factory floor. We enjoyed hearing their
descriptions and realized that we were going to have to wait for the next
trip to take it in ourselves.
Starting odometer: 37221
Sheboygan, WI odometer: 37358
Oil Consumption: None
Fuel: Approx. 10 Gallons
Dean contacts: 26 (2 days)
This was a non driving day marked by our reunion with our niece Kelly, her
husband
Ricardo Romero and their 17 month old daughter Celeste. We also enjoyed a
visit with Bill's high school friend Joe Thomas and friend Marion Arkin from
Washington DC. This connection was not
accidental, Joe and Marion
knew about our trip and initially planned to meet us in Flint. The lack of hotel
rooms there suggested meeting here instead. It was a good idea, there was
plenty to see and do here in Madison.
Ricardo, who is working on his masters, gave us a brief tour of the campus. He only scratched the surface, this large, beautiful university has over 40,000 students and fills much of Wisconsin's capital city. It would take days to see it all. We walked several miles to and through the famous farmer's market around the state capitol. Dean supporters had set up a table to hand out information on Dean and we let touched base with them.
Celeste played in the grass while we enjoyed cheeses, pastries, and luscious vegetables and fruits we bought. This was a refreshing change from our travels. We all enjoyed telling inflated stories about our trip and basking in the beautiful weather. Natives enjoyed the rare clear blue day even more than we did.
On the way back, as Kelly shopped at the sidewalk sale, Nance visited with an upstate New Yorker who knows Howard Dean personally. Apparently, Dean's wife, Dr. Judith Steinberg, is a competitive sailor and this New Yorker has sailed against her several times across Lake Champlain. The sailor said that Dean isn't worth anything on a boat, but that he's the real thing: "what you see is what you get." He really wants to see Dean in the White House and is working for him in (?) Plattsburg, NY.
If you schedule a trip like this, leave some off time in the schedule. We needed it, and the Buick seemed to enjoy relaxing in the back lot of the hotel, away from the constant questions and eyes of the curious.
Next stop will be the ferry from Manitowoc (emphasis on the last syllable) to Michigan; we made our reservations today and got the Buick discount!
It was hard to continue after our delight from meeting Howard Dean, but we knew that life must go on. And we were anxious to make it to Madison to visit Kelly, Ricardo and Celeste.
It was a cool morning, the coolest one yet, and clouds were threatening rain. We bought some RainX in Cedar Rapids and used it. The wiper on the Buick hardly works, and even if it did, only about 10% of it rather small windshield gets wiped anyway. We hoped for some rain, Bill thought it might tighten up our noisy wheel, but the rains never did come. We are still waiting.
Northern Iowa and Wisconsin are very beautiful states. We enjoyed our travels but the rural flavor of the south was replaced by a more congested one here. We took US 151 through Dubuque and into Madison. There was a lot of construction on this route, most of this route is four lane or being converted to such. Traffic on this route was persistent but fairly friendly.
We were looking for a lunch stop when signs for the National Motorcycle
Museum
appeared at Anamosa, WI. This was too appealing to resist, and in
we went, along with several small teams of motorcyclists. The museum is
excellent. Bill is an Indian fan, and they had many restored and original
samples of the marque. Nance noticed all the female manikins looking over
the collection in their motorcycle garb.
Literature, photos, and facts
abounded, this is a high quality collection very beautifully displayed. We
only spent about 45 minutes here, we should have stayed longer. Bill saw
samples of just about every motorcycle he had owned -- including Hondas, Huskys
and even one Hodaka. Yes, there were plenty of Harleys too.
We reluctantly left this display and motored on to Madison. We found
Kelly's
directions were excellent and took us right to their married student
housing apartment. Nance and I were delighted to see out loved ones -- and
also thrilled to have made this first and most important deliverable of our
adventure. The Buick had managed to take us 1500 miles without serious
delay and in good comfort. We expected to sleep well tonight.
Starting odometer: 37030
Madison, WI odometer: 37221
Oil Consumption: 1 Qt added
Fuel: Approx. 12 Gallons
Today was a day off. The only driving was to an auto parts store to get some oil and RainX. We have a non functional wiper, and with the threat of rain ahead we hoped that RainX might help us see the road. We had a short walking tour, enjoyed looking at the "Just Plane Art" series of airplanes decorated by students and prepared for a Howard Dean rally in downtown Cedar Rapids.
Nance had checked the Dean website, finding only 15 people logged on to the event. Thinking the Buick might attract attention, we parked the Buick in front of Muddy Waters Restaurant, complete with Dean signs in both back windows. Over 300 people showed up! Fortunately, the Buick gets none of the credit. The Dean organization had a very effective calling, e-mail and snail mail campaign. About half the people who came were already committed to Dean. Over 90% left that way.
He lays claim to representing the Democratic wing of the Democratic party, but his positions defy labeling. The most important things Dean's doing is inciting citizens to take responsibility for their governments and communities. He inspires hope, not fear. And he's made national politics fun again. Log on to www.deanforamerica.com if you're inclined. It really is an historic campaign.
Bill had parked the Buick, with permission, just outside the back door. You can see the results. My activist Mom, may she rest in peace, would be proud.
This may have been Buick's best day on this tour. The weather in Iowa had cooled off considerably and we and the car appreciated it. The Buick had more power than ever, it climbed the many short but intense hills in this area easily. The engine temperature rarely went over 180. The engine started very easily and idled relatively smoothly. It was very comfortable inside, we only opened the windshield a small crack. Fuel mileage has declined a bit, to perhaps 10-11 mpg from 12-13 previously. This is probably due to the richer carburetor setting Bill has used, but it's worth it -- the engine runs smother and stronger at high speed this way, although the idle is rougher.
There
was a threat of rain, but nothing came of it until we drove in to Cedar Rapids.
Bill was hoping for rain to expand the spokes and tighten up the rear wheel.
The new wheel shims stayed more or less in place -- but some moved around a bit.
This wheel will probably need new spokes when we get back home.
Iowa continued to delight our senses, this is the breadbasket of America. It is beautiful, rural and welcoming of visitors. Late in the day we came across the Amana villages, settled by German religious immigrants in the late1800's and still occupied by the sect. These picturesque towns (there are several) are semi-preserved and full of museums and architectural preservation, and co-operative businesses. These enterprising folk did start the Amana appliances in the 30's. We drove by a very large and modern Amana refrigerator plant, now owned by Maytag..
After about 230 miles, we came into Cedar Rapids. This may be the
largest town yet
on this trip. We have decided to stay a day here because Howard Dean is
coming to on Thursday and we want to help get folks out to meet him. We
also found a Staples on the outskirts of town. They had just one 56K
PCMCIA modem that we bought and quickly installed. It worked and
we are on the net again.
Starting odometer: 36799
Cedar Rapids odometer: 37030
Oil Consumption: 1 Qt added
Fuel: Approx. 12 Gallons
After our long day on Monday, we decided to give up any notion of an early start today. Result: we pulled out of the hotel in Platte City and the bright and hot hour of 1 PM. We used the time to sleep, get laundry done, and to upload our BLOG. Work with the computer was very slow, the modem logged on at 2400 bps only after many tries. The modem has not worked since, we are going to have to get another one in Cedar Rapids tomorrow.
The Buick passed its morning inspection, though it was about a quart low on oil and that pesky rear wheel was looser still. Bill decided to continue with the wheel as is and to attempt to shim it after today's drive.
When we left Platte City, it was close to 100 degrees. Nance directed us more or less straight north on US 169 to find cooler weather. This worked well, when we reached Iowa in the late afternoon, the temperatures were very pleasant, in the mid-80's. The Buick was running particularly well. It had a lot more power, probably because of the lower altitude and operating temperatures.
The rolling hills beautiful farms and countryside had us thinking we had been
embedded in some sort of spectacular painting. The roads here are narrow
and curving, they follow the land rather than redefining it. We wonder how
much these roads have changed since 1927. Certainly fewer potholes and
more paving. The Buick felt at home, its 40 MPH
speed was not much out of line with local traffic. We almost passed an
Amish wagon!
We decided to quit early. The wheel needed work and we wanted to get
out of the
pattern of driving into the night. We found a wonderful clean,
old Clinton Motel at Mount Ayr. Dinner in the local cafe was
excellent and Bill was able to shim the wheel. Several visitors stopped at
the hotel to see what we were up to. Word got out to the local weekly
newspaper, the Mount Ayr Register-News, and the editor came out for pictures and an
interview. He shared some interesting history about the town area and
remarked that Amish families were expanding into the region. We saw many
bonneted women and bearded men driving these back roads. As we blog, here,
it's rather reassuring to think that peaceful folk who live so lightly on the
land are prospering.
We had a technical failure with the hand-me-down modem we were using with our laptop. It suddenly would not pick up the phone under any conditions. It made Bill wonder if the problems we've had with ultra slow baud rates could have been this modem getting ready to fail completely. Since Bill did not remember any of his Morse code, it appeared that were could upload nothing until we found a new modem. Perhaps we could find a set of Buick points in Mount Ayr, but forget about computer equipment. This would have to wait for either Madison or a larger town in Iowa.
Nance gave out a number of Dean for president cards. This area is rather conservative (i.e. Republican) but we noticed quite a bit of disenchantment with the current administration. At the local livestock auction and cafe where we ate breakfast, a former WWII B-24 pilot questioned Bill first about our Buick. Then he asked about our Dean buttons and brought over a newspaper headline about the deficit -- complaining loudly that all these politicians do is spend, spend and spend more. And he blamed today's worsening trend on Reagan's 80's policies!
Starting odometer: 36663
Mount Ayr odometer: 36799
Oil Consumption: none
Fuel: Approx. 12 Gallons
24 Dean cards given out:
17 Dean cards given out:
We managed to get on the road around 8:30 after spending a lot of time loading the car from a too distant but comfortable Best Western motel room. Mom and Pop motels do have the advantage of having the car right next to the room.
Our
goal was to make it to Ft. Leavenworth to look at some of the homes that Bill
lived in 1951-54. We made up a route on the fly and realized it would go
through Manhattan, KS. Bill recalled that Dan Swenson, a co-worker from
Sandia, now works at Kansas State. We found his number and called wife
Kathy and arranged to meet Dan for lunch in downtown Manhattan. Dan is still a
car guy, and he showed up with a very clean 1961 Jeep station wagon.
We at lunch in a coffee/antique shop run by a couple of enthusiastic Dean supporters! Nance supplied Dean promotional materials while Dan and Bill reminisced our fabulous careers and enormous accomplishments at Sandia Labs. Dan looked great and is running a startup company with a couple of SBIR contracts -- along with handling a pretty heavy teaching load at K-State. We left there all too quickly, but it was getting REALLY HOT and Bill wanted to get to Leavenworth.
If you think Kansas is flat. take in the drive from Manhattan to Leavenworth in NE Kansas. Beautiful rolling hills and farms made many postcards in the windshield. The Buick seemed to prefer these hills and curves, it was a delightful drive. We finally made it to Ft. Leavenworth and had some delay getting through security at the fort. The troops enjoyed opening the hood, though they obviously had no idea how to operate a double hinged hood.
Cleared
of the terrorist threat, we spent a couple of hours touring the base. We
found two homes we lived in but a third had been leveled. Bill pointed out
the hills the Sullivan kids had sledded down, the parks they'd played in and the
streets on which his bicycle had ejected him and sent him to the emergency room.
Nance was most impressed by the masonry of the historic buildings; nearly
all are still in use. It is beautiful, obviously a very fat cat assignment
for high ranking army officers. We met a surprisingly young looking Gen.
Hirakai, originally from Hawaii, who took great interest in the Buick and knew
about the anniversary in Flint.
This dragged on too long and we could not find a motel in town. So, we continued to Platte City, MO about 20 miles southeast. This was our first night drive and we found ourselves very tired and irritable -- especially when we found the big hotels near I-29 were mostly booked. Fortunately, we did get into a Travelodge at the last minute and collapsed without dinner. We decided to not even try to get an early start the next day.
Starting odometer: 36373
Platte City odometer: 36663
Oil Consumption: 1 qt added.
Fuel: Approx. 30 Gallons
Dean info handed out to 18 likely supporters150 cards and information given to the Ad Astra Coffee Shop in Manhattan. Look for a Meetup there next month.
Updating this BLOG has been hard because of difficulty getting connected in rural areas. Usually, if we can connect at all, we get a crawl rate of 2400 bps. It takes quite a while to upload at that rate and it is impossible to download much web content. Bill thinks the problem is with noise on the phone lines. We make a long distance call to our ISP via a Costco phone card. We are hoping to find a local line on this trip and get up to 24Kbps anyway.
In the small world category, we stopped in Dodge City so Nance could find a church service around 10:15 a.m.. We found a Presbyterian church while Bill went to breakfast at the nearby Golden Corral. As coincidence would have it, the greeters at1st Presbyterean were former Albuquerque residents who had just been home two weeks ago as we mopped up the Bosque fires. Mr. Spain had worked for the Santa Fe RR and retired in Dodge City. The minister spoke Spanish and was on his way to Guatemala to help build hoses and assist visiting doctors..
Meanwhile, as Bill was enjoying breakfast and the Sunday paper, in walked Ken Murphy, a friend from Albuquerque who is in our car club. Ken was driving home on Rt. 50 from his high school reunion in KS. He has an eye for old cars and saw that Buick in the parking lot. He stopped to look and realized the car was mine. We had a wonderful breakfast talking about this miracle, and then continued our journeys. Dodge city was fun and worth seeing.
Sunday was hot, probably up to 100. The Buick burned off its ethanol early in the morning with no problems. It was flat between Santana and S. Hutchinson and the engine generally ran below 200 F. Above 190, she loses some power and needs to be choked a bit to keep fuel supply up, but otherwise does OK. Bill opened the main needle valve on the carburetor later and this eliminated the need for choking when the engine is hot. This change fouled up the idle, but that was easier to live with than no power at speed.
The
highlight at S. Hutchinson was visiting with Buick friends Terry and Barbara
Wiegand. We spent the evening touring their wonderful shop and a wonderful
"this old house" restoration project on a home that belonged to Terry's
favorite school teachers. There, they tend to semi-tame and beautiful
screech owls and a flock of Buicks: an original 1922 two door sedan and a
1916 touring car. Terry also had an impressive array of parts cars and
projects in progress. We had a delightful dinner and Terry and Barb had no
problem finding topics of mutual interest with Bill and Nance. We look
forward to seeing them in Flint, they are going their with their 1922 on the
trailer.
We collapsed in the local Best Western, glad that the Buick had run well enough to not need any work today.
Starting odometer: 36170
S. Hutchinson odometer: 36373
Oil Consumption: 1 qt added
Fuel: Approx. 15 Gallons
Dean info handed out to 10 likely supporters.
We didn't leave Cimarron until close to 9 AM. Bill spent the morning adjusting the brakes. This required jacking up each wheel and turning two adjustment nuts a quarter turn. You wouldn't think a quarter turn would matter all that much, but viva la difference! It was a pleasure to have a brake pedal that felt a bit firmer than a rotten cantaloupe,
We were warned by some of the Boy Scouts at Cimarron to gas up often,
facilities to the east were few and far between. It was indeed pretty
remote country, the mountains faded behind us and rolling prairies began to
flatten into plains. The weather was hot but still very pleasant in the
Buick. It has an excellent ventilation system and the windows are well
shaded.
Nance drove the Buick for a hundred miles or so, and really enjoyed the experience. Driving and old car day after day produces transformations. The car seems to become new again. Normally, when you drive an old car, one is struck by their rickety cantankerous behavior, especially compared with the newer cars we drive every day. But spend some time in an old car, and it becomes quieter, more powerful, easier to drive, just plain more capable. Those who proudly owned these machines when they were new must have felt that way too. Bill also noticed that after two days in the Buick, 40 mph seemed mighty fast!
We had a nice lunch in the only cafe we could find in Clayton. While eating, a fine entrepreneur name Willy Sanford came up to us and asked us to come outside to see something. In his car was a prized accessory trunk, alas, for a car from the early thirties. Many Buicks were fitted with similar trunks as an aftermarket item. If anyone wants this trunk, send us an e-mail, we will put you in touch with him.
After Clayton, the corn started to appear yet only has high as a Chihuahua's eye. But we could see more and more cornfields flattening out before us about as far as we could see. US 56 is a beautiful and not heavily traveled road, we recommend it highly.
The
Buick seemed to prefer the flatlands to NM's mountains, it's temperature
generally stayed well below the 200F mark and the engine ran beautifully.
Unfortunately, in Rolla KS Bill gassed up with a 10% ethanol blend. The
Buick does not suffer much from fuel problems, so he didn't give it a thought.
This choice was trouble with a capital T and that rhymes with E and that stands
for ethanol! With this "fuel" the car started to lose power at engine
temps above 180. When we stopped at the hotel, it boiled all the fuel out
of the carb and we absolutely could not start it until it cooled off.
Never again. Hopefully, we can burn off this tank tomorrow in the coolness
of the
morning.
The only other casualties of the day were a stone cracking one of our headlamp lenses (here we come, e-Bay), the pot metal ignition switch lever broke off, and that troublesome right rear wooden wheel started to creak again. We will probably have to stop and shim it again before the trip is over.
We met some travelers from Salinas, KS who have a beautiful 1926 Standard two door sedan. Like most proud parents, they had pictures of their car and we traded stories about our car collecting hobby.
Starting odometer: 35809
Satanta odometer: 36170
Oil Consumption: none
Fuel: Approx. 22 Gallons
Dean info handed out to 14 likely supporters.
We finally managed to get everything packed and left our home in Albuquerque around 10 AM. We were planning to leave at 8, but you know how that goes. Packing the car, getting the house straightened, saying good bye to the dogs and the plants. It all takes time.
The car probably needs more mechanical work, but Bill ran out of ideas.
Bill finished the
LED
turn signals and brake lights. We added a sign in the rear. The
humor in this sign is directed at drivers who expect a geezer car to perform
like an SUV on steroids. We may be imagining it, but the sign appears to
have a calming effect on our followers. The LED lights were definitely
helpful, as drivers reacted appropriately to our signals.
The back seat of Buick is filled to the gunnels. These cars are like old houses -- huge, but with limited storage. Bill installed a running board rack to carry radiator water and gasoline. These were a common accessory of the 20's and we understand why. The bad news is that we can't open the door with the stuff on the running board. We also used the rack in the back. The car could hold more: we didn't put anything on the roof. We probably won't be buying a lot of stuff on this trip.
The late start got us on the road with temperatures near 100. NM is very hot this week and we were afraid Buick might overheat. It sure did on the long uphill grades of northern NM. The temperature gauge needle went offscale several times, well over 212 F. But, on the downhill side Buick recovered. In all, we only added about two quarts of water. We thought today's drive might well be the hardest. Nothing but climbing mountains at high altitude. Tomorrow we think the plains will be a bit easier on the car.
This is a small world and a small state. Our friends Pat, Dianne and
Rebecca Barney passed us just north of Espanola. We stopped to visit at a
restaurant along the Rio Grande. Buick hissed and rested while we talked.
It was a pleasant time for all.
The next delight was the drive down Taos Canyon to Angel Fire. Recent rains had done a good job sprucing up this area although the Taos fire was still smoldering under the raindrops. The canyon is spectacular. Our day's trip ended in Cimarron, NM at about 6PM. Boy scouts walk the streets here during the changing of the campers at Philmont Scout Ranch and mule deer graze in the center of town. Among the scouting Rangers Nance met a young political science major who is also excited about Howard Dean.
We traveled 200 miles from home, we averaged just about 20 mph
including breaks and rests. The Buick performed very well, the only
problem we had was with the brakes. We didn't need them much, but the free
play has gone way up. Bill will adjust them in the morning. Nance
really enjoyed the leisurely pace, and even got a stop or two to look at the
flowers. There were plenty to see and we both enjoyed them.
Hooray for northern NM, it is one of the finest places to visit in the country.
Starting odometer: 35708
Cimarron odometer: 35809
Oil Consumption: None
Fuel: Approx. 16 Gallons
Dean info handed out to 20 likely supporters.