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2007 Texas to Colorado Model T Tour
June 20th thru July 4th, 2007
joining the "Search
for the Mohigans Tour”
and the Model T
Club of Northern Colorado.
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Friday, June 22nd 2007
Dumas, TX to Canon City, CO - 307
mi.
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It was foggy and cool when we drove out of
Dumas this morning, heading straight north up U.S187 towards
Oklahoma. At the state line, we did the tourist thing and
lined up in front of the “Welcome to Oklahoma”
sign. (We also did the same in Colorado.)
This is just a little section of the Oklahoma Panhandle
and is pretty much unpopulated. Like that portion of the
Texas Panhandle, the fields and pastures went on for miles with
only an occasional farmhouse or singlewide mobile home.
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We stopped for gas in Boise City and met a
trucker who also owns a 1915 Model T. He warned us about
road construction ahead and also recommended an alternate road
to Pueblo, Colorado. It was “8 miles of good dirt
road”, he said. So, we took it. Trusting,
aren’t we?
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All you ever hear about Colorado is about
the mountains. But Eastern Colorado is flat as a pancake.
The dirt road went on as straight as a ruler for about
18-20 miles (see “8 miles” above) before it ever
connected with the paved road. This is truly isolated
country and is home to the Comanche National Grasslands,
thousands of acres of grassy fields and hardly any people.
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When we finally went north toward La Junta,
the landscape became much more rugged. The ranches were
huge, rocky and covered with cactus and, frequently, cattle.
Most had large hand-painted signs in front identifying
that “this land is not for sale to the Army”.
One even claimed that “this land belongs to a U.S.
Marine and is not for sale to the Army”. We were at
the end of Pinion Canyon, the site of a large Army Training
Center that wants to expand into Southeastern Colorado. I
read later in the paper that the State Senator is promoting it
but the local residents aren’t selling.
After a late lunch in La Junta, we drove on
towards Pueblo and Canon City, southwest of Colorado Springs.
Canon City is the location of Royal Gorge, an amazingly
steep and narrow river gorge which is great for rafting.
It is also just outside the entrance to the Phantom
Canyon Road, the path through the mountains and the old mining
town of Cripple Creek
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that we plan to drive tomorrow. As we
approached Pueblo, the sky got darker and more threatening.
We stopped and put on raingear but none of us have side
windows and Martin doesn’t even have a top on his car.
The wind was worse than the rain and Bruce and Barbara
had to hold on to the roof of their car in fear of it blowing
off like an inverted umbrella.
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We had all gotten separated because of the
storm and, when we came into Pueblo we were faced with suddenly
having to get onto I-25. Highway 50 took a short jog on
the interstate and we weren’t prepared for it.
Both the Lillekers and the Hardemans missed the exit and had to
turn back to get back on Highway 50 again. Martin passed
under the interstate and found himself in town.
Fortunately, he found a very curious trooper who directed
him back to Highway 50. Eventually, we all made it to
Canon City and the Best Western where we are spending the
night.
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After dinner, Bruce, Barbara went for an
evening jaunt on the famous Skyline Drive, a narrow one-lane
road around the edge of the canyon. It is a pretty
spectacular drive and Bruce said it was even more dramatic than
he remembered from a previous visit here a few years ago.
The Skyline Drive in Canon
City. See where it looks like the road falls away into
nothing?
It looks that way in person, too.
Once again, we are reminded of how
disappointing it is that Auston and Nicky aren’t here.
Skyline Drive and Phantom Canyon Road are two of the
places that Bruce especially wanted his friends to see.
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And speaking of those in our group who had
to turn back, Ross, Luke, Nicky and Auston are on the road
again tonight. Hopefully, they will catch up with us
tomorrow night in Idaho Springs, Colorado, at the base of Mount
Evans. They are now a group of six (having added
Luke’s brother Jeff Cordes and Ross’s friend Blake
Williams) and are pulling a triple-car trailer with three Model
T’s.
It has been a good day. The cars have
run well with only minor problems (all fixable in the motel
parking lot tonight). We made it through the rain and
wind and a short stint on I-25, and even added a side trip to
Skyline Drive. Pretty fun stuff on another 300-mile day.
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