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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Posting of Saturdays’s web report
was delayed because our Saturday evening Motel advertized
wireless internet access but did not provide the same. In
fact we had none at all.
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We had driven hard for three days so we
could get to today - the drive up Phantom Canyhon Road.
Ben, Bruce and Barbara had been here two years ago on
their way to the MTFCA National Tour that wsas held in Estes
Park and they wound up driving this road in the late afternoon.
That wouldn’t have been too bad but the rest of the
drive (to Idaho Springs) was in the dark and rain and involved
a long stretch of I-70 without headlights. We wanted to
avoid repeating that adventure. The morning was beautiful
and clear and we were on the road by 7:15AM.
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If you have never driven Phantom Canyon
Road, put it on your list of places to go. It is
beautiful, challenging, and a little scary. You
can’t drive a motor home or RV up the road but we had no
problems in the Model T. There were more tent campers
along the way than I would have expected in such isolated
country and they were delighted to see us. There was very
little other traffic so we could drive at our own speed without
holding others up. The views were spectacular, both from
the canyon floor and from the ridges. Wildflowers were in
bloom, the creeks were inviting. Want to go? The
road begins just east of Canon City and ends in Victor, an old
mining town.
By the way, I took over 100 photos today
and Ben wouldn’t let me use them all. So here is
just a smidgen of what we saw today.
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It is hard to photograph a 360 degree view
- everything you see is worthy of a picture. Here we are
stopped at a beautiful spot where we were completely surrounded
by rocky outcroppings. Ben climbed up one of them to take
this picture of the three T’s while we were still on the
canyon floor.
In case you don’t know us, this is
Ben, me, and Marian Rose.
Just around the corner from the last
picture was a tunnel blasted through the rock. The walls
and ceiling are rock, no steel, no supports of any kind.
Just rock. Very cool. Of course we all honked
our horns! What else would you do in a tunnel?
The road through Phantom Canyon was
originally built as a railroad to transport supplies up to the
mines in Victor and the gold back to the city. It was a
massive effort but the trains only ran for 12 years. Now
it is state and local parkland.
At the beginning of the canyon, we were on
the floor looking up at the mountains. Before too long,
we were climbing up into them. It isn’t just a
matter of going up and coming down the other side. You
drive up really high, then you come down some. Then you
climb up even higher, then you come down again. Over and
over, it is a test of both driver and car. Someone asked
me today if the cars could drive over the mountains. I
told him they could climb up pretty much any road but they do
it really slowly.
Ben found a road down to the creek and
wanted to check it out. You will notice that I am not in
the car!
I have to admit that he didn’t really
go down it after all but I do believe he thought about trying
it.
The roadway was filled with wildflowers:
it is hard to imagine something so delicate growing in
such a rugged place. Both in Phantom Canyon and along the
other mountain roads we traveled, flowers were blooming
everywhere.
From Victor, we drove through Cripple Creek
and then up the backside of Pike’s Peak toward Idaho
Falls. Now, if you were driving a modern car, you would
take the highways and get there in a few hours of
air-conditioned comfort. However, in a Model T, you take
the back roads and travel through the mountains the long way.
While it had been a lovely, cool morning, it turned into
a very hot afternoon. We stopped in Dexter for a lunch of
microwaved cheeseburgers (we only eat at the finest of roadside
diners).
We arrived in Idaho Springs around 5:00PM,
much earlier than we got in the previous three days.
However, with the heat, a few busy highways, and three
miles on I-70, it felt like a very long day to me. We
checked in just about 90 minutes before Ross, Luke, Austen and
Nicky arrived with three Model T’s and two extra people.
Blake Williams is our friend from Bryan and, while he
owns a Model A, he is a good driver and mechanic on Model
T’s.
The other new person is Jeff Cordes,
Luke’s brother. Jeff and Luke grew up in Model
T’s. Their parents are Willie and Gay Nell Cordes
who brought the boys to Model T tours when they were still
babies.
Also returning to the trip were Bailey and
Emma, Ross’s dogs. His wife (and our daugther) Jennifer
will be flying in tomorrow. Jennifer and our other
daughter Ginger both drove Model T’s before they could
drive a modern car. So for those who fear that the Model
T hobby will disappear, we urge you to get to know our young
people who love these cars.
On the road out of Cripple Creek this
afternoon, I looked back to be sure the other two cars were
still following and saw this beautiful view of Pike’s
Peak. Usually, you see the front side from Colorado
Springs but it is equally beautiful from the back.
We plan to drive up Mount Evans in the
morning, the highest point you can drive a car in the United
States. Then we head out for the Mohigans tour and
Loveland, Colorado.
Late afternoon arrival of the group from
Texas, just before unloading the trailer. Front row, left
to right: Bruce Lilleker, Ross Lilleker, Emma, Luke
Cordes, Martin Thomen, Blake Williams. On the trailer:
Jeff Cordes, Austen Bromley.
The cars include the green roadster
belonging to the Cordes brothers, our 1927 Fordor, and the
newly repaired 1915 Touring driven by Austen.
Thanks to all of you who expressed concern
about Luke and Ross. Here they are, bruised and still
sore but still smiling. The patch on Ross’s eye is
from an earlier eye injury, not the accident on Wednesday.
