Update Day 12 – Colorado Springs to Trinidad, Colorado: After the previous day’s unsuccessful ascent of Pikes Peak, the team figured the T could use a thorough once-over before heading out. After replacing a fuel line and attending to the right-rear wheel, the guys set out for Trinidad, Colorado. After a few routing mishaps that required actual paper maps and the help of a couple of locals to rectify, the team continued on via winding gravel roads. Here they began to get their first real taste of wildlife, spotting mule deer, antelope, red-tail hawks, owls, and a host of other animals, including a group of half a dozen or more antelope that ran alongside the T for several hundred yards. Later they would pass through the remains of Shady Greenhorn.
Keen to keep to back roads and two-tracks, the team found a route that would take them through Ideal Canyon, immersing them in thick pine forests and across dried riverbeds, reaching Trinidad, Colorado, by sundown.
Update Day 13 – Trinidad, Colorado to Las Vegas, New Mexico: Although the day started under friendly skies and with cooler temperatures, the weather would soon take a turn for the worse and all three of the team’s vehicles would end up mired in mud. Traveling on gravel and dirt two-tracks, the beautiful scenery served as the sole bright spot in an otherwise dreary day.
After having suffered through what appeared to be the worst road conditions yet, the team encountered a locked gate making forward progress impossible. Due to the muddy conditions and the narrow two-track, turning the truck and trailer around was deemed impossible, and the Model T took off to find help in one of the many farmhouses they’d passed earlier in the day. After waiting for almost two hours, the folks in the F-150 took to the wet, soggy ground in the adjacent fields and managed to turn the truck around. By then the team received word from some locals that there really was no good way to continue, and that the best way to reach Las Vegas, New Mexico, was to return to the interstate. Somewhat dejectedly, but knowing when to admit defeat, the guys loaded the T—which has a top speed of about 40 mph—into the trailer and headed for Las Vegas, arriving at the historic Plaza Hotel around 9 p.m.
Built in 1882, the Plaza has seen its fair share of history through the years, housing everyone from Doc Holliday, Jesse James, and Billy the Kid to modern celebrities filming countless movies in the surrounding area.
Update Day 14 – Las Vegas, New Mexico to Santa Fe, New Mexico: Leaving from the Plaza Hotel with the Model T again out of the trailer, the team made the short drive over to the Castaneda Hotel, where they were met by one of its current co-owners, Dan Lutzick. A former Harvey House, the Castaneda Hotel is one of the 900-plus historic buildings in Las Vegas that are on the National Register of Historic Places. Standing adjacent to the equally historic train station, it served as the starting point for tourism in the Southwest. Among those who stayed at the Castaneda Hotel over the years were former president Teddy Roosevelt, heavyweight champion Jack Johnson, and, in 1915, Edsel Ford.
Leaving the truck and trailer at the base of a county road just outside of Santa Fe, the T and the Mustang ventured into the Santa Fe National Forest. At the entrance, a park ranger stopped to take a quick photo and indicated that the road ahead might be a bit dicey due to recent rains. Undeterred, the team forged ahead over a small hill and into the forest.
After a day of tackling muddy trails that would give even seasoned travelers second thoughts, the team unanimously concluded that the Model T is easily the most versatile two-wheel-drive, commercially available vehicle ever produced. Assessing the collateral damage at the end of the day revealed only a broken latch strap for the roof, the result of a bit too much body flexing.
Update Day 15 – Santa Fe, New Mexico to Albuquerque, New Mexico: Compared to the previous three days of capturing the spirit of Edsel’s trip on back roads fraught with obstacles, day fifteen was a peaceful jog. Leaving Santa Fe at 8 a.m., the guys headed toward Albuquerque, where they would rendezvous with the Tin Lizzies, a local Model T club.
After introductions were made and the cars were topped off with fuel, the entourage departed for Albuquerque. Model T speedsters, touring cars, and even a truck joined the procession, slowly but surely making its way through traffic and into the center of the city where it was scheduled to meet with several local news stations at 12:30 p.m.
After spending the afternoon with the Tin Lizzies and giving the cross-country T a thorough once-over at the shop of club member Larry Azevedo, the team bid adieu to their new friends. Later, they found the battery had become weak; although the car was still able to drive, its lights were no longer operational. To continue, one of the guys held up a flashlight over the hood, weakly lighting the way and, at the very least, confirming their presence on the road. Holding their breath as they passed a cop, the travelers were relieved to find that he simply looked the other way as they passed.
Update Day 16 – Albuquerque, New Mexico to Holbrook, Arizona: During the morning pre-drive inspection, the team discovered that the trailer hitch and stabilizer bars on the F-150 had been damaged, most likely during one of the previous days’ impromptu off-road sessions in the Colorado mud. While repairs were being made, a few of the guys made their way to the Unser Racing Museum to pass the time.
Once back on the road, the guys piloted a course through the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest National Park, as did Edsel back in 1915. Following the original Route 66 as closely as possible, the team happened upon the shell of an old Studebaker, where they paused to take the obligatory photograph.
To keep the authentic Route 66 vibe intact, the team booked a few rooms at the iconic Wigwam Motel Village #6. Constructed by Chester Lewis in 1950, the steel and cement wigwams stand some 32 feet high and feature the original, restored handcrafted wood furniture from the 1950s. Closed in the late 1970s (although a gas station on the premises remained in operation), the property was purchased and reopened by Mr. Lewis’s wife and adult children in 1988. In May of 2002, the Wigwam Village #6 was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Update Day 17 – Holbrook, Arizona to Sedona, Arizona
After spending the night at the kitch-tastic Wigwam Motel, the team plotted a course for Sedona, Arizona, with a lunch stop scheduled for Winslow, Arizona.
While the guys made no mention of it in their dispatch, we assume at one point or another they stood on a corner, thereby fulfilling their official tourist duty by paying tribute to Jackson Browne and Glenn Frey. Leaving Winslow, the Mustang went for the interstate, while the T returned to the dirt two-tracks in the desert. Keeping the tourist vibe intact, they agreed to rendezvous later at a giant meteor site in the desert.
First brought to the attention of scientists in the 19th century, the Meteor Crater was originally thought to be the remains of an ancient volcano, but further study proved it to be the result of a giant meteor strike on the Earth some 50,000 years ago. The resulting impact left a hole more than 550 feet deep, nearly one mile across, and 2.4 miles in circumference.
As the light faded, heavy rains and lightning moved in, and the decision was made to put the T in the trailer for the remaining miles to Sedona.
Update Day 18 – Sedona, Arizona to Grand Canyon
In 1915, Edsel Ford and company spent several days at the Grand Canyon, hiking down to the canyon floor, visiting with the famous Kolb brothers at their photography studio, and generally behaving just as tourists of the day would have. You can bet the 21st-century guys did the same, even visiting the famous Kolb brothers photo studio and museum.
After touring the park, a few members of the team checked into the historic El Tovar hotel, where they watched the sunset from the balcony, putting an end to another amazing day.
Update Day 24 – Grand Canyon to ???
Recognized as one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World, the Grand Canyon has a footprint so large and beauty so vast that it takes some time to fully experience it. So when the T team went incommunicado after day 18, we figured they were just getting their collective tourist on, taking some time to savor the Arizona environs at a reduced pace. But two days without a dispatch turned into three, and then three to four; when they finally did check in with C/D, it was by means of photography only, a few of which were tagged with geographical details.
To get a bead on where our intrepid travelers might be, we’ve attempted to retrace their steps using only the photographs. First up is the Hotel Brunswick, which is located in Kingman, Arizona, west of the Grand Canyon.
Farther west, they decided to cross the Mojave Desert via dirt roads and two-tracks.
Looks like they made it through the desert, as this shot was taken in Needles, California, which is about 150 miles east of Barstow.
This just in! The team made it to the Pacific coast.
At some point, the HVA team arrived in Carmel, California, as evidenced by this shot in front of the Cypress Inn.
We’re sure they’ve got plenty of stories to tell, and we’ve asked our people on the ground in California for Monterey Car Week to keep an eye out for them. Stay tuned.
Update Day 30 – Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, Monterey, California
After following this journey online for the last 30 days, C/D’s Joe Lorio managed to get up close and personal with the 1915 Model T and a few of the team members responsible for retracing Edsel Ford’s 1915 cross-country journey. The meeting took place at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, as the festivities of Monterey Car Week are the T’s penultimate stop before it presses on to its final destination: the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, site of the 1915 World’s Fair, which was the end point for Edsel and company.
The Model T was in the paddock at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, along with the 2015 Mustang convertible that has accompanied it on its journey. Neither looked like they’d had a bath since they’d left home. We also met two of the gentlemen undertaking the historic road trip: Casey Maxom and Mark Gessler. Maxom was the wheelman for the majority of the journey, and Gessler is the president of the Historic Vehicle Association, which is doing the trip.
Asked how it felt to be nearing the end, Maxom said, “I’m a little sad it’s almost over.” The high point? Going to the dry lake bed at El Mirage, California. The nadir of the trip, conversely, “was when we got robbed in Kingman, Arizona.” Their trailer was broken into and the team lost camera equipment and a generator, among other things.
In better news, the T suffered only one flat tire despite completing what Gessler estimated to be 60 to 70 percent of the trek on dirt roads. How fast did they drive? “We cruise at 35 mph,” said Maxom. Pointing first at the Model T and then at the Mustang, Gessler noted: “Top speed of 40, top speed of 140.” Ah, the march of progress.
Projected Itinerary:
