Saturday, June 5, 2004
It was not a very good day when we started at 5:00 am. As soon as we cleared our driveway in Texas, down came the rain! The hours of detail work on the Jag went down the drain the first mile. Finally stopped at a 7-11 in Allen, TX on the pretext of getting gas (we did need some) however, we mostly just wanted to sit under the canopy until the rain let up. Thirty minutes later the rain slowed somewhat and we proceeded to Denton. It was a cool, comfortable ride to Wichita Falls. The car is running great and we have had no problems. We were stopped in Clarendon when a fellow approached us asking about eh car. He owned a local drive-in theater and would have given us free entry to the drive-in movie ?Shrek II? if we would just park the Jag there during the movie. Such a deal. By the time we reached Amarillo the weather was clean and hot. We are averaging 18 mpg on gas consumption but we get several gallons of gas and add 1 quart of oil. The newly rebuilt engine is not completely broken in yet. We called it quits for the day in Tucumcari, NM the first night. Arrived around 3:30 pm Texas time. The once pristine Jag is in need of a good bath. We?re holed up at a Howard Johnson right off I-40 (aka old Route 66). When we filled up at the Texaco in Tucumcari, NM a mechanic there very seriously tried to trade us his new Mustang for the Jag. He had title & keys ready but we had to decline. At the convenience store a man in his 30s asked what kind of car we were driving. Said he had never seen one like that.
Sunday, June 6
Neither of us got a good night?s sleep because we took turns getting up and checking out the window to be sure the Jag was still there. In addition to our nervousness about losing the Jag, the weather turned very stormy and a chance of hail was predicted. Fortunately the Jag didn?t disappear and the thunderstorm passed North of us. We headed for Albuquerque, NM at 5:00 am. We drove through beautiful country on a very long, straight highway. We kicked the Jag up to 80 and settled in for a fun ride. Heavy truck traffic was the only interruption to an otherwise relaxing drive. We passed through several Indian reservations and their gambling casinos. We took Route 66 through Albuquerque and found a 50s diner where we took pictures of it with the Jag in front. Later we drove to the Petroglyph National Monument park. where the ancient Indians illustrated the volcanic rocks with drawings. After viewing some of the Petroglphs we drove on to Santa Rosa, NM and stopped at the ?Silver Swan? (opened in 1959?. same year our Jag was sold new) for breakfast. After breakfast we drove a few blocks down the street and took a picture of the Jag in front of an antique car museum. It was still early and the museum wasn?t open. We drove on to Gallup, NM where we stopped for the night. It was time to clean up the Jag again and find a good Mexican restaurant. We did both and as we were leaving the restaurant a member of the local Indian organization gave us a flyer announcing a free Indian dance ceremony at the old train station by the Acuna tribe. They are one of the tribes that live on top of the mesa. We filled up with gas and checked the oil level in the Jag (By this time the engine had nearly stopped using oil) and attended the dance ceremony.
Monday, June 7
We left Gallup so early we couldn?t find any place open for breakfast so we drove until we found a lone caf? along the highway and finally had a good breakfast. By this time the Jag steering had developed an irritating vibration. I had purchased new 15? Dayton wheels and Coker Classic tires with white sidewalls before we left. I wanted the white sidewall look and had hoped the Cokers would serve for the road. Unfortunately they simply aren?t round enough for high speed driving and continued the irritating vibration throughout the trip. (As soon as we returned home I pulled them off and purchased a good set of Michelin black wall tires.) We continued on our way and took a side trip through the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest. As we drove slowly through the Petrified Forest we were just coming up to a high sharp ridge right by the road. As we approached the ridge we noticed an antelope walking up the very crest of the ridge toward us. We stopped directly opposite the ridge and I was able to get out of the car, walk out into the desert and take a picture of the car and the antelope still standing on the ridge above the car. As we drove away he continued to stand on the ridge as another car was coming toward us. Hopefully they got a great picture also before he moved away. After leaving the Petrified Forest we stopped at Meteor Crater, then drove on to Flagstaff, AZ where we had lunch at the Salsa Brava Mexican restaurant. After lunch we put the top down and made our way down the winding highway through Oak Creek Canyon toward Sedona. We exchanged waves and honks with a string of Corvettes going from Sedona to Flagstaff. We spent a week in Sedona with friends that live there.
Tuesday, June 8
During the week we were in Sedona we took the Jag to a shop in Camp Verde to have the steering checked. I knew the rack & pinion was worn and had adjusted it as much as I could before we left for the trip. As is often the case, it was worn in the middle but pretty good on the ends. I could only adjust it enough to take a little slack out of the middle without making it too tight for turning at the outer ends. After the shop confirmed my suspicions I ordered over night delivery of a rebuilt rack & pinion assembly (through outer ball joints) and swapped the old one out with the rebuilt one while at our friends house in Sedona. This improved the handling but of course didn?t solve the tire bounce problem.
Wednesday, June 9
We had a relaxing day with our friends in Sedona.
Thursday, June 10
We went with our Sedona friends to visit the 13000 sf woodcraft style ?Riordan House? built in Flagstaff in the early 1900s, then on to Walnut Canyon just East of Flagstaff for a picnic lunch and a view of the canyon. In the evening we all went to a great Mexican restaurant in Clarksdale?.. Definitely worth the drive.
Friday, June 11
We inspected some duplex lots we?re interested in at the VOC (Village of Oak Creek) just South of Sedona and Pat cooked a super rib dinner for all of us in the evening.
Saturday, June 12
We left Sedona early, drove to Flagstaff and on to the Grand Canyon. We took the Western bus ride, and then drove to some spots along the Eastern viewing area where we could take pictures of the Jag with the Grand Canyon in the background. After leaving the Grand Canyon we filled up with gas at an Exxon station south of the Grand Canyon not far from Williams, AZ. We purchased the top grade of gas but it was certainly not as good as it should have been. The Jag developed a severe spark knock and dieseling problem that persisted until we had burned most of the tank and filled with good gas and Octane booster. We spent the night in Laughlin, NV and left a little money in the casino for ?safe-keeping???
Sunday, June 13
We started early and crossed the Mojave before it got too hot. The airflow through the car at 80 mph with the back window open and Pat?s little battery powered fan on a water bottle kept us comfortable from the heat. We hadn?t been through that area for many years and were quite surprised at the number of large wind generators that extend along the mountain top as far as you can see in both directions near Mojave. This is certainly not an area where you want to have to stop for any reason. There is nothing but desert and heat for hundreds of miles and nearly 4 hours of driving. We had prepared with extra water, fan belt and food and had carefully checked all fluid levels in the Jag before leaving and fortunately had no problems. As we turned off the highway at Bakersfield to find a motel, we heard a squeak coming from the front wheels. We suspected wheel bearings and had that confirmed the next morning. I had cleaned, inspected and re-greased them before the trip but apparently they had more wear than I thought.
Monday, June 14
We found a garage just two blocks from our motel and had the wheel bearings replaced. Fortunately the bearings are a common type and can easily be matched by the numbers on the side of the bearings. After the bearings were installed we drove on to Atwater, CA where we spent a week visiting with my sister and brother-in-law.
Tuesday, June 15-Friday, June 18
We enjoyed our relaxing visit and all took a trip to the little old town of ?Hornitos? East of Merced, CA. A Spanish lady owns one of the two saloons in town and has been there since 1948. Her father left the saloon to her when he died. There are stories of another saloon that had and underground tunnel when beer kegs were rolled from the brewery to the saloon. The Mexican bandit Joquin Murietta escaped through the tunnel when the Federalies came for him. The tunnel has now been completely filled in after is started caving in. We also viewed a huge old gold dredger from the road near Hornitos. Signs on the gate indicated visitors were not welcome to walk to it but we read on the sign that it dredged a ditch 70? deep to search for gold. Friday we took the Jag to a garage where we had the tires balanced on the car. I wanted to be sure any hubs that might add to the out of balance feeling would be included in the balancing act. It helped for about two hundred miles of driving after that but then the vibration gradually became worse as the lopsided tires performed their irritating dance.
Saturday, June 19
Drove to Pat?s cousin?s house near Grass Valley, CA. There home is in the area where people spend the weekends panning for gold. Beautiful little winding roads and single lane bridges over beautiful streams where the ?gold miners? are searching for those big nuggets.
Sunday, June 20
Pat?s cousin fixed a big farmers breakfast, then we started back to Atwater for the remains of our visit and washing clothes for the return trip home.
Monday, June 21
We started on the return trip at 7:00 am. We check fluid levels, extra water, etc. in Barstow, CA, then cruised across the Mojave at 80 mph with battery fan/water bottle mist and hot air flowing through the Jag. We got a room at the Flamingo in Laughlin for $21.00. Couldn?t pass up the opportunity to check on the money we left on the previous stop?.. And left a little more for next time.
Tuesday, June 22
Left Laughlin at 9:00 am and traveled to Topock, AZ for a brief visit with Pat?s uncle, then on to Flagstaff where we spent the night.
Wednesday, June 23
Headed out early for Albuquerque. While at our hotel there we noticed a beautiful 1940 Packard. The owner and his wife were on their way to a hot rod meet.
Thursday, June 24
Left Albuquerque early for Santa Fe in hopes of beating the heavy traffic but no luck. The traffic was very heavy in Albuquerque and all the way to Santa Fe. We drove along the Santa Fe Trail for a while then visited the museum area but too early to go in. Pat shopped in the old part of town and we had a nice lunch near the oldest church (San Miguel) and oldest house in the US, then we left for Amarillo. The weather forecast in Amarillo was for thunderstorms and possibly hail. I drove the Jag up on the sidewalk under the balcony as far as I could get it and fortunately there was only rain.
Friday, June 25, 2004
The next morning we started the last leg back to Dallas. We ran into three strong thunderstorms and the rain-x made it possible to continue driving. The wipers work but the ?park? position decided to stop working the day we were to leave. I unplugged the hot wire to keep them from running all the time and could have plugged them back in if necessary. We arrived home safely in mid-afternoon.
It was an unforgettable trip and we plan to make additional trips in future years. It was interesting to note that we had to retard the distributor and increase idle speed as we went up in elevation, then reverse the process as we returned to near sea level.