Friday, 06/20/03; Los Angeles, California
Back Where We Started From!
The words from the old song certainly fit here! We left Bakersfield at our regular time under clear skies that promised a warm day. We were glad that we would not be in the area to receive all the heat. The air was cool and as soon as we cleared Bakersfield work traffic, we found SR-58 to be a lightly traveled freeway.
The landscape was arid, brown grass and California Live Oak Trees with cattle grazing on the hillsides. Soon the small hills became steeper and we started our climb to the town of Tehachapi situated some 3900 feet high in mountains of the same name. The grades are less steep here than on the I-5 “Grapevine.” That is the reason that Dennis preferred this route with his ailing car. Dennis warmed the car for about an hour to be certain that it would be at proper operating temperatures for this last leg of our tour. He didn’t want to take any chances, if he could help it. As we left Tehachapi, we saw the formation of hundreds of electrical generating windmills lining the ridges. Most were slowly turning out power, while others, their propellers feathered were stationery.
California live oaks; Tehachapi windmills.
On a straightaway, we saw emergency vehicle activity ahead. When we got nearer, we saw that an 18-wheeler had turned over on its side. The winds were quite strong and since no other vehicles seemed to be involved, we surmise that the truck was turned over by a gust of wind. The wind gave us some problems in the Antelope Valley. They generally came from our right quarter and the head wind component slowed our ground speed considerably. Full power would only result in 50 MPH on the level! As we went through the underpasses and the wind was blocked, our cars would take a definite jump to the right!
This was all familiar territory to us and we enjoyed seeing it under the present circumstances. Soon we spied the Los Angeles County sign and we knew that our classic tour was about to end. We raced through Palmdale and began the climb out of the Antelope Valley. “June Gloom” was on the weather menu for the Los Angeles Basin and we could see clouds forming on the tops of the mountains. Soon we were speeding down the other side of the mountains nearing the Santa Clarita Valley where Joann and Keith make their home in Canyon Country. Keith had reached his son, Keith III, who would meet them near the Smith’s home for a final photo op. It wasn’t long before Dennis took the Soledad Canyon off ramp and pulled into the entry to the Smith’s tract. We lined up the cars and ourselves for the final pictures. It was over! We said our good byes to each other and the Olsons drove off to their home in the San Fernando Valley. Smiths went home and began unpacking – a chore they estimate will take a couple of days! Later they heard from the Olsons that they, too, had arrived safely at their doorstep. The grand “Model A’s Around the USA” was history!
Welcome home!
We will publish an epilog to summarize the tour statistics. The Smith’s odometer registered just under 13,000 miles for the 74-day tour. The Smiths and Olsons plan a meeting to discuss the tour and we will give you our impressions of it in the epilog, so visit the web site in a week or so, if you are interested in these final words.
Thank you, Pat, for all your work and your patience with all the goofs we have made in transmitting these words and pictures. Thanks, too, to all our readers for staying with us and for your kind words of encouragement. The tour and the reports have both been fun. You have been an incentive to maintain a running journal of the tour, which, we are certain, will be valued, by our families and us in the future. If you plan an extensive tour in your Model A, we can certainly give you some tips – dos as well as don’ts!
Our fondest regards to all of you,
The Dauntless Four
