Model A Touring Club members from all over the US and Canada congregated today (Sept. 24, 2019) in Milwaukee, WI, for the start of the Great Lakes Tour. This first day was relaxed and people who didn’t come in the night before gradually joined us. Check out the cars in the hotel parking lot: By … Continue reading IF IT’S TUESDAY, IT MUST BE MILWAUKEE
Sometimes getting to the start of a tour is almost as much fun as the actual tour. Here are shots from the Hulstroms and the Krills as they worked their way from California to Wisconsin: And here are shots from Padgett and Burbank, also working their way from California to Wisconsin: But the fun really … Continue reading WISCONSIN, HERE WE COME!
Like many of you, we have been looking forward to the Model A Touring Club's Great Lakes Tour. Club member Marcus Cunnick (along with wife Mary) has been preparing to lead this tour for over a year and it's about to become a reality. This is what we're looking forward to seeing: And, I'm sure … Continue reading GREAT LAKES, HERE WE COME!
But first, here are sights from yesterday’s drive from Oakhurst to Jackson, CA. Fremont’s Fort pictured above is a scenic lookout on Hwy. 49. General Fremont, a cohort of Lewis and Clark, was the founder of Mariposa, and had several gold mines in the area. Presumably, the Fort was built to protect his mines! In … Continue reading It’s a Wrap…
Our hotel on Sunday night was in Oakhust, CA. This was the southernmost point of the official tour and the last time almost everyone was together. Cars scattered in many directions today! Some seemed anxious to head home; the cars from the LA basin left the group in the morning and are already home. The “official” … Continue reading Heading Home (or ???)
Today is a driving day. The group travelled along the California “Golden Chain Highway” (aka Highway 49) from Sonora to Oakhurst. There were quite a few sights to see. First, leaving Sonora, Paul Hohman documented that even the “oldtimers” in Sonora have their phones in use! A main stop for most of the group was … Continue reading On The Road Again
Today the Model A tourists went down to the Station. That last one reminds me of “Petticoat Junction.” The group enjoyed a tour of Railtown 1897 (a state historic park in Jamestown, CA), which consists of the original depot, headquarters, and roundhouse of the Sierra Railway, built in 1897 to carry passengers, ore from mines, … Continue reading Down to the Station (early in the morning…)
Everywhere our cars go, crowds gather… Here is an example when we checked in at our hotel in Sonora, CA, on the 14th. Today is what could be called a “lazy” day (for a Model A tour, that is), in that there were no specific commitments until dinnertime. However, with so many interesting sights nearby, … Continue reading Twain Country…
The first stop today was Mokelumne Hill, CA. The town takes its name from the neighboring Mokelumne River, which in turn is Miwok for the "people of Mokel," the likely name of an Indian village in the area. The Hotel Léger is one of the oldest hotels still operating in California. George Léger, a Frenchman who came during the California Gold Rush, opened his Hotel de … Continue reading Today Included an Historic Bar and Monsterous Caverns
On September 13th the Model A tourists paid homage to some non-mining California history. First was the Chaw’se Indian Grinding Rock State Park and Museum in Pine Grove. The Krills explain the photo below. It’s “…a close-up look at the Soaproot plant the Miwok people used for soap, food, etc.” The word Miwok means people in their native language. … Continue reading From Miwok Culture to a Foundry to a Castle!
Model A Touring Club 