Chronicles – Day 7 thru Day 10 | From the desk of Rich Bassemir

A collection of videos and pictures to chronicle the recreation of this transcontinental road trip.

The following collection of pictures and videos from day 7 Garden City, Kansas through day 10 in Winslow Arizona.

November 25, 2016: We had a terrific day today. No mechanical problems, sunny weather and straight roads. We did 226 miles with the Maxwell going from Socorro, New Mexico to Springerville, Arizona, to the Petrified Forest before it got dark. We then loaded up the Maxwell and drove to Winslow, AZ for the evening.

Like grandpa says nothing but plains, mountains and woods. But all three of us were impressed with the landscape. We took many pictures but riding in an open car is the best way to take it all in. The mountains, rock formations and wide open land was fun to take in.

We had lunch in Springerville at a local place called Safire. Great Mexican food and friendly waitress.

Below are just a few of the pictures we took:

the rock formations and hills were scenic

passed through St Johns where grandpa had supper

great sunset as our evening ride finished

Again we overdosed on videos with over 40 showing the landscape but we managed to pick out a few short videos for your viewing if you are looking to kill some time:

Tomorrow we plan on visiting the Cliff Dwellings and Grand Canyon.

November 24, 2016: Happy Thanksgiving! Today was another test of our mechanic skills. It was a warmer and sunny morning 44 degrees and no breeze. When we came out to the truck we found the rear driver side tire was going flat. In addition, last night when we driving to Las Vegas the battery light was coming on indicating the alternator was going bad.

We got to a source of air for the tire and Doug pulled out a tire plug tool he had the foresight to buy at AutoZone. Smart thinking Doug. But after pulling out the screw the AutoZone tool broke! Frustrating but Doug was able to use a push drill to complete the patch. Next we headed to OReilly’s Auto Parts (open on Thanksgiving Day). The truck literally coasted into the OReilly’s parking lot. Watch the video below. We replaced the alternator there in their parking lot. A guy came by and gave us $40 for our Thanksgiving meal. It might have to do with the way we looked. Nice!!

It was close to 11 before we were back on the road with the Maxwell heading to Santa Fe, New Mexico. We got a couple of hours in before we found the bearings in our fan went bad. We were able to do a road side repair by using the bearings from the spare fan assembly that came off the spare engine. Glad we brought those spare parts.

We got back on the road around 3 pm and headed to Madrid, New Mexico. The Maxwell started running rough so Doug did a roadside cleaning of the carburetor and we replace one spark plug. The Maxwell ran better but we decided tomorrow we should clean all spark plugs in the morning. We also had to add oil to the transmission with 600W oil.

We stopped at Madrid for some photos (see below) and because it was getting dark we loaded the Maxwell on the trailer and headed to Socorro, NM after dinner at AppleBee’s in Albuquerque . Tomorrow our target is Flagstaff, Arizona.

A few pictures from today.

Maggie’s is now a store, not a dinner plus it was closed

Selected videos from today:

November 23, 2016: Happy birthday grandpa, it is CW Tuthill’s birthday today. He would have been 128. When we got up it was 35 degrees outside but we were blessed with another sunny morning. We wanted to stay off of US 400 because of the traffic and quickly found the original Santa Fe Trail. It was a blast to ride the dirt road just like CW Tuthill did 100 years ago. Some of our pictures are below.

We explored places along the trail like an Indian Mound and the railroad trestles.

Several miles into the trail the Maxwell stalled and we could not get it started. It puzzled us at first because when we disconnected the number 3 plug wire, the engine started and ran (on the other 3 cylinders). As soon as we connected that wire the engine would stop. It took us a while to figure out the inside the distributor the number 3 plug connection was shorting to the center post so the number 3 plug was the only plug firing. We cleaned the distributor cap and was on our way once again.

We made it to Lamar around 12:30 (after gaining an hour) and stopped for photos at the spot where the Savoy Hotel was located. We did some quick photos there and then went up to the Big Timber Museum to thank the folks there for their help in locating the location of the Savoy Hotel. We visited another junk yard in Lamar with some old cars, but bought nothing this time. We had lunch at BJ’s before heading out to Trinidad. By the time we got to Trinidad we had logged 170 miles and it was dark so we loaded up the Maxwell and drove to Las Vegas, New Mexico.

Photos from today

Again we took over 40 videos, here is just a sample.

November 22, 2016: We woke up to rain this morning but it stopped before we left. Thanks for the Maxwell cover mom, it kept the Maxwell dry. The temperature was 59, very nice compared to yesterday…. at least when we started.

We drove the Maxwell out Rt 50 from Newton towards Dodge City Kansas. The roads could be summed up in two words, flat and straight. We understand grandpa when he mentions driving through flat prairie land. A two lane road with cars and trucks doing 65 MPH and a stiff cross wind. But the temperature was pleasant. Trucks passing in the opposite lane created a powerful blast of wind that would move the Maxwell. Pretty exciting … no scary.

We had lunch about 35 miles east of Dodge City at a neat Country Kitchen with a number of cars which was a good sign of a good meal. Amble conversations with the patrons when they saw the car and we passed out more business cards. It was a good meal and when we left it was still warm and sunny. We figured it would be an easy 35 miles to Dodge City. Those next 35 miles got progressively colder.

By the time we got to Dodge City it was in the low 40’s. We went to the BootHill Museum and met the Dodge City Marshall, He told us a lot about the history of Dodge City. Check out some of the pictures below.

We did about 170 miles in the Maxwell before loading it back on the trailer in the early evening. We drove to Garden City and called it a night after a nice meal at a local steak house called Sammy’s. We hope to head out early tomorrow morning and get to Lamar around noon tomorrow. We are anxious to visit the site of the Savoy Hotel for a photo opportunity. Stay tuned …..

The hotel has internet connection issues so this update is coming to you from IHOP. Thanks IHOP!

Photos from today