MTFCA Forum

Hi all. I'm new here and am interested in hearing about the best trips you've taken in scenic areas of the United States.

My annual drive to Michigan for the Old Car Festival doesn't include the places we immediately consider scenic, like Tahoe or Monument Valley, but I enjoy the beauty of the Flint Hills, the rolling countryside of central Missouri, and the flat corn and soybean fields of eastern Illinois.




There are also historical places to visit, like Mr. Lincoln's home, the ACD museum in Indiana, the Piquette Avenue birthplace of the Model T, and the old state capitol in Springfield.

Like Steve, I live in a place where just about anywhere you point
your T is awesome roadtripping. I moved here on purpose, for just
this reason. For hundreds of miles in any direction, it is Model T
driving heaven.

I run in Idaho, Montana and a few miles in Wyoming. A very memorable trip was pulling the Beartooth Hwy out of Red Lodge MT. Another great run is Going To The Sun Road in Glacier Park. We also spend a great deal of our time on the dirt where you can really see the country.

Thanks guys, I love it. Any chance of more detailed route recommendations (in particular the dirt roads)?

Steve, we need to get you up into the northern part of lower Michigan, and the upper peninsula. It's a whole different world up here. I have driven two tours in the upper, and can say that it's fantastic for T driving.

Ed Baudoux wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 15, 2022 6:58 am

Steve, we need to get you up into the northern part of lower Michigan, and the upper peninsula. It's a whole different world up here. I have driven two tours in the upper, and can say that it's fantastic for T driving.

Gotta agree with ya there too Ed! I did the Michigan Jamboree up in "the thumb" 2 summers ago and it was drop dead gorgeous. Despite the "rivalry" (a.k.a. Ohio State-Michigan) I have to say Michigan is one of the most beautiful places to tour all around! I've been to the U.P. twice, in modern, would love to take the T up there, just a long haul to get it there is all. That said, basically I feel EVERY drive in the T is a "scenic" drive, and thank the good Lord for allowing me to enjoy it.

Every state has beautiful scenery, great Model T roads and interesting places to visit. The problem is, if you're not a "local" it may be difficult to know where they are. The great advantage of organized tours is you benefit from the knowledge of people who live in an area.... they know the roads and attractions and do so much of the groundwork. You also have safety in numbers by traveling with a group.

If you haven't joined your local club, do so. Read the magazine and don't be afraid to sign up for tours that interest you, no matter where they are. Don't be shy, the folks you'll meet on tour aren't strangers, just friends you haven't met yet.

Tim, thanks for your nice comment on the 2021 Michigan Jamboree. I'm glad you had a good time. I also agree with Ed that northern Michigan has some of the most beautiful scenery and Model T roads to be found.... of course I'm biased, having lived in Michigan my entire life

Oldav8tor wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 15, 2022 11:37 am

Every state has beautiful scenery, great Model T roads and interesting places to visit. The problem is, if you're not a "local" it may be difficult to know where they are. The great advantage of organized tours is you benefit from the knowledge of people who live in an area.... they know the roads and attractions and do so much of the groundwork. You also have safety in numbers by traveling with a group.

Tim has abundantly proved this with the first tour he planned for the Casual T's chapter, MTFCI. A wonderful Fall Tour on roads that our chapter has never travelled over before. Awesome scenery, and very near to being in "our own backyard" all the while.

The Natchez Trace...Nearly 400 miles, mostly flat, with no traffic lights, and virtually no traffic.

Any chance of more detailed route recommendations (in particular the dirt roads)?

One of my off-season projects is making an atlas on flash drive to take along when I go Model T traveling. The backbone of the thing is county road maps. Many states have them in downloadable PDF's on their DOT websites. Unlike state tourist maps, the county maps show all the roads. The published atlases don't show all the roads (Rand McNally) or don't identify the minor roads (Delorme). Unfortunately some states don't provide these maps. For those I'll have to resort to satellite view or some other alternative.

Here's part of Wisconsin's Dodge County map.

This part of the Chautauqua County Kansas map shows the route I take by way of Cedarvale and Elgin to stay off the high speed US 166.

We live close enough to Yellowstone and Jackson Hole to go there frequently. We did venture to Glacier for a MTFCA Tour, and it was marvelous. The parks are so wonderful, but traffic is a challenge.

Nothing beats Yosemite National Park. Love the Park and love the drive to and from, all back roads.

My last trip I went from Milwaukee to Louisville to Detroit to Milwaukee. I woukd look at the route in the morning so I sort of knew the highways and towns. Then I put the GPS on bicycle mode. I ended up on a lot of country roads and through small towns. Only problem is where there are bike trails. Turn off GPS and drive on your own for a bit. You see some nice scenery that way.

Washington State is great touring country from the Canadian border near Bellingham down the scenic Puget Sound coast to Edmonds, then take a ferry to the Hood Canal area and drive to La Push the western most point in the US. Then turn south a meander on slow roads and minimal traffic along the Pacific Ocean coast to the Washington Oregon border. Cross the mighty Columbia River (4+ mile long bridge) and slowly down US 101 all along the magnificent and rugged Oregon coastline. If you care to continue down the California coastline slowly to historic Fort Bragg.

Washington State route would cover just shy of 500 miles, Oregon would add another 400 (+ - ) California would add another 350 miles. Incredible sights and ocean views. Lots of B&B's secluded hide a ways. Best to travel during the weeks, off season before and after school vacations.

In Eastern Washington hundreds of miles of 2 lane traffic free paved and non paved roads. Long warm days. The only traffic you will have to deal with are those pesky John Deere's!! Reasonably priced accommodations. We have toured this part of the state in our 1 cylinder 1905 Cadillac and our 1909 2 cylinder Reo on several different tours even found creeks to fjord stayed in a 1906 hotel.

frontyboy

...drive to La Push the western most point in the US.

That would be westernmost in the lower 48. Two other states are farther west.

Thank you - this is exactly what I was looking for.

I feel someone should compile an almanac of Model-T friendly drives throughout the United States. That would be a very neat book.

frontyboy wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 15, 2022 10:52 pm

Washington State is great touring country from the Canadian border near Bellingham down the scenic Puget Sound coast to Edmonds, then take a ferry to the Hood Canal area and drive to La Push the western most point in the US. Then turn south a meander on slow roads and minimal traffic along the Pacific Ocean coast to the Washington Oregon border. Cross the mighty Columbia River (4+ mile long bridge) and slowly down US 101 all along the magnificent and rugged Oregon coastline. If you care to continue down the California coastline slowly to historic Fort Bragg.

Washington State route would cover just shy of 500 miles, Oregon would add another 400 (+ - ) California would add another 350 miles. Incredible sights and ocean views. Lots of B&B's secluded hide a ways. Best to travel during the weeks, off season before and after school vacations.

In Eastern Washington hundreds of miles of 2 lane traffic free paved and non paved roads. Long warm days. The only traffic you will have to deal with are those pesky John Deere's!! Reasonably priced accommodations. We have toured this part of the state in our 1 cylinder 1905 Cadillac and our 1909 2 cylinder Reo on several different tours even found creeks to fjord stayed in a 1906 hotel.

frontyboy

I feel someone should compile an almanac of Model-T friendly drives throughout the United States. That would be a very neat book.

It would, but I think it would be too huge to be practical for traveling, and prohibitively expensive.

Daytona ,FL to St Augustine, FL on A1A

Hurricane Ridge, WA.
From Port Angeles, WA (sea level) it's 17.9 miles uphill to the summit 5,242 feet.
Endless switchbacks and blind curves.
The ride down is even more fun.
 

Beautiful ride up the Clarion River from Cooksburg, Pa to Ridgway Pa. through Cook Forest State Park. The road is pretty level but rather narrow and the speed limit it 25 -35 mph, much of it newly paved. Access to Cook Forest is 30 minutes north of I-80 from Clarion exit. Ice cream available at the Cook Forest end and some decent dinner options in Ridgway. Not a long ride but a beautiful nice easy one.

The Ozarks of northern Arkansas and southern Missouri are a fun place to tour. Our roads are "interesting," with lots of hills and turns. Folks from nearby flat areas (Kansas, Gulf Coast) love joining the Arkansas Tin Lizzies on our club tours. The Natchez Trace is boring to me (no offense, Bill).

Every state has beautiful scenery, great Model T roads and interesting places to visit.

That made me wonder: What about the littlest state? A bit of exploring via Google confirms it. Even tiny Rhode Island has a lot of pleasant rural roads.

Savannah, GA is nice area to tour in a T Driving out to Tybee Island offers two Civil War forts to explore along with a lighthouse We visited the Gulfstream business Jet factory along with the 8th Air Force Museum Forest Gump was seen downtown by the park where the movie was filmed Just south is Richman Hill where we visited Henry Ford's plantation and was able to visit his home Henry left Fort Myers to spend the final days of his life on this plantation covering 70 sections Directly north of town across the river is the Savannah Wildlife Refuge Nearby is Hilton Head, South Carolina

Kanab, Utah is another great place to tour from. Bryce Canyon is just gorgeous to drive thru. Many westerns have been filmed in the area Another day; we drove down to the north rim of the Grand Canyon. Kanab only had one stoplight Another day was spent driving thru Zion national park, visiting Coral Sands Park and Colorado City, AZ where some homes there had multiple front doors and Wifes behind them we were told Roads were great with light traffic

The 40 mi open range...

That's why it's best not to drive at night in northern Mexico. Lots of open range in Chihuahua and Sonora.

From Galax, VA over the mountain via a gravel road to Mt Airey, NC

"That's why it's best not to drive at night in northern Mexico. Lots of open range in Chihuahua and Sonora."

Is that a mild-mannered nannygoat in the middle of the road, or is it ... EL CHUPACABRE ????

Really appreciate all of your thoughts and advice. Great inspiration!

Tennessee is a great state to drive your T in I've been to Kingsport where an old carousel has been restored Bristol racetrack Pall Mall where Alvin York hailed from and Falls Creek State Park, I also went to Elizabethton where a First Class auto restoration business is He is a master craftsman in all areas of restoration Enjoyed Rogersville where Davy Crockett homestead/farm was visited Because my family came from there and I wondered if they knew them Chatanooga has a lot to see too with train museum old railroad station and the Chickamauga Civil War battlefield Lookout Mountain Tram is another interesting thing to see where a few hundred held off thousands in the Civil War I also visited Mr. Coker's farm and car collection He had bought my friends Winton Downtown is the Coker tire shop and next door is where they make wooden wheels for old cars Corky Coker also has a museum of his cars and antique motorcycles What a beautiful state to tour in your T

Unfortunately, the roads here in sunny SW Florida (not today) are flat, straight, and posted at 45 or 50 mph. That means that traffic normally flows at 50+. This is not a safe condition for 35 mph Model Ts. I have found that I rarely drive my T anymore, simply because driving it is Russian Roulette; despite the magnetic flashing bright red lights that I attach to the rear of the body, sooner or later I will be rear-ended big time. I absolutely love my T Touring car, but I am leaning towards selling it. If I'm going to be driving a vintage car, it really needs to be able to cruise in the 50 mph range. 35 was fine in New England, but not here.

Bill Everett wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 15, 2022 12:05 pm

The Natchez Trace...Nearly 400 miles, mostly flat, with no traffic lights, and virtually no traffic.

There is a good article in the latest issue of Hagerty,s e-newsletter about driving a vintage Heinkel micro car on the Natchez Trace Parkway. It sounds pretty ideal for a model T tour.

A T can be made reliable at 50 MPH if you cared to go that fast in one. A Model A would be a better choice. A Model A roadster with a Burtz engine and radial tires would be ideal.

A T can be made reliable at 50 MPH if you cared to go that fast in one.

Yes, I once got my 1915 runabout up to 50 mph briefly, just to see if I could. But I cruise under 40. I believe habitually driving over 40 mph will significantly shorten the time between rebuilds. Some are more conservative, and observe a 35 mph limit. I always say if you want to go fast get a Packard.

Florida is another great place to tour on its backroads. Some areas traffic is busy, so we just pull off the road and let them pass
Tallahassee has a very nice car museum to visit Later we drove south seeing a Civil War battlefield and on to St Mary's wildlife refuge and lighthouse. Ocala is horse country with many training facilities for both race and show horses The new 500-million-dollar equestrian Center is very nice Williston has a place where retired elephants lions and such reside Nice drive over to Crystal River and Homosassa springs
Gainsville has a butterfly museum at the University of Florida It's a big room that you can go inside with them NEAT
From Daytona you can drive south on A1A to Inlet Harbor and climb the 200-foot lighthouse or visit the Daytona track and museum At Thanksgiving time Also Daytona has 20 miles of white sand beach to drive on At the Turkey Rod event where we drove on the track Driving A1A on the coast north to St Augustine is a favorite drive of ours There you can visit the old Spanish fort and lighthouse Clermont and Mt Dora are other nice areas to tour
Driving from Key Largo to Key West is very enjoyable with all the bridges blue water and white sandy beaches At Marathon is the 7-mile bridge and sea turtle hospital At Key West we visited the southernmost point of the USA Hemmingway's home the aquarium and Mel Fisher Museum He found the Spanish galleon Atocha loaded with gold We Watched the sunset several times over the water NOTE Take plenty of dead presidents

Covered Bridge tour out of Rockville, IN Back roads and the magnificent hand built wooden bridges to see admire and drive thru Works of art which were built many years ago A well-organized tour which is held every fall The Newport Hill Climb is another great event held a about the same time frame

Mackinaw City, MI over the Mackinaw bridge to Sault St Marie is a nice day drive You can visit the Soo Locks visit a maritime museum and drive into Canada

From Hagerstown MD we toured to Gettysburg PA battlefield Was really difficult to imagine what went on their years ago Harpers Ferry WV was another interesting spot where John Brown fought Antitiem MD was another battlefield we visited where a great great grandfather was found several days later, on the battle field He had been shot in the ear Union troops hauled him 10 miles to town in a wagon where he was captured by Confederates who then sent him to prison in Andersonville GA for duration on the war 1/3 of the prisoners died in this horrible place. He was there about a year and then released to return to PA where he farmed until 1890s, He died with the bullet still in his head

Another adventure was started from Alamosa CO One day we went northeast to The Great Sand Dunes National Monument Right there in town was a restoration shop for steam engines and the old wooden passenger cars which was very interesting Amazing work was accomplished there Another day we drove west to Creede an old silver mining town where some of us drove up to the mines on 4-wheel drive roads Wasn't for the faint hearted

Near Alamosa you have not only the Great Sand Dunes, hiking in the Sangre de Cristo Range, and camping in Rio Grande National forest, but a few miles down the valley is Antonito, the Colorado terminus of the Cumbres & Toltec Railway. Silverton/Durango is the narrow gauge that gets all the publicity, but I prefer this one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-a1nGxF1bro&t=312s

Thanks, Steve, for reminding me about the steam train going thru the San Juan mountains to Chama, NM Its a must do when you are in the area Difficult to realize how the tracks were laid in this terrain The Jack Dempsey Museum was another interesting stop

Keystone, SD was another great area to tour We visited Hot Springs where the Mammoths s were discovered and made into a nice museum One of the roads was called Pig Tail Run where you drove in circles crossing bridges all the way to the top Wind Cave and Custer State Parks Had herds of buffalo crossing the roads where you waited till, they were clear to precede We visited Deadwood where Wild Bill got his Aces and Eights Spearfish and Custer and Spearfish Canyon is something you don't want to miss either Mt Rushmore is up the mountain from Keystone where we first went up in the daytime to see very nice museum and all the US state flags on walkway to the monument Just Stunning A ranger gave a patriotic talk in the evening and honored veterans and those presently serving Awe inspiring Crazy Horse monument is also something to see from several miles away but it's so huge Hopefully all of you can visit this area of our wonderful country Wonderful roads and not much traffic was experienced

Wind Cave is great for wildlife, and the cave tour is worthwhile.

No matter what state you are in, you can download detailed topographical maps for free from the National Geological Survey gov site as PDF. In a browser tab you can typically also see the matching Google street view of said area. We plan many routes this way.

We have explored quite a bit of Wisconsin The state offers great roads Neat farmsteads and lots of cows to observe Places like House of the Rock, a close by Frank Llyod home Fon du Lac park and light house The drive along Lake Michigan to Osh gosh was pretty neat While in Osh Gosh don't miss the EAA museum and the antique flying field with grass runway is nearby Rides are available in several different antique airplanes there Road America at Elkhart Lake was a lot of fun too driving on the track and later stopping in town at the old ice cream shop where they were using the old soda fountain equipment from the 40/50s

Out of Muncie, IN is the AMA grounds where airplane modelers have numerous areas to fly their models. Also, there is a great model airplane museum there. AMA is American Modelers Association Near Millville is the birthplace farm home of Wilbur and Orville Wright. A Wright flyer is there in that museum. Wonderful roads in that farm area to be traveled.
French Lick and West Baden is another area to explore. There's a big round hotel with world's largest free Standin glass dome at the time constructed in the early teens that all the Chicago gangsters came to. It had fallen in disrepair. Anyway, it got restored and is gorgeous, don't miss it from there we traveled south to an overlook at the Ohio River and Leavenworth then on to Corydon the early capital of Indianna.
Great roads to travel thru woods and farmlands. Indiana is a great state to drive your T in.
Another day, we traveled up to Bedford. Bedford is the hometown of Gus Grissom, one of the seven original astronauts. A nice memorial was there.

Albuquerque, NM has a lot to see and do such as the hot air balloon museum Scalia peak, and the Unser bros race car museum. We even took a balloon ride early one morning which I would highly encourage. They're great back roads to Sant Fe which is one of the oldest towns in the US wanting to be explored. Then on to Los Alamos where the atomic bomb was engineered in total Secrecy. A great museum there showing how the US built the bombs that ended WW 2 On the way back we saw a large herd of elk down in the valley. Bandelier Monument was OLD cliff dwellings down in a canyon we had to climb out of. Neat place!!!! Spent an afternoon at a cordial club member's home enjoying the refreshments and visiting his shop They call New Mexico the Land of Enchantment, and it most certainly is.

Out of Golden, Colorado we Traveled to Black Hawk and Central City which were old mine towns that now have gambling. Beside road was a stream where a dredge was cleaning up the gold left in the stream bed. We saw a T along the road with only 3 wheels. He broke an axle, and the wheel ran off floating downstream. Another day we drove to Foreplay via Evergreen, Bailey, and two mountain passes above ten thousand feet. well one was only 9997 feet. Foreplay had an old western museum of really neat stuff. Traveled to Georgetown to ride the train to Silver Plume which is up the mountain. It's known as the Georgetown Loop. A must Do when you're there Going direct is too steep, so the train goes up one side of the mountain crosses an iron bridge still climbing up the other and keeps going round and round till it gets there. Probably goes 3 times as far as going directly. Engineering marvel. Another day, we visited the historical museum and capital downtown. Capitol dome is covered with gold leaf. Another day, we visited the railroad museum and Coors Brewery where they do it all from making the cans to filling them. We drove down to the Air Force Academy where we visited the chapel and planetarium. Awesome experience Nearby is the Garden of the Gods What a great state and country we are blessed to live in!!!

Uh...,..FAIRplay, maybe??

Almost forgot, then we went to Estes Park, quite a neat little town and also to the Stanley Hotel where a Stanley meet was going on. The Stanleys used the roads here to test their cars. Then we proceeded into Rocky Mountain Park which is quite a test for a T. Ended up on the other side in Granby where we had lunch and then returning back to Golden via Trail Ridge Road. What a great adventure. Don't miss it!!!