Story and Photos by Paul & Marilyn Duncan
The Tin Lizzie Fall Tour this year focused on driving our Model Ts over 4 days, September 19-22, 2024. Organizers, Kirk & Susan Peterson, Larry & Lorna Azevedo and Dave Ferro planned the tour with participants driving their T’s to and from Santa Fe without a trailer, except for the Trouble Trailer. This plan meant that we did not have our modern car and trailer to haul luggage and supplies.
Twenty-three Tin Lizzies and a guest signed up to drive 8 Model Ts on the tour. According to our GPS Odometer, we drove 300 miles in 12 hours of elapsed time during the 4 days of the tour. Only one T wound up on the Trouble Trailer for the final 40-mile drive back from Madrid to Corrales.
The First Day, we drove about 70+ miles from the start of the Tour on east Central. We followed Old U.S.66/County Road 333 to Tijeras and then turned north onto NM 14. We made a lunch stop in Madrid at the Mineshaft Tavern. Then, our caravan continued toward Santa Fe. We made a scenic drive past the Institute of American Indian Arts and Santa Fe Community College where we stopped to view Ethyl the Whale sculpture. After bumping over many speed humps, we eventually arrived at our tour hotel, Hyatt Place on Cerrillos Road. The evening concluded with a traditional “hospitality potluck.”
The Second Day was a long and scenic drive from Santa Fe to Rancho de Chimayó Restaurante for lunch and return via Santa Clara Pueblo and the Puye Cliff Dwellings. On the way out of Santa Fe, we stopped at Camel Rock. Much of the driving that day was on the low-traffic W Frontage Road along US84/US285. We drove slightly over 100 miles that day. Most participants wandered into the “hospitality leftovers,” grabbed a snack and headed back to their rooms to rest.
The Third Day was mainly dedicated to driving the La Bajada Mesa to the edge of the escarpment. On the way out of Santa Fe in the morning we stopped at Larry Icerman’s garage to view his collection of beautifully restored vehicles. After the La Bajada drive, we had manifold-cooked hot dogs for lunch at El Rancho de las Golondrinas. Fortunately, the rainstorm passed during lunch, so we could make the drive back to Santa Fe in sunny and dry conditions. That evening, Kirk & Susan Peterson hosted us for a lovely dinner at their home. The total mileage for that day was about 40 miles.
The Fourth Day, we drove back to Albuquerque via NM 14 with a rest stop in Madrid. That was about 70+ miles depending on how much further we drove to get home. We all concluded that this year’s tour was a real test of our Model T driving skills. All participants made it home safely despite two of the T’s having some power issues along the way. Thank you to the organizers, Kirk & Susan, Larry & Lorna and Dave.
