By Mark Wing (contributing author/editor: Orlando Ortega, Tour Director)
Click on the links below to see the other tour activities!
On Friday morning after breakfast, everyone readied their cars for the day’s tour to the Skunk Werks in Clovis; the town of Grady for a lunch at the Senior Center; and a visit to the second largest wind turbine generation project in New Mexico, the Caprock Wind Farm.
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19Our first destination was the Skunk Werks, 17 miles north from the hotel in Clovis, NM. The Skunk Werks is a restoration shop made up of the local Desert Cruzers car club members. The Desert Cruzers Car Club was founded in 1995 and they focus on American classic and antique cars built in 1980 or earlier. The Desert Cruzers had drinks and donuts waiting for us as well as a very generous gift of shop equipment. The Tin Lizzies got a tour of the Skunk Werks shop and admired the hot rods on display. While we enjoyed the company and hospitality of the Desert Cruzers, the documentary crew was filming the event. Many thanks to the Dersert Cruzers including Jerry Bailey, Ray Gardner, Chuck Wood, Carl Melinat, Bill Build, Richard Haynes, Connie Dawson, Red Nevins, and the other members of your Club!
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15After leaving the Skunk Werks, we drove 35 miles through the small community of Broadview and on to Grady. The weather was warming up and some of the cars experience vapor locking problems. Once we arrived at the Senior Center, we enjoyed a lunch of chicken salad, pasta, melon, bread, and a granola bar. The cool air conditioned Senior Center was a welcome relief from the warm dry weather. The cars attracted a lot of attention and some of the residents of Grady were treated to rides in our Ts.
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11After lunching in Grady, we drove 10 miles north to the Caprock Wind Ranch. This site, composed of 80 Mitsubishi wind mills (1 megawatt output each), was truly a majestic site against the blue New Mexican sky. The Caprock Wind Ranch manager, James Fitts, gave us an interesting presentation on the history and technical aspects of the site, which is the second largest wind turbine project in New Mexico. Our hearty thanks go out to Mr. Fitts and his crew at the Wind Ranch for a fantastic and informative tour of their facility!
The 58 mile drive back to Portales was eventful with some of our cars experiencing radiator and carburetor problems. Among the highlights on the drive back was stopping at a ranch who anticipated our arrival and had their 1924 Model T coupe out near the street. In addition to coming out to talk with us, they also showed the Dilts’ other cars in their collection.
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31There was no organized dinner scheduled, and many tour members had returned to the hotel. Other members ate dinner at the Cattle Baron steak house very close to the hotel. After dinner, everyone retired to the Holiday Inn in preparation for Saturday’s tour. Having covered over 100 miles in warm and gusty weather, it was a very full day of touring. In addition to destinations and scenery, the mechanical problems experienced by many of our cars also made that day memorable!
Click on the links below to see the other tour activities!