Story and photos by Mark Wing e-mail link

The destination for the tour on Friday was a 35 mile drive (northwest of Tucumcari) to Conchas Dam and lake where Orlando had arranged a tour of the dam with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.  Everyone ate at the restaurant of their choice before the tour.  Many chose the conveniently located local landmark “Kix on 66”.  This diner was only a few short blocks from the motels.

After breakfast, everyone gathered at the Safari Motel parking lot for tour instructions from Orlando.  In addition to the Albuquerque and Amarillo tour participants, Richard Talley (owner of the Safari Motel) joined us also.  He primarily rode with Vern Harvey in Vern’s 1923 yellow speedster!

Unfortunately, only a few miles into the tour, Orlando and Melody began having problems with their 1924 touring car.  The car was missing and Larry and Vern diagnosed the problem as coming from the distributor.  It was initially thought that a timing gear was stripped.  It turned out later to be a nut that had backed off allowing the timing to skip, but at that point in the tour, Tom and Kathy Mile came to the rescue with their modern vehicle to transport the misbehaving touring car back to the motel.  The other tour members proceeded to Conchas Dam.

Breakfast at “Kix on 66”. Mark and Susan Wing’s 1924 Model T coupe in background. Admiring Vern Harvey’s 1923 Model T speedster at the diner. Larry at the Safari Motel in his 1925 speedster (his first car!) The Merewether’s 1917 pickup (red) and the Ortega’s 1924 touring Ken Hansen with his 1926 Model T coupe The Gauna’s 1917 depot hack and the McDougal’s 1930 Model A Larry checking a noise in the Gauna’s depot hack rear wheel area Janice, Fran, and Lorna Stan in his depot hack Tour members from Amarillo across the street from the Safari Orlando at pre-tour meeting Pre-tour meeting View toward historic Route 66 The Ortega’s 1924 touring breakdown The Willan’s 1926 Model T touring car (right) Janice Gauna and “Reina” – a great traveling companion! Richard Talley (owner of the Safari Motel) with Vern Harvey Will Taylor in his 1926 Model T Ford touring car Mark and Sharon Dominguez in their 1927 Model T Ford touring car Susan and Kirk Peterson in “Buster” their 1924 Model T Ford coupe Susan and Kirk Fran Gurule and Lorna Azevedo in the 1915 Model T speedster – the “Lorna Special” Vickie and Jerry Harris in their Model A pickup Vickie and Jerry Harris Russell and Julie Dilts with Laura Kammerer (her first tour) in the Dilts’ 1926 Model T touring Deb McDougal (standing) with Mary Jo and Billy Griffin in their 1931 Model A Victoria E.J. Dennis and Robert Johnson in E.J.’s 1931 coupe Mack McDougal in his 1930 Model A Mack McDougal and his 1930 Model A View of the tour cars Mary Ann and Neil O’Brien in their 1916 Model T touring car Troubleshooting Orlando’s touring car Troubleshooting Orlando’s touring car (Vern Willan in front of the car) Larry checking the distributor with Vern Linda Riel and Jeff Richards in Linda’s Fordor “LuLu Bell”. It was Jeff’s first tour! Linda and Jeff Marilyn and Paul Duncan in their 1920 Model T touring car Dave and Ann Merewether on their first tour with their 1917 pickup. Betty and Michael Housholder with Betty’s 1921 Model T coupe Ken Hansen with his 1926 Model T coupe Pat and Vern Willan in their 1926 Model T touring car The tour resumes!

We assembled first in the Conchas Dam parking lot near the visitors center.  Half the tour group went to take the tour into the dam while the balance of the tour members watched a documentary film of the history of the dam.  This dam was constructed over 4 years and was completed in 1939 at a cost of $15.8 million.  The dam creates Conchas Lake, a 70,500 acre foot body of water, used for recreation and for irrigation.  We were given a tour inside the dam and were more than 100 feet below the surface of the lake!  The visit to the dam was fascinating and we are indebted to the wonderful U.S. Army Corps of Engineers staff for their excellent tour.  After we were finished viewing the dam, we enjoyed delicious boxed lunches from Rockin Y’s Roadhouse in the shade of the covered picnic area.  The lunches and location were great choices on Orlando’s part and thank you to Tom and Kathy Miles for picking up the food earlier that morning!

Joe Fellin, past Model T Ford Club of America president, and 2014 recipient of the prestigious Rosenthal Award, and Bernice Young joined the tour while we were at the dam.

Conchas Lake Entering the Conchas Lake State Park Conchas Lake Linda and Jeff in Linda’s Fordor Dave and Ann Merewether in their 1917 pickup Vickie and Jerry Harris E.J. Dennis and Robert Johnson (front right) Stan, Mark, Linda, and Susan An impressive show of Model A’s! Michael and Betty in Betty’s 1921 Model T coupe Larry Azevedo arriving with Ethan Ortega 1915 “Lorna Special” Ken Hansen’s 1926 coupe in the foreground Conchas Dam Project Presentation from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Ken Hansen getting a lift to the entrance to the dam by Daniel Martinez Walking down to the dam entrance from the parking lot Daniel J. Martinez, Conchas Dam Maintenance Supervisor Beginning of the dam tour Daniel Martinez explaining the dam’s hydroelectric generating capabilities Mark and Mary Ann examining original tools used on the dam Ken, Mark, and Stan Area outside the dam entrance Richard Talley and Ken Hansen Examining E.J.’s Model A coupe Daniel Martinez getting a ride in Larry’s 1925 speedster Orlando, Daniel, and Larry Conchas Indian Petroglyph Susan and Linda doing the Conchas Indian stance! The Duncan’s 1920 Model T touring Terrific boxed lunchs from Rockin Y’s Roadhouse! Conchas Dam picnic Conchas Dam picnic Conchas Dam picnic Conchas Dam picnic The visitor’s center Leaving Conchas Dam State Park

After our delightful lunch at Conchas Dam, tour members were free to return to Tucumcari and explore the city on their own.  Some visited antique shops while others went to the Mesalands Community College’s Dinosaur Museum.  This museum is reputed to have the largest collection of bronze prehistoric skeletons in the world!  It is a very impressive museum with high-quality exhibits.

Mesalands Dinosaur Museum Paul and Marilyn Ann and Paul Exhibit Mack and Deb McDougal Marilyn and Susan with fossilized palm frond Exhibit Joe Fellin, Mary Ann O’Brien, and Bernice Young at the Safari Orlando at the wheel of his 1924 touring car

Luckily, Orlando’s 1924 touring car timing problem was fixed when the offending nut, that had worked its way loose, was tightened, making the touring operable again.  After this simple repair, the touring ran well for the rest of the tour.  Unfortunately,  Russell and Julie Dilts’ 1926 touring car developed a loud noise that Larry attributed to a damaged rod, or less likely, a main bearring.  Their car was trailered and stayed at the motel for the rest of the trip.  The engine will have to be examined back at Larry’s garage but an engine rebuild is probably needed.  Dave Ferro and Laura’s 1918 depot hack had a developed a water leak from a freeze plug so it too was out of commission.  Vern Harvey’s 1923 speedster began to malfunction with a radiator leak, shorted out spark plugs, a potential problem with his generator and fuel pump.  Sadly, the speedster too had to sit out the rest of the tour.  Luckily, there was plenty of space for Russell, Julie, Dave, Laura, and Vern to ride with other club members.

The Housholder’s were having carburetor problems with Betty’s 1921 coupe, but Michael was able to find work-arounds for the problem – such as driving up a hill backwards!  He found that the float position wasn’t adjusted properly after he had rebuilt the carb at a recent club work party, resulting in gas starvation when going up steep inclines. He was able to fix the problem and never actually broke down to the point of needing to be trailered.

Tour members ate dinner at restaurants of their choice and spent the rest of the evening socializing and preparing for the tour the next morning.  Ethan Ortega (Orlando and Melody’s son) had recently moved to Albuquerque for a new job.  Ethan left after work and joined his parents and the other tour members late Friday evening.

Link to Tucumcari Tour – Thurs (May 1, 2014)

Link to Tucumcari Tour – Sat (May 3, 2014)

Link to Tucumcari Tour –  Sat PM & Sun (May 3 & 4, 2014)