The 7° Road Trip
 

It was a dark and freezing night as we pulled into the little railroad town of Milford, Utah. Freezing I say. Freezing.

OK, lets start back at the beginning.

After struggling for a month with that strange noise that began during our last Nevadaho road trip and finally replacing everything between the transmission and the tires to fix it I was ready for another road trip - just a short overnighter to test everything out and "get away" for a night with wife and Pepe (Chihuahua).

One of our favorite getaways in the coldest of winter is Milford, Utah, three hours south of us and someplace no one ever goes if they don't absolutely have to. So that was our destination.

At the last minute I gave Betsy a call (94 year old friend) and she was ready to drop everything to go and did.

We picked her up and headed down I-15 until we got to Santaquin where we turned west up over the mountain to the little mining ghost town of Eureka. Here's the windy mountain road just before Eureka:

http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/...ps32c91dff.jpg

We'd just had over a foot of snow this week for Christmas so this was definitely a winter trip - cold but beautiful.

In Eureka we got a couple of quaint shots of a couple of the old buildings left over from the boom town days of silver and gold mining:

A quaint abandoned home:

http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/...ps8af13a1c.jpg

The old city hall, fire station, and sheriff's office:

http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/...d/IMG_4245.jpg

OK, it may not be a totally empty ghost town but its 2010 population of 669 is only 17% of its high in 1920 of 3,908. For more on this most interesting mining ghost town click here: http://www.eurekautah.org/

From there we headed southwest toward Delta. I asked Betsy if she ever enjoyed watching maps as a kid to keep track of where she was on road trips and she said, "Oh, absolutely. I was always glued to a map." So, we cranked up Microsoft Streets and Trips on the laptop that was hooked up to a GPS sensor on the roof and she was in heaven watching us go down the road on the screen.

http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/...d/IMG_4260.jpg

Before we got to Delta we got into some real heavy fog that made the driving a little more "white knuckle."

http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/...d/IMG_4267.jpg

Just west of Delta we turned south for the 70 mile stretch of nothing headed for Milford.

I, once again, brought along my indoor/outdoor thermometer from home and duct taped the outdoor sensor behind the front grill. Took a peek at it driving through the fog and was surprised to see that the outside temperature was a mere 7° F! Notice that the humidity was 95% out there. It totally coated the car with ice including the spot light I needed to use later to see down the road further. Inside it was nice and toasty warm at 72° with the fresh air heater keeping the windows unfogged.

http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/...d/IMG_4273.jpg

That 7° was the lowest temperature we had on the trip.

After a while the fog cleared off and a full moon came over the mountains east of us and lit up a whole spider web of contrails I thought was pretty cool.

http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/...psc15919ef.jpg

It was such a warm wonderful welcome to finally see the lights of Milford in the distance and arrive at the edge of town to the quaint holiday greeting stretched across the road. We drove most every street in Milford that night looking at all of the quaint little old houses decorated in the old fashioned way with old fashioned Christmas lights. It was such a joy to behold when it seems we see fewer and fewer Christmas lights on houses any more.

http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/...d/IMG_4288.jpg

Milford is a bit of a ghost town itself having hit its highest population of 1,673 in 1950 when the railroad station and switching yard took a lot more manpower than it does now. During the next 50 years it's population dwindled to just over 1,000 until one of the biggest hog operations in the country was built there when the population took another boom to 1,400 in 2011. It still has a lot of abandoned storefronts on its main street.

We like to stay in the "dive" motel there although there was a new one built there a few years back to service the railroad crews that change there. We got a real surprise when we went into our room and there was a sign on the typical heat pump under the window that it was broken - plug in the little space heater and use it. So, what else were we to do?

http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/...d/IMG_4276.jpg

Took me back to the days when I would take my boys camping every month all year 'round including the coldest of winter. We didn't huddle around that thing very long before we dove into bed. By morning that little heater had heated the room up to a balmy 62°! (Can you find Pepe? Oh yeah, Betsy had a working heat pump in her room, thank goodness.)

In the morning I wondered if "Old Henry" would start. I'm afraid he's gotten a little thin skinned since we remodeled his room and heated it a year ago so he never has to start below 60°. In the morning it was 16° outside and all he would do is groan a little. Wouldn't even turn over. Probably had to do with the effect of the cold on the battery and the S.A.E. 40 oil I use in him that must have been like molasses. Wife and I pushed up and down the road trying to start him before we gave up, I walked over to the gas station and caught these railroad guys gassing up their truck and asked them to come and jump us. This picture is of me explaining how the driver had to just touch his battery post with the cable clamp long enough for me to start when I was ready because of the difference in voltages. (The "dive" motel is just to the right of the restaurant. Betsy's room is the door and window you can see. Our refridgeroom was next to the right of hers.)

http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/...d/IMG_4297.jpg

Then we drove a short distance to Penny's Diner next to the new motel for breakfast. I decided I'd leave the engine idling with the heater on to warm it up inside while we were eating. I could remove the key from the ignition without turning it off then lock the door leaving Pepe inside where it would soon warm up. I also put my pillow in front of the radiator to help it really heat up. Halfway through breakfast I checked to make sure the pillow wasn't causing it to overheat. The engine temperature was higher than the 160° thermostats but only 180° so I went back in to enjoy breakfast.

When I came out I was surprised to discover that the engine was no longer idling. It was not running at all!!?? I got in to start it and the battery was totally dead - just clicked the starter a little and nothing else. I realized that when I left it idling with the heater fan on full it was not idling fast enough to charge the battery which was already a bit low so it eventually drained it so completely that it wouldn't even fire the spark plugs and quit.

The only person available to jump us this time was the little waitress in the diner who came out and pulled her big pickup next to Old Henry and said, "I'll just let you do it since I know nothing about it." I then had to patiently educate her how she had to clamp the battery cable onto her battery post when I gave the signal and wiggle it a little to get contact. She seemed a bit hesitant but was willing to try. I felt bad for her because, of course, when she was doing all that it was sparking and scaring her good. But she did good and we got it going again. (Wife was inside with Betsy during this ordeal. Wanted to shoot myself after we left for not taking another picture of the second battery jump within an hour!!)

Snapped a couple of shots of Milford's main street before we left:

http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/...psaf3fd6ad.jpg

The old abandoned Hotel Milford built in 1913.

http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/...ps0f5c5ed9.jpg

On our way to the freeway from Milford we saw off in the distance what looked like wannabe cowboys on ATV's herding cows. As we stopped and watched they herded them right across the road and over to a corral. Pretty funny.

http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/...d/IMG_4313.jpg

Eventually we got to Beaver where we stopped at the cheese factory for some ice cream and spotted the quaint old County Court House there.

http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9d65cf20.jpg

Then onto the freeway headed north for home. Stopped at historic Cove Fort for a shot. (More info here: http://www.covefort.com/)

http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/...ps55e3d39c.jpg

Then in another hour we were at Fillmore, once the capital of the Territory of Utah before it was moved to Salt Lake City. They even began construction of the capitol building. This is just one wing of what was to be a much larger building. It is now a very interesting museum with the legislative meeting room on the top floor preserved as it was originally. Learn more here: http://stateparks.utah.gov/parks/territorial-statehouse


http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/...d/IMG_4326.jpg
Not long after getting back on the freeway from Fillmore I looked down and saw that my generator was no longer charging. My headlights, which I had on for added visibility, and heater fan were discharging the battery.
http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/...IMG_4339-2.jpg

I quickly shut off the lights and heater and we carried on down the road with only the coil drawing on the battery remembering that at the end of our Route 66 trip we drove our last 250 miles without any generator and we only had 100 miles to go on this trip so I wasn't too worried. Sat there driving thinking about what it could be - bad regulator, loose wire somewhere - for about 20 miles when suddenly it started charging again. Good news. No worries - at least until it happens again. (Hate intermittent electrical problems.)

Another hour and we approached Mt. Nebo at the foot of which my wife, her father, and grandfather were born and raised in Nephi.

http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2c1ffb83.jpg

In another hour we were just a block from our home at the foot of Mt. Timpanogos. Those are our poplar trees reaching up in front of the mountain.

http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/...d/IMG_4364.jpg

So, lesson learned from this trip:

Next time I'll take some kind of a heater and battery charger to hook up at the motel to keep the engine warm and battery charged to start in that cold of temperature.

Other than that, it was a great quick overnight trip with good people and dog in spite of the occasional surprise that just made it more of an adventure all 'round. Total distance 367 miles.

Prior road trips:

Nevada and Idaho in November 2012: https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=89080

Rocky Mountain National Park in September 2012: https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=83966

Yellowstone National Park in May 2012: https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=72864

Death Valley in February 2012: https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=62705

Pike's Peak in July 2011: https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=19141

Route 66 in April 2010: https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=57511

Re: The 7° Road Trip
 

Nice pictures and write up. You certainly put some miles on that car of yours :)

Re: The 7° Road Trip
 

Man, I like your adventures in that car!

Thanks for sharing.

Re: The 7° Road Trip
 

Old Henry Thanks for sharing these trips.
A camera crew ought to follow you around.
You are always on the road in that Old Ford. Old Henry The V-8 Survivor Man.

Re: The 7° Road Trip
 

Thanks for sharing. My Ford v8's are tucked away for the winter. :(
Hope they don't use salt on the roads in Utah!
Looks like a great trip. On a business trip for work a few years ago, my wife and I rented a Mustang convertible and spent a couple days on Route 66 in Arizona. What a fun trip!
Keep posting your future trips...
Jeff

Re: The 7° Road Trip
 

Great pics and story. Thanks for sharing.

Re: The 7° Road Trip
 

Thanks for sharing. I always enjoy the way you document your trips. Great work during a great adventure.

Re: The 7° Road Trip
 

Old Henry yo da man! not only with your old Ford but to carry Besty along as well (=
My Mom used to spend her summers as a child on her gradfathers ranch in St. George
And I had a Aunt and Uncle that lived in Bountiful before they both passed away in 2008. Utah is truly a beautiful place. and dont even get me started about the beauty of Moab.....Thanks again for taking us along on your trips. I really do enjoy them
Randy

Re: The 7° Road Trip
 

Excellent!

Re: The 7° Road Trip
 

I plan on Moab being the start of my next long road trip to include Mesa Verde, Durango, Silverton, and all points north of there. Can't wait.

Re: The 7° Road Trip
 

Thanks for posting your trip ....I enjoyed your last Trip before as well. great story to go with road trip .....

Re: The 7° Road Trip
 

Old Henry
Thank you for a nice ride, with pictures and commentary.
We have hunted in Utah around Silana, and passed by Beaver and Cove Fort.
You live in beautiful country. Especially Zion Nat. Park. Love St. George.

Bruce

Works good
Lasts long time

Re: The 7° Road Trip
 

Old Henry .......................
MAN ! I sure respect your guts in taking out in the cold weather in your old Ford !
I got to hand it to you !
MIKE :)

Re: The 7° Road Trip
 

Great post of your trip. Old Henry you should call the History Channel and have them follow you around like they do the Pickers. These trips in your Ford V-8 are definitely interesting and informative. I suspect your trips on the History Channel would definitely raise their ratings!

Re: The 7° Road Trip
 

Thanks for reminding me of how we used to depend on these flatheads in the winters here in Wisconsin. Thought nothing of it. Was all we had.
Bill

Re: The 7° Road Trip
 

Yep, you got that right Randy, Moab is awesome, I go there when I can.

Re: The 7° Road Trip
 

Professor, you out did yourself, that trip and resulting story made the post of the year in my book! You really take to heart the belief that old cars are meant to be driven and enjoyed.

Re: The 7° Road Trip
 

A very pleasant and entertaining read.

Glad the old car made it back in one piece.

How's the new axle?? OK I guess. Glad you got the old car up and running again.

Mart.

Re: The 7° Road Trip
 

Thanks for posting.

Re: The 7° Road Trip
 

Great story, I love reading your adventures. Thanks for sharing. Where are we going next? I'll start the popcorn!

Re: The 7° Road Trip
 

"Next time I'll take some kind of a heater and battery charger to hook up at the motel to keep the engine warm and battery charged to start in that cold of temperature."

Great pictures and narrative. FYI, growing up in MN, a poor man's engine heater was a drop light--might be something to consider.

Re: The 7° Road Trip
 

Great to see old Fords driven. Long trips can be an adventure but are memorable. Keep driving Henry.
John

Re: The 7° Road Trip
 

Really enjoyed the trip. It reminded me of our trip to the Early Ford V8 meet in St George in 2010 and driving my '50 from St George up and across I 70 after doing the meet tour to Zion. also, we were at Moab in 1980 on our way to San Diego in my '70 F-100 to pick up a '41 Ford pickup for my son. Towed it to WV with a tow bar.

Re: The 7° Road Trip
 

Henry : Loved it,like all the rest,Happy New Year.

Re: The 7° Road Trip
 

Henry, I go through Eureka on my way to Bonneville. Sometime on a trip south I'll have to cut over to Milford. I haven't been there yet. Wayno

Re: The 7° Road Trip
 

Great pictures and story as always. Glad you made it home safely and had fun. Hope to join you some day!

Re: The 7° Road Trip
 

great story and photos! thanks!

Re: The 7° Road Trip
 

You remind me of a Fellow back here in Pa. that use to drive his Motel T 15,000 miles or more a year. He had a 27 coupe. Jack Murphy and his wife and her sister would get in that coupe they live near Pittsburgh then get on the turnpike and drive to Mich. to see some of there family. Jack in his 90 now in a Home and his T just sits in his garage. He would drive down to see me about 50 miles just a nice drive he would say.His wife is gone now and Jack will always me in my mine. Snow would never stop him to go for a nice drive. His friend Earnie use to run with him also. He gone now also. Anyway you remine me of those old timers. One day here come Murphy drivine down to my place to see me. I just found a black pup that someone throwed away so I brought it home. It was in the garage when Murphy walk in. I see you got another dog.Yea I said. What his name? Murph I have not name him yet but I will name him after you. Murphy the dog now is 15 years old now. Murphy use to call me and ask how his dog was laughing. Now those days are gone now but the dog is still here.

Re: The 7° Road Trip
 

Prof. Henry, You are becoming a pretty good journalist, you could easily sell this stuff!

The photography is awesome, and I know not just a little work, so thanks for your lens-craft! The story is very cool too. You're very nice to let us in on the things that don't go so smoothly on your adventures, I think I might not be brave enough to freely admit that sometimes things get a little tense.

I love your blending of high tech on your journeys, to know that it's 7° just outside the window, and 72° inside is very cool. I also dig you tracking yourself with the GPS and laptop rig.

Your adventures also point out the sensibility of having a closed car. There are just certain conditions I wouldn't want to venture into in our Phaeton!

A side note- There's a sign on westbound I-70, just outside the Baltimore beltway that says it's 2200 miles to Cove Fort. I've told myself many times to remember to do some research on Cove Fort. Your story helped a lot there.

Anyway, thanks a whole bunch for the bravery, entertainment and education.

-VeryTangled/Jeff

Re: The 7° Road Trip
 

Loved the travelogue! Looking forward to the next one. Just thinking about your battery charging issue. I wonder if the 12 volt jumps did something nasty to the regulator or maybe stuck some of the points? Just a thought. Thanks again for the post.

Re: The 7° Road Trip
 

Recieved this private message with some questions that I thought the answers might be of general interest so post them here:

"Really liked your story on the trip to Milford. Have a couple of questions about the equipment you mentioned.
First, what is the brand name and model number of the indoor/outdoor thermometer you use? Is the battery power self contained?
Second, your mapping setup is very interesting. Would you mind sharing your software and hardware configurations? I am unfamiliar with what is available but like the concept of using my laptop with its larger display.
Your stories are always interesting and I generally learn something every time. Please keep writing them."

My response:

Thanks for your positive response and interest in the technology.

My indoor/outdoor thermometer is an Acu-rite model 00592W

http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/parts...0592WLarge.jpg

I don't find that exact model available any more but it's cousin that does the same thing but looks a little different - 0592 is available here: http://www.acurite.com/weather/therm...ygrometer.html At home I have the main station in the kitchen with an outdoor sensor under the mailbox by the street and one at the back of the back yard to get both temperatures outside in the summer that's usually 10° difference between the two outside. Extra sensors can be bought to use with it. The base station and remote sensors are all battery powered and sense both temperature and humidity.

For the GPS tracking I use Microsoft Streets and Trips on the lap top with an old Deluo wired GPS receiver plugged into the computer and on the roof (it's magnetic). Microsoft sells the software and wireless receiver together here: http://www.microsoft.com/streets/en-...treetsgps.aspx Just need to be sure to update the Streets and Trips with the latest data base before each trip to get the latest changes in roads.

One caveat with any GPS system - they have no common sense as hard as they try. A good paper map and, even better, local knowlege and road signs are still better. Too many times we have ignored paper maps and road signs to follow the GPS and have been taken on crazy back roads that were probably the shortest routes but much longer to drive and often unpaved, over a mountain, or even closed. My advice is to navigate as much as possible by road signs and paper maps and just use the GPS to keep track of where you are - they're real good at that - not to get you to where you want to go by the best route. The nice thing about Streets and Trips on a laptop - you get to see the whole map that you can zoom in and out of to get the whole lay of the land with your location pinpointed on it instead of the usual little dashboard GPS models that just show a few hundred feet ahead.

Re: The 7° Road Trip
 

Henry, you did it again!!Outstanding accounting of your travels and a" well done" to your passengers as well ! Please give a big but gentle hug to your oldest passenger for me!I love older people and cars who don't give up just because they have a few miles on them! Thank you very much for sharing and Happiest of New Years to all of you!

Re: The 7° Road Trip
 

Great story with beautiful scenery to back it up. You are a braver man than I am Professor. Keep us posted on future trips. Love your writeups.

Re: The 7° Road Trip
 

One of my future trips I want to do is Mt. Rushmore and Devil's Tower. That would be right your way. Maybe you'll go along too.:)

Re: The 7° Road Trip
 

When I drove "Old Henry" to high school in the winter back in the 60's I'd put a 100 watt light under the oil pan out on the street to try to ease the starting in the cold winter mornings. Still had to do a lot of pushing to start it. In those days dad or mom would just push it bumper to bumper with their newer car until it started. Don't do that much any more nowadays.:o

Re: The 7° Road Trip
 

As far as I know the odometer on Old Henry is accurate at 211,000 miles so far. Of course that's the body and chassis. The engine and tranny were rebuilt about 30,000 miles ago and the drive train I just put in only has 92,000 miles on it so I should be good for several hundred thousand miles more I figure. (Some ask me, "Aren't you afraid you're going to wear it out?" "Heck, I've already done that so many times I now know how to make it last forever."):)

Re: The 7° Road Trip
 

Awesome trip the mnt Rushmore and devil tower area is simply beautiful in late spring early summer I lived in Rapid City South Dakota while my father was a mine adviser for the homestake mining co

Re: The 7° Road Trip
 

The "surprises" are some of the best part of the fun and often the part of the trip we remember most - with laughs looking back although we're not often laughing at the time.

I want everyone to see that the journey is as important as the destination and that it is hardly ever without incident with these old cars but that, in all of our cases at least, they are survivable and just add interest and a puzzling challenge along the way without much more. Most of all - that the joy of the trip is well worth the few little glitches along the way.;)

(Now I've done gone past my 2,000th post. Oh well, hard to keep a lawyer quiet for long; that's for sure.)

Re: The 7° Road Trip
 

Keep in mind that my car still has all but about 2 feet of its original wiring and connections so I occasionally get a loose connection temporarily that seems to shake itself back in place without any help from me. If it doesn't I just start wiggling wires in the general vicinity of where I think the break is and it re-connects and we go on down the road.:o

Re: The 7° Road Trip
 

The dividing line between bravery, guts, and sheer stupid foolhardiness is a bit fuzzy sometimes. I think it is usually judged looking back - if you survive you were brave, if not you were just a fool. :cool: