I have only been in my new home in Klamath Falls, OR for about 4 months. I moved my business & two households myself with my pickup & trailer from Southern California, 725 miles each way. It was the crowning achievement of seven years of work to make it happen. As anyone who has made a long distance move late in life with all the "stuff" that has accumulated over the years will be able to guess, there is still much work to do. Stacks and heaps of "stuff" are cluttering the shop & garages and the work can seem unending.
I feel after so much work I "deserve" some play time.
I got a chance to buy a new toy that I had long wanted, a Model T Touring car. This one is a neglected older restoration of a 1914 with some newer features that is basically sound but needs a good going over to make a reliable tour car. It was not a great time to buy such a toy, but I really liked the car and bought it anyway.
After getting the car running, I had to take it out and see how it drives. Then after tinkering it needed more test drives. The car ran well and the test drives got longer. Soon the test drives became tours but without the gear any smart T driver should have along, things like tools & spare parts . . .
Yesterday I took the car out for another test drive to get it good & warm before dumping the radiator flush that had been in it several days. I drove south about 5 miles from my home to a farm road that connects to other rural roads where you can drive for many miles in serene peaceful countryside with nothing but farms & ranches. I love these roads and have spent hours on them "testing" the car.
One of these roads is Crystal Springs Road. It is mostly straight but has an S shaped bend with a bridge crossing a large duck pond. A few weeks ago while driving on this road I noticed a red tailed hawk gliding in formation with the Model T. It was very close, only 10 or 15 feet away. At first it was a bit faster then it stayed with me for a time finally alighting on a post.
I thought about this over the last couple of weeks and realized that it was a special moment.
Yesterday I ran the car over the same road. As I crossed the bridge over the duck pond a bald eagle swooped down to the pond surface and grabbed at something then flew up to a post on the shore quite near the road. Wow! I have often seen these eagles high in the sky up by Agency Lake some 30 miles north of town but I have never seen one so clearly or so close. I felt I was a very lucky fellow to by driving the Model T in such wonderful countryside and to be able to see what I had just seen.
I carried on with the drive and decided it was time to return and get on with the project of draining the flush.
On the return trip I passed over the duck pond again but my friend the eagle was not there. Less than a mile later, the power went off momentarily, came back on then everything died like somebody shot it. I coasted to the side of the road and realized that I had foolishly got out again with no tools at all. If I needed to tinker with something I would be up that famous creek.
I got out of the car and shut the ignition switch off then went through the starting drill. The motor instantly fired and ran normally. I have been cleaning electrical contacts and even had the cover off the switch to get all clean inside. The car has an E-Timer which in my experience is a dead reliable device. I do not trust the car now and will have to figure out how to make it reliable.
I let my enthusiasm to get out and drive carry me away without taking basic precautions but I will get up a touring kit before the next test drive.
The pictures were taken a few weeks ago on another one of these rural roads.
The man with a watch always knows what time it is, the man with two watches is never sure.
