Let the Tour Begin

Today was the day that we, and all the other 375 participants, had been preparing for; the first day of activity in the MAFCA Canyonland Tour.  But, first Lou had to repair the bendix drive on his starter, not a big deal but you do get your hands dirty and it was a bit on the chilly side in the morning.  Job done...now Lou needed some hot coffee.

The first activity was to get our registration packages, which usually takes a long time to do, not because the registration process is slow but because you wind up talking to so many people.  I have seen local members from the Lakes Region Model A Club (NH), Worcester County (MA),  Long Island (NY), Pine Tree A's (ME).  Lots of local area (North East) people attending.

Today was an open day for touring, and our group was going in all different directions.  Lou & Rose had their son's family join them and they explored Paria Townsite which was the backdrop for many western movies.  This was accessible via a dirt road, and Lou was glad they were using the rental car to get there.  He didn't recommend taking the Model A's on this dirt road. 

Don & Sue and their friend Lornie visited the Hollywood Movie set and the Coral Pink Sand. Bruce and Trish went to Cedar Breaks.  Nan & I met up with our friends, Dave & Pam Jamieson  from Ontario and drove to Coral Pink Sand Dunes park and to the small town of Mount Carmel.  Dave and Pam love driving their Model A and think nothing of driving to the coast of Maine for a lobster.  

It was a fun filled day for everyone and thankfully everyone sent me pictures to record our activity.

Late in the afternoon I decided to head to the local car wash and get all the dirt of the the Model A.  That sure made a difference.  

Sunday evening was the welcome gathering in Jacob Hamblin park.  Over 700 people were there and the caterer did a great job getting the buffet food served.  In addition to having everyone get together we also got some advice for touring the National Parks.  

With our bellies full, we headed back to our hotel to get ready for a day of touring tomorrow.  And for our tour group that means we will be heading to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.

Check out all the great pictures from today's activities.

Coral Pink Sand Dunes area

The Jamieson's Tudor 

Some of Model A's at the Welcome Party

Bruce at Cedar Breaks..the air is a little thin

Cedar Breaks

Part of the Welcome Gathering

Some of the Model A's in our Hotel Parking lot

Paria Canyon

Lou & Rose's granddaughter. check out the cars way down below

Lou & Rose

Lou's Parking Lot Seminar - fixing the Starter
looks like a class of one!

Destination Kanab

Today we bid adieu to Las Vegas and headed the Model A's north to Kanab, UT.  The fastest route would be to take US 15 most of the way, however we prefer to take the "road less traveled."  Our first stop was for gas, and what a difference in prices in the LV area, $3.39 compared to the $2.49 in MA.  Our route would take us up by Nellis Air Force Base and the Las Vegas Speedway, before we eventually had to get on US 15.  It was a good choice with light traffic.  The next 30 highway miles were pretty uneventful, cars could pass without any issue as our speed was about 50 MPH. 
Thanks to Restorer editor Andy Scheer, who suggested we visit the Valley of Fire, we turned off US 15 onto the rural Valley of Fire Highway.  The majestic Muddy Mountains ahead were only a tease compared to the scenery that was in store for us as we journeyed onward.  The landscape slowly started to become more rugged and a lot more colorful.  Amazing erosion of the sandstone mountains became more prevalent and when we traveled through a canyon we emerged into a spectacularly colorful valley,  We were awestruck by the scenery.  We stopped at the many viewing areas because each was so different.  This was great, accept at one of the stops, the bendix drive on Lou's Model A gave up the ghost, yup NADA!  A quick push was needed to pop the clutch and get it started.  No need to change it on the road, Lou just had to park on hill to jump start it.  We stopped at the visitor center to understand the creation of the this area, which was very informative.  We needed to really get back on the road and head to Kanab. Although we first needed to stop in Overton for lunch.  Sugar's Home Plate fit the bill and was really very good.  Unfortunately we did need to get back on US 15 for about 70 miles.  We maintained our speed pretty well.  We did have to slow down, along with everyone else, during a 4 mile construction area on the highway.  This was where Don started to have engine problems.  A quick stop to adjust his points got him going only to have more problems shortly there after.  Another stop reveled that a spark plug lead fell off.  That was easy.  Nope we had to get off the highway again at the next exit.  This time it was faster to replace the entire distributor.  Back on the road and all was going well and we got off the highway in Washington and set our sights on Kanab, 75 miles away. 
The only problem was we were running out of daylight and much of the distance would be in the dark.  Our little 50 CP headlights may seem weak, but properly aimed and focused they work very well, so well in fact that a truck driver flashed his lights at me since I forgot to go to low beam as he approached our little caravan.  Sorry about that.
The miles ticked off and seeing the Hampton Inn sign in Kanab was a welcome sight. 
We're here and looking forward to a week of touring this amazing area.

Some amazing sights

More of the same

The Team: Doug & Nan, Bruce & Trish, Lou & Rose, Don & Sue

Amazing rock formations

Oops!  A little helping hand

Great views from the back of the line

The color change on the rocks were amazing

Hate when a plug lead falls off

Parking lot Seminar on Distributors

Barrett Jackson Day

We are winding down our stay in Las Vegas and preparing for our departure to join the Canyonland Tour in Kanab, UT.  Our plan for today was to attend the Barrett Jackson auction that is being held this week at the Mandalay Convention Center.  The first task was to return the rental car.  And since the ladies wanted to visit the Mandalay Bay casino we decided to drop Rose, Nan and Trish off first, return the car, and then Lou, Bruce and I would Uber back to attend the auction. The ladies bought tickets for us while we were gone and we all decided to go to the auction and check out the cars.
Once inside we were surprised to see all the other vendors inside.  We visited the Ford, Corvette, Toyota and Dodge factory displays and checked out the new cars on display.  We even got tickets to drive some of the new cars and take a ride in the mega horsepower Dodge's that were drifting in the parking lot.     Drifting Dodge
The variety of cars up for auction was great, from stock to full customs.  It was major eye candy for the guys looking at these great consigned cars.  It was also interesting to see the sold prices for cars that had already gone across the block.  Our view was that if you were looking for an early to mid 2000's luxury car, this was the place to get one as the prices were $10-12K for high end type vehicles.
Back at the hotel, the Zadras were able to visit with their son and his family.  It was a quiet night for Bruce & Trish.  Nan & I decided to finally visit the casino after dinner.  I can report that we did not leave winners.  The house won again.
Tomorrow our group will hit the road and head to Kanab to join the 375 other Model A'ers who are also arriving to participate in the MAFCA Canyonland Tour,
Here are are some picture from the auction.

Sweet Model A

 On The Auction Floor

Today's Dam Tour

Our schedule for today was to visit the famous Hoover Dam.  Hoover Dam was, at the time, the highest dam which created the largest man-made lake in the country.  The Zadras, Lindens and Marshall/Robersons piled into the rental car and first headed to Boulder City where we had breakfast in a great local spot that Bruce & Trish recommended.  The food was very good and plentiful. We continued on to Hoover Dam and signed up for the full tour of the facility. Learning the history of the dam was very interesting.  Looking over the edge you were in awe of the enormous size of the dam and the amount of concrete that went into its construction.  Once the concrete started pouring it
continued 24/7 for the next two years.  Interesting fact is that on the 75th anniversary a core sample of the concrete showed that the concrete was still curing.
We toured the construction tunnels, were able to go to the ventilation shaft that came out in the middle of the huge wall and visited the huge electric generators.
The dam provides electricity and irrigation water for much of southern California. The drought has impacted the water reserve in that that dam is currently at 45% of capacity.
We took a side trip to the National Recreational area and could see how 45% of capacity has lowered the water level, so much so that what used to harbors are now dry.   It was a very interesting visit.
Tomorrow we plan to visit the Barrett Jackson Auction.

Breakfast Cafe in Boulder City

This wall is over 700' high

This view of the new bridge is from the vent half way up the wall.

On half of the power generators

Nan & I and Bruce & Trish 

All back together

What a busy day we had.  It started at breakfast when I got a call from Jason, the Reliable driver, that he was almost to ADESA - Las Vegas, the drop off location for our Model A's.  So much for arriving about noon time.  We wolfed down our our breakfast and called UBER to get a ride to meet Jason.  We arrived as Jason was starting to get the Model A's ready to be unloaded.  Thankfully the unloading process went much faster than loading.  The Model A's didn't seem to mind their 2500 mile ride to Las Vegas and all started up and made it off the trailer with no issues.
We posed the Model A's in front of the ADESA - Las Vegas office and thanked the local General Manager for his assistance in the planning of this trip.
The ride back to the hotel was pleasant, not much traffic, and without any incident, well Bruce's CB wasn't working but that turned out to be a blown fuse.  Arriving at the hotel we made arrangements with security to cordon off the Model A's in the parking lot for a little extra protection.
With the cars all secure we had the rest of the day to head back to the strip to explore more of the amazing hotels.  We took the Mono-rail so we could do a little less walking today,  Our first stop was New York-New York.  What a place, just like visiting the Big Apple.  Of course plenty of shops but all laid out like you were in the city.
Next stop was the Venetian, which if you couldn't guess was like being in Venice, complete with canals and gondolas.  This place was loaded with shops but again with an atmosphere of being in the streets of Venice.  So much to see, I almost think the casinos are secondary to all the retail and restaurants.
The last stop for today was MGM Grand as we had tickets to see the Righteous Brothers performance.  This sure is music of our era and it was a great evening.   The last stop off the day was a trip to the top of the Eiffel Tower to view the city from 400 feet above the city.  What a sight.

Back at the hotel we checked on the Model A's to make sure all was well, it was.
It was the end of another great day with our friends.

ADESA Las Vegas where we pick up our cars

Me coming off the top level

Extra Security at the hotel

New York New York

The Righteous Brothers

Gondolas in the town square

The High Rollers Wheel

Night time on the strip from the Eiffel Tower

Las Vegas - First Stop

We arrived in Las Vegas yesterday and got settled into the hotel.  Since we were still adjusting to the time change we just caught our breath at the hotel after a long flight from Boston.
Today (Tuesday) however the group decided to hit the strip and check out the amazing hotels/casinos.  Our first stop was the spectacular Paris Casino complete with an amazing Eiffel Tower.  Next was the Belagio with the incredible display of Fall in India, tigers and elephants were featured along with a beautiful floral arrangements.
We hopped on the local bus and rode to the Freemont Experience which is the older Las Vegas which has now been turned into a mall. This is the classic older casinos with their colorful neon signs and the new video roof.
Back to the strip we visited Caesar's Palace and visited the spectacular arcade and Neptune show complete with fire and water.  I have to say so far Caesar's is the most spectacular of the casino's visited today.  You could stay there and never have to leave.  Back at the hotel our feet were tired after all the walking.
We ended the day by going to the airport tonight to pick up Bruce & Trish who arrived at 9PM.
Tomorrow (Wednesday) will be a busy as we will take delivery of the Model A's.  We look forward to getting them.

Caesar's Palace

The Eiffel Tower

Tiger at the Belaggio

The Prospector and the amazing ceiling video screen

Doug & Nan Linden

Lou & Rose Zadra

Don & Sue Ross