Sedona, Arizona, 356 event

The LMS and I were lucky enough to attend the annual 356 Registry convention known as the "West Coast Holiday" in Sedona, Arizona, last week. We trailered our Coupe down and after the event left the trailer and car with friends and toured some of our old haunts in Arizona.

The weather was fantastic and there were a total of 251 356s in attendance. A pretty nice group of people and "most" of them were real entusiasts. We had many tours of Prescott, Jerome, Payson, Sedona, etc, along with winery tours and rally events. Sharon and I won the first rally and were rewarded with a helicopter ride through many inaccessible canyons outside of Sedona! Wow! It was terrific.

An interesting note ... as we parked our cars on the golf course for the public show the course officials gave each of us a poster sized heavy paper with our event logo printed on it. The purpose was to place it under our motors to prevent oil from dripping on their grass! Even more interesting was that almost no one had a "clean" paper at the end of the day.

I spoke to many of the attendees about our replica Speedsters and they were quite interested and quite a few asked for information to help them investigate them further. The idea of driving our cars and not wearing out the collectible antiques was a new and appealing thought to a great number I spoke with. We may have some converts soon!

Of note were four couples from New Hampshire who drove in across the northern US, down Highway 1 and over to Arizona. The went home by traveling across the southern US and up the East Coast. Total driving distance of over 5700 miles with no breakdowns! Now, those are enthusiasts!

Enjoy the pictures.

Happy Trails,
Dusty and the LMS

More pics of Sedona

Just a picture of the Coupe loaded up to go to Sedona, Arizona. I wanted to show the basket type of tie-downs I got for it. I use the Through-the-Spokes method on my Speedster but the Coupe has brake drums in the way of getting the straps through. Just another alternative for those of you planning to haul your cars anywhere.

By the way, notice my trailer now has Porsche looking wheels and a Porsche shield in the rock guard. Still people ask "is that an early Miata?". Oh, well.

Happy Trails,
Dusty

Looks like a nice run Dusty! Glad you and LMS had a fun time.

...and a very cool trailer set-up!

Ok so the obvious question for me is:

Why not just drive your coupe? Others proved the 356 is a perfect car to drive with a 5,700 mile trip. I put 3921 miles on my 60 Sunroof this past summer in two weeks. So why use all the extra fuel of a tow rig and trailer?

Enjoy the ride......;-).....if it's broken then trailer it.

Others probably didn't take their wives. :)

Yeah, even Bill Collins and his friend Syd Wilde, both from New Hampshire, drive their 356's out to the WCH every year, but their wives fly out and meet them there. And after reading about their exploits just getting there, if I were their wife I would fly out, too!! (like getting up and on the road by 4am, just to make a particular traffic segment go easier, or driving very late to make a particular hotel for the night, only to be on the road again at 6am the next day!!)

Their adventures (as far as they chronicled them) make us look like novices, so here you go:>>>>>>>

Some friends from the TYP356 club near Boston have left for the Porsche West Coast Holiday in Sedona, Arizona in a week or two. I know one is in a 356 Coupe (Bill Collins), but Syd Wilde might be in either his coupe or his Cabrio - don't know for sure

Now, you might expect them to take a more-or-less-direct route from New England to St. Louis, then the straight shot from there to Flagstaff and then drop down to Sedona, or even come in from the New Mexico side and over to Sedona that way, but NO! Not THESE Porsche guys! They're going through Canada all the way to the Rockies and then dropping down South (probably taking the Pacific Coast Highway, but I don't know yet) and then heading to Sedona that way.

And these guys (especially Bill Collins) do this every year!! Bill will drive 4 hours one-way just for coffee and a Danish and he's made it to every West Coast Holiday event for as long as I've been in the club in 2000.

Follow their intrepid adventures here>>>>>>:::::::

Haven't had a single photo op as we have been playing in the rain, fog and darkness for four days. Here's a tale of our run so far:
Sid & I met on I-89 North in Warner, NH at 5:00 AM on Saturday morning. It was pitch black with nothing open. So we rolled North to Lebanon, NH for breakfast at a truck stop. We then crossed into VT and picked up Rte 4 for Woodstock and Rutland, VT. After crossing into New York State we headed North on Rte 22 along Lake Champlain until we joined the Northway heading for Montreal. Just South of the US/CDN border we took a left, heading West along NY Rte 11 which follows the St Lawrence River. We breezed through Customs at Cornwall with silver tongued Sid in the lead. I was only asked if I had ever been arrested and was waved through. Shortly after crossing into Ontario the weather broke loose with rain, wind & fog. I discovered that the full day I spent with Rainer had been well worth while... not a drop of water in the SC Cab while the European heater kept me very comfortable. About two hours east of Toronto, one of my wipers broke loose and was swinging back and forth sideways. I pulled over in heavy traffic with Sid close behind. As he climbed out of his car, he shut the door with the engine and lights on. The door was locked but not completely shut. For a half hour we tried everything I had in my kit and car to squeeze past the front 1/4 window and weatherstripping... no go. Then, I wandered into the bushes bordering the highway with my Leatherman and cut a forked stick. It did he trick and we were running again. We arrived at Connie's Brother's home and enjoyed an incredible Chinese meal at one of our favorite Toronto restaurants before crashing for the night. Day 1-615 miles.
We were rolling by 6:30 Sunday morning heading for Sault Ste Marie, Ontario. It was a great, but very wet, drive through the Muskoka Lakes region of Ontario and then over the top of Lake Huron. Our Ho-Jo's Motel was dismal at best. But, we enjoyed a good meal of Lake Superior White Fish in town with a bottle of Chianti, then returned to our room to listen to pouring rain all night. Day 2-448 miles

With no breakfast available at the motel, we rolled north at 3:45 AM along the Trans Canada Highway and over the top of Lake Superior... not one of our brighter decisions. The first 180 miles had zero restaurants and plenty of moose poop in and along the highway. Nearly every KM there was a sign saying "Moose Danger At Night". At about 5:30 AM Sid (in the lead) slid by a cow Moose getting ready to cross the road. We were very happy to see daylight and find a Tim Hortons for breakfast after nearly four hours on the road in fog and constant rain. Our US border crossing south of Thunder Bay was even simpler that coming into Canada and we headed for Ely, Minnesota. I had wanted to see the Boundary Waters Canoe Area which is joined to the north by Canada's Quetico Wilderness and now a National, Park. What we didn't know was that the 62 mile drive from the North Western shore of Lake Superior was one of the best Porsche roads either of us had ever enjoyed... and we rolled. After about 55 miles of way-over-the-speed-limit fun, we dropped back to a more moderate pace. Around the next corner we came across flashing lights with a patrolman writing a ticket. After attacking some bothersome 356 water leaks with dum-dum, we toasted our close call at the Ely Steak House later that evening. During the night the rain subsided a bit. Day 3-620 miles.
We slept in a bit this morning and hit an Ely Cafe for breakfast at 6:00 AM. Heading southwest from Ely on secondary roads, the weather attacked us with a vengeance and stayed with us all the way across Minnesota and well into North Dakota. By mid afternoon the rain subsided a bit and we made it to our Bismarck, ND Hampton Inn by 5:00 PM. Day 4-498 miles.
Our cars are doing an outstanding job and other than needing a bit of drying out we no issues. What other antique can be flogged for over 2,000 miles at speeds up to 80 mph in the rain and be ready to do it again for another day?
The weather is showing signs of improvement for tomorrow. We'll be in Butte, MT tomorrow night.

**********************************

From Gordon: Sorry, folks......That's all they sent before Sedona (that I've seen).
I've sent an email to Bill Collins to see if there was any more that I missed.

Stay tuned!!

gn

Dave,
" So why use all the extra fuel of a tow rig and trailer? "

Apparently you did not read the first paragraph of my posting. We trailered so that we could leave the car and trailer with friends in Prescott and see others throughout the state. For us that means going to a number of ranches and back to my stomping grounds in the Pleasant Valley. PV alone requires driving 49 miles of a very narrow, washboard, gravel road below the Mogollon Rim and another 4 miles back into the ranch (crossing two small streams). Now if your Porsche is tough enough for that I guess we are just wimps! :-)

I even hesitated to do that to my Escalade. The LMS suggested we park it in Payson and take a rental car to the ranch!! I have shook the nuts and bolts out of quite a few good pickups on that route over the years. We drove a station wagon there on our honeymoon 45 years ago and almost destroyed the car. My cars today are nicer than that and, I hope, I have acquired better judgement.

Happy Trails,
Dusty and the LMS

Reply from Bill:

Hi Gordon,
After Ely we hit serious rain and then snow in Montana. I learned that after 14-16 hours in the saddle, I was too beat to write up our travelogue. I'm working on it this week and hope to have it completed by weekend.
Thanks for the interest.
Bill "Iron-Butt" Collins
* the award I was given in Sedona

Great story Gordon.

Dusty and everybody else,

I did miss the drop off the car comment but I have driven a lot of roads in lots of cars including real 356 Porsche's and there is not one road because of dust, rocks, rain, snow, or anything else that would stop me unless it was totally unsafe. I was pissed while on the 3921 mile trip with the newly restored 60 Sunroof when we happened upon several miles of roads in various places that were freshly chip sealed or under construction complete with dirt roads and rocks. I just slowed down like everybody else. The only problem I had was my fault for rolling into a curb and putting a dent in the lower front left valance in Whitefish Montana. I was mad but not as mad as I was when my wife door dinged the passengers door three days out of the paint shop........

I have driven all over those roads you mentioned on the rim during weekends with friends while in Phoenix. We would weekend in Flagstaff and have fun. The area is just beautiful. Last time I was in Flagstaff I got a little hammered at the Weatherford Hotel listening to a real good jazz band.

I once took a road with my wife and two daughters in the Sierras that was strictly a 4WD posted road with my 84 Chevy Cavilear SW with a 2.0L and 5 speed. I also had a Gruman 15 foot aluminum canoe strapped to the roof. When I got to Spring lake to fish, go canoeing and have a picnic lunch a couple of guys in a Jeep were truly amazed I was there.

It is all about driving the proper speed for the road and conditions not so much about the car I'm driving.........that said everybody has their own limits.

But like I said I'm a little crazy......I'll take the road less traveled rough or otherwise any day of the week.......;-)

Jerome, Sedona, Show Low, Payson, the Mogillon Rim, Salt river Canyon
Zane Grey country, Riders of the Purple Sage

and car country too (per Jackson Browne):
"Well, I'm a standin' on a corner in Winslow, Arizona
and such a fine sight to see:
it's a girl, my Lord, in a flat bed Ford
slowin' down to take a look at me."

Kathy and I went to Sedona in 1974 and about all that was there at that time was a BIG Teepee signifying the Indian store and a building housing the Indian Agent.

We went back in 1998 and there was this whole "Artist Community" of old White people, hordes of "shops" for the tourists and the best local Indian art had to be really hunted for, way up in the hills, and you only found it if you had a local introduction.

How times have changed.........

Gordon,
Sharon and I went to Arizona State College (now Norther Arizona University) back in 1960-64 and went to Sedona to play on weekends. It was gravel main street then and not much other than a general store and gas station. Times do change ... even if we don't!

Dave,
You are right ... everyone to their own limits. I just have too much respect for beautiful old cars to treat them like that. New cars are made to handle our roads better in tough conditions and I prefer to preserve the "old iron" so the next generations can enjoy them too.

The Other Dave,
We sang the song over and over. Love it!

Everyone else,
You have absolutely no idea how far out the Pleasant Valley is. It is considered one of the most remote communities in the US. I was at the ranch and in town every day back then and we did not hear about President Kennedy's assasination until 3 days after it happened. Often we cannot get to the headquarters ranch anyway except horseback due to the streams rising for days. (I guess that is why the LMS and I don't live there today, eh?) Probably not the place for Porsches, Ferraris and Lotus' !!

Happy Trails,
Dusty and the LMS

BTW, as I write this Colorado is getting over 28" of snow here in Loveland. Time to dig in under the electric blanket !!!!

We love Sedona! We've been many times for off-roading in some awesome back-country expeditions, with our PCA group (Zone 8), or to attend benefit concerts produced by Jackson Browne at the Red Rock Amphitheater, or just rent a house for the week to hang out and explore. An SOC gathering at Sedona would be fun.

Dusty and the LMS:

I was in Honduras in the late 1960's, living in the central mountains in a town called La Esperanza ("the Hope", for you gabachos). It was a two-day ride from Tegucigalpa, the Capital, and on the second day you had to ford a couple of somewhat larger streams (or small rivers, depending on the local rains). In fact, a couple of the roads were built along/on small river beds and were totally impassable after heavy rains.

I had picked up some folks at the 1-day transfer point, a town called Comayagua, which was down on the central plains and then headed back up into the mountains on clay/gravel roads and during a heavy tropical downpour that had started the day before. We forded a couple of very small streams (we were in a 2-wheel drive F250) and then hit the main river near Siguetepeque. It was about 100 feet across and I knew it might be deep in spots (there were drop-offs here and there in the middle) and I didn't want to get the truck stuck, so I tossed my wallet up on the dash, got out in the rain and waded out into the stream. I got all the way across, slipping here and there on rocks under the water and testing left and right for holes and to find the "road" bed, and then turned around and waded back. The water was a little more than waist deep (which was good - the truck would make it through) and I only picked up one leach on the round trip which I popped off with my knife (they're easy if you catch 'em quick).

When I got to the truck, the other folks were looking at me with eyes the size of dinner plates. I got back in the truck, still soaked, and said, "OK, so now I've shown you how to check the depth of a stream. We each take a turn on this trip, and there's three more rivers up ahead." I've never seen three people turn white so fast in all my life.

gn

Gordon,
What color were they in the first place ???

;->

Gordon - great adventure story! I'm guessing that you already knew the next few river crossings were MUCH deeper. :-)

Jim:

Nah.....there was only one more and it wasn't all that big over near Jesus de Otoro. I just wanted to get a rise out of them - they had been traveling for three days before they got to me, starting in Houston.

As the story continues, we stopped in Jesus de Otoro for the night because the road was getting too treacherous to continue in a 2WD truck. The "roads" there were (and still are in many places) a combination of clay and gravel (mostly clay) which turned to grease when it rained. The only vehicles able to make way were 4WD (called "Dobles") and then very slowly. We left Jesus the next day after torrential downpours during the night and got halfway home when it opened up again. We were making way at about 3mph, came down a slight downgrade,across a bridge over a raging stream and then started up a steeper grade on the other side. About 100 yards up, forward motion stopped and we started sliding backwards. I stepped on the brakes, we slid backward. I stepped on the gas, we slid backwards, and then.......it started to slide kind-of sideways toward that bridge we crossed.....the one, like ALL bridges in 3'rd world countries, which had no guard rails.

In slow motion, we slid down the hill backwards, everyone hanging on to each other and/or the inside of the truck as we slowly, very slowly, slid right to the edge of the bridge and then stopped, about three feet from going over the edge and down 50 feet into a gorge.

Here's a shot after we got out and shoveled out our draws:

http://i593.photobucket.com/albums/tt14/speedstahguy/DSC00241.jpg

Sorry about the picture quality - shot from an instamatic in 1967! About an hour later, an empty logging truck came crawling up the road and hooked on to us with a BIG-ass cable and pulled us to the top of the hill, where we stayed for 6 hours until it was possible to keep going. We made the 5 hour ride from Siguatepeque to la Esperanza in just under 27 hours, got three hours sleep and then I delivered my riders to San Luis - another 3 hours away.

Ahhhhh.....the good old days!!

gn

YIKES!!!! Glad you guys survived that crazy adventure! That entire trip had to be an awesome experience!