Tin Lizzie Ranch in lower Buckeye

Monday 27th February - 2023

Here's my final wash-up from Phoenix, Arizona after a pleasant 3-months stay here in America.

In 48-hours l will be behind the wheel of 'Sheila' for the last time here in North America for the 375-miles or 600 kms drive to Los Angeles for our final crossing of the desert on Interstate Highway 10.

Our host David Ker is one of our Club members & invited the Model A Ford & Model T Ford club members plus a few ring-in hot rods to attend his Ranch.

I'll be heading west for Hawthorne in Los Angeles, California to deliver 'Sheila' to my shippers, so that they can organise her safe passage back to Australia across the mighty Pacific Ocean to Sydney.

There were some very impressive Model T Fords & Model A Fords in attendance 

The plan is to depart Chandler here in Phoenix at 5:00am on Thursday morning to beat the traffic on their 6 lane Freeway (each way). Once it is light the 202 Loop Freeway is chock a block each way, sometimes it is like a giant carpark & I sure as anything do not want to be caught up in that sort of a traffic jam before I head to LA.

Hopefully if everything goes to plan I will arrive in LA mid afternoon drop the vehicle off then catch a taxi to LAX International Airport & wait for my flight on 'Skippy' later that evening arriving home into the lucky country first thing on Thursday morning the 2nd March.

It is still very cold here in Phoenix, especially if the wind is blowing. Early mornings it drops down to 5C or 40f very rarely does the temperature drop to that level in Sydney, however once the sun comes up it does start to warm up somewhat.

It usually turns out to be a very pleasant day until the sun goes down again in the arvos. Once the sun disappears the temperature immediately drops dramatically.

David has been collecting stuff all his life & as you can see by the photographs he has built himself a very impressive Man Shed or even better still a Museum.

I sure do not know how those Wagon Trains & those Cowboys heading west handled these conditions in the 1800s. They definitely were a tough bunch, trust me.

I really had no idea how cold it gets here in Phoenix until this trip. Usually I spend the summer months here (June-July-August) & it is stinking hot, day in day out, very rarely does the temperature drop below 100f or 38C (even in the evenings) for those 90-days continuously, this year’s adventure has been a very pleasant change.

Yesterday I attended my final event with the Model A Ford Restorer’s Club of Arizona. This years event was the Annual Round up at the Tin Lizzie Ranch in lower Buckeye, don’t you just love that name?

There will be no more live reports on ‘Warbo’s Magical Mystery Tour’ from me here in the States.

I certainly hope that you have enjoyed sharing my adventures while l was here on this trip, I have tried not to bore you with my stories & adventures.

It must have worked somewhat, because I have not received any negative feed back or nasty emails. Maybe it is because you all are much too polite.

Stay safe, I hope to catch up with you all in the not too distant future.

Regards,

Warbo