A Healey Adventure with: Glen and Karen Schimmelpfennig, Dennis and Cay Walkingshaw,
Peter and Victoria Davies of the Bonneville Austin Healey Club. What a blast!!!

As some of you might be aware, three of our club members recently trailered their cars to Folsom, California. There they joined up with 11 other cars and went on a Sierra Passes Tour led by David Nock of the Golden Gate Austin Healey Club. David does this drive each year, and it was worth the extra effort to participate in the event. The scenery, the fellow Healey owners, and the drive itself are fantastic. Healey folks are just wonderful people.

Thursday Oct 2nd
We left Salt Lake City and trailered our cars to Sparks, Nevada where we spent the night.

Friday Oct 3rd
We took our time getting up in the morning, had a good breakfast, then headed out to Folsom, California where we parked our trucks and trailers at an RV storage facility. We unloaded our Healeys and went out for a late lunch. Later in the afternoon we checked into our hotel and started meeting some of the other folks that were going on the tour.

Saturday Oct 4th
The tour started on a Saturday morning at the hotel in Folsom, and we headed north on Hwy 49 through the foot hills and then along the Yuba River up into the mountains and over Yuba Pass. We stopped for fuel and lunch at a place called Bassett’s station: great burgers. After lunch we continued our drive and finished the day in Tahoe City on the north shore of Lake Tahoe. The whole group gathered on the hotel patio, had cocktails, and went over the days drive. David then proceeded to talk about the next leg of the drive. We went to dinner at a restaurant that was on the lake shore with a beautiful view and then settled in for the night. Miles driven 165.

Sunday Oct 5th
Sunday morning was quite brisk, and we got an early start and headed south along the west shore of Lake Tahoe. We stopped at the Emerald Bay overlook and admired the view of the bay and a structure built on a small rock island called the tea house. We then headed south where we intersected with Hwy 50. We stopped for gas and continued west going over Echo Summit to Pollock Pines. We left the interstate and proceeded south on the Mormon Emigrant trail. The road wound through many miles of devastated forest that was burned a couple of years ago during one of the California wildfires. We intersected with highway 88 where we turned east and started climbing again.

I was following Glen and noticed that he had lost the gas cap on his Sprite. Unfortunately, it was a custom cap and he couldn’t just replace it with a regular one from an auto parts store. Little did we know this was just the beginning of Glens bad luck!

Highway 88 is designated as a scenic route with spectacular views. We continued east on 88 over Carson pass until we intersected with highway 89. At this point we were only 15 miles from Lake Tahoe where we had last fueled up, so Glen broke of and headed north to the gas station where he was able to retrieve his gas cap. The rest of the group stopped at a wide spot in the road called Sorensen’s for lunch. About 30 minutes later Glen and Karen arrived with the gas cap. After lunch we continued east through the small town of Markleeville and on to the intersection of Highway 4, where we turned west once more and went over Ebbetts Pass; elevation 9600 ft. This was a very steep climb and descent; although the grade was 25% in some places, all but one car made it. That car was suffering from excessive fuel issues and couldn’t make the climb, so the owner had to turn back. Somewhere along this stretch of road, which was quite rough in some places and very twisty, Glen’s exhaust pipe hit something and separated from the headers. More bad luck! The sound of an open header in that little car was deafening, but there was no where to get it repaired, so he and Karen soldiered on wearing earplugs. It was 60 miles to our next stopping point for the night in Arnold, Ca. By the time we got there the repair shops were closed, and Glen had to wait until the next morning to get it fixed.

In Arnold we all went out to a brewery and pizza place for dinner. I was fortunate in that my sister and brother in law lived close by, and they were able to join us and meet the rest of the group. Miles driven 206.

Monday Oct 6th
This morning we headed out early once again and went south through the gold country to Sonora, Ca. From there, we picked up Hwy 108 and headed back into the mountains from the foothills. We went over Sonora Pass and through many small quaint communities We also passed the Marine Corp Winter Mountain Training Center and eventually intersected with Highway 395 on the back side of the Sierra Mountains. We headed south and stopped at an overlook of Mono Lake which was impressively beautiful. We then continued south to the town of Bridgeport where we stopped for lunch and a cold beer. All the cars were parked outside in a row and we attracted a lot of attention. It was fun to answer questions from the locals. We continued south to the town of Lee Vining where we stopped for the night. We all gathered on the hotel patio and had refreshments; champagne in particular as it was David Nocks wife’s, Gerry, birthday. Mileage driven 151 miles.

Tuesday Oct 7th
The next morning, Tuesday, we weren’t in such a hurry to leave as it was a shorter drive. We were able to spend time having a nice sit-down breakfast. We then headed south again and did the Grant Lake loop which took us back into some steep canyons where the scenery was stunning and we saw the beautiful fall colors Nothing like the ones we see in Utah though! The loop road also took us past June Lakes and back to Hwy 395 where we turned north until we intersected with Hwy 120. Hwy 120 west has a long steady climb up to Tuolumne Meadows and Tioga Pass where we stopped for a break. There were many small alpine lakes and high mountain meadows. Once again, the scenery was fantastic. After a break we continued west on Hwy 120 and ended up driving through the Yosemite Valley where we stopped for a picnic lunch. We were very fortunate to witness 12 climbers scaling the sheer wall of El Capitan. It is a few days climb, and the climbers spend the night suspended in hammocks thousands of feet above the valley floor. At night we were able to see the lights from their positions. We then drove to a place called the Redwoods at Yosemite. This was the end of our passes tour and the beginning of “California Healey Week”, which was organized by the Southern California Austin Healey Club. That night we had a taco dinner and a meet-and-greet with wine and beer provided. I was able to see many of the friends that I had made when I was a member of the Golden Gate Austin Healey Club.

Glen, Karen, Victoria and I had finished up dinner on Tuesday evening and traveled 12 miles from the event to our hotel. Do you remember Glens bad luck that I mentioned earlier? Well it had been waiting for the right moment to rear its ugly head once more. As Glen was pulling into his parking place his brake pedal went to the floor and he had to grab his hand brake to stop. Fortunately no accident occurred. We took a look under his car and discovered that the brake fluid was leaking out of the left front caliper. There wasn’t much we could do that night so we turned in for the night. Miles driven 145.

Wednesday Oct 8th
The next morning Glen drove his car 11 miles down hill to the town of Oakhurst with just the hand brake. He found a shop, The Rusty Piston, that was able to repair the caliper and get him back on the road. Unfortunately he missed out on Wednesday’s drive into Yosemite Park and the poker run. Dennis, Cay, Victoria, and I had a tour of the Ahwahnee Lodge, which was built in the 1920’s. We learned a lot about the history of the park and the building of the lodge. It is a very famous lodge and has been visited by many foreign dignitaries over the years, including the Queen of England. As part of the tour package we had the option of having lunch in the main dining room with its vaulted ceilings and views of the surrounding landscape It was delicious. Wednesday evening we were on our own for dinner, so Dennis and Cay served up a great meal at the cabin that they had rented. Then Glen, Karen, Victoria, and I headed back to our hotel.

Thursday Oct 9th
Thursday morning arrived and all participants gathered at the Redwoods center for a picture session. There were 67 cars that showed up for the 3 day event. All the Healeys gathered for a photo shoot, and when we started our engines the sound was music to the ears. We then drove to Glacier Point, which looks over the whole Yosemite Valley and the surrounding mountains. From the top of Glacier Point it is a 3200 ft. drop straight back to the valley floor. It is an incredible sight to behold. On the return trip to the hotel we stopped to visit some of the giant redwoods in a park in Coulterville. Thursday evening we went back to the gathering point at the Redwoods for a banquet dinner. There was a lot of discussion among all the Healey owners and catching up with old friends. Earlier in the week the Healey club that put this all together had an online car show where you were able to post pictures of your car, and folks that were in attendance were able to see them and cast a vote for one car in each category. It was a really great time. Prizes were awarded in numerous categories. Glen took first place in the Sprite category, and I won first place in the Modified group. Then the fun began and the master of ceremonies asked to hear stories of anyone that had experienced some bad luck. I told Glen that he needed to tell his story but he said no. So I said “then I will”. At this point Glen told me that his alternator was going out as the voltage on his gauge had dropped. Glen’s bad luck was still haunting him. So I stood up and addressed the crowd and told the story of woe that Glen had so far experienced. The broken exhaust system, the loss of brakes and now the alternator. Guess who won the “Hard Luck” award hands down, Glen. The trophy has a flatbed tow truck on top with a Healey on the back. This must have been an omen because Glen’s bad luck was not over yet!

Friday Oct 10th
We got up early and started the 4hr drive to where we had parked our trucks and trailers in Folsom. We stopped in Oakhurst for breakfast and then drove north on Hwy 49 to Mariposa where we topped up with gas. As we headed north on Hwy 49, we entered a section of road called the “Little Tail of the Dragon” It is very winding road with steep drop offs on one side and rock mountain walls on the other. I was in the lead and keeping an eye on Glen and Dennis behind me when I noticed that both of them were no longer in my rear view mirror. I turned around and drove back up the hill and found Glens car with a severe lean to it. The right rear wheel had come off!! More bad luck. The bolts that hold the splined wire wheel hub to the axel had come loose and the wheel came off in a corner. Fortunately Glen was going slow, because of the twisty road and the only damage to the car was the end of the U bolts which got ground down a bit. Well this was a bit troublesome. We were stuck in the middle of nowhere, and cell phone service was sketchy at best. I was the only one with service and was able to contact AAA, and they sent a flatbed tow truck which was 3 hours away. The flatbed finally arrived and Glen’s car was loaded. Remember the “Hard Luck” award that he won with the “Flatbed tow truck and the Healey on the back”? Well it came true!!!!! The driver was a wonderful young man, and he towed Glen’s car the last 100 miles to where our trucks and trailers were parked. He then proceeded to not just unload the Sprite but was able to put it in Glen’s trailer without damaging anything. We then drove to Sparks, Nevada where we checked into our hotel and went out for a really great dinner at the “Sparks Water Bar”. Great food and service. If you are ever in Sparks you should stop there.

Saturday Oct 11th
We begin the last leg of our journey back to Salt Lake City with a stop for lunch at the “The Star Hotel” in Elko, Nevada established in 1910.

We were driving around through the neighborhood trying to find a place to park our trucks and trailers, and we ended up in the “RED LIGHT” district of town. My wife yelled out “I can’t believe you brought me here this is scary!!”. I laughed and assured her that everything was fine, not to worry. The Star is a long time favorite Basque restaurant/bar and a local hangout. The food is served family style, and if you leave there hungry it’s your own fault. We each ordered a sandwich, but unbeknown to us that is not all you get. It comes with freshly baked bread, homemade cabbage soup, tossed salad with Star Hotel dressing, and french fries. If you finish any of the extras, they will refill any one of them at no extra charge. So after lunch we headed back to our trucks, and our three wives decided they wanted a photo taken of them in front of a legal brothel. It’s in the photos accompanying this story.

This was a fantastic trip with some really good friends: Glen and Karen Schimmelpfennig, Dennis and Cay Walkingshaw.
Total miles driven in our Healeys: 1096.
Total miles driven for the whole trip from Salt lake City and back: 2452

Pete