West Coast Forward Look members
What follows is the schedule for a statewide meet to be held in
Bakersfield California over Halloween weekend. The organizer is Steve
Jensen. The meet is sponsored by the NorCal Chapter of the NDC and they
are extending and invitation to members of the California Chrysler
Products Club. I think that any Mopars would be welcome, but you can
check with Steve at jensen1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx if you have more questions.
Looks like a good opportunity to enjoy those Foward Look Mopars and the
California scenery!
Hello All! Looking forward to seeing you at the National DeSoto Club
Northern California Chapter California meet in sunny Bakersfield,
California on October 29-31, 1999. The following is the meet itinerary
as it stands at this time.
Participants will be staying at the Lone Oak Inn, 10614 Rosedale
Highway, Bakersfield, Ca. 93312. From Highway 99, go west on Highway
58 (Rosedale Highway) about 5 miles. The motel is on the right. (If
you cross the bridge over the railroad tracks, you have gone about 2-3
blocks too far.) From Interstate 5, take the Buttonwillow exit (Hwy 58)
and go east about 15-20 miles until you start to come into town and
cross the bridge over the railroad tracks. The motel is on the left
about 2-3 blocks past the bridge. Reservations can be made up to two
weeks before teh meet. The rates for National DeSoto Club members and
guests are:
1 person, 1 bed: $37.40
2 people, 1 bed: $38.50
2 people, 2 beds: $48.50
Please call the Lone Oak Inn at (661) 589-6600 to make your
reservations. (Note the new area code) Mention the National DeSoto
Club to get the reduced rates for our group.
Friday, October 29, 1999
We will meet at the motel at 5 pm. We will leave about 5:30 pm to
cruise to the Sonic Drive-In on Olive Drive. This is the local Friday
night cruise-in location for the greater Bakersfield area. The food is
good, and car club affiliation gives you a 20% discount. Don?t be
afraid to tell them, ?National DeSoto Club!? There is always an
assortment of real nice cars here every week (mostly Chevies, Fords, and
street rods plus a misc. smattering of other cars.) We want to arrive
early enough to set up a row of REALLY NICE cars (ie: DeSotos) and let
those plain-jane car owners eat their hearts out in envy! Stay as long
as you like!
Saturday, October 30, 1999
We will meet at Spencer?s Restaurant (about 2 blocks from the motel) for
breakfast at 7 am. We will have a short pre-tour meeting there after we
eat, leaving about 8:30 am for the Saturday tour.
The tour begins by driving through Bakersfield via Hwy 178 heading to
Lake Isabella through the spectacular Kern River Canyon. This canyon is
rugged and gorgeous. I like to call it the ?Grand Canyon of Kern
County?. This is the ideal kind of roadway to prove the advanced
handling characteristics of our DeSotos. We will make a 15 minute stop
along the river to stretch our legs and get a look at the river itself.
BEAUTIFUL!
Then we will continue on to Bodfish, California, home of the Silver City
Ghost Town and a tour of many authentic historic buildings from various
places in Kern County. The Ghost Town also has antique shops for your
viewing and shopping pleasure. This part of Kern County is noted for
its mining history, which is reflected at the ghost town. For more
information, those of you with internet services can visit the Silver
City web site by logging on to
http://userzweb.lightspeed.net/findseek/index.html. It is quite
impressive and well worth the visit.
>From Bodfish, we will continue on through the town of Lake Isabella,
past the man-made dam and around the lake itself. It is quite a
breathtaking and a popular water-sport and fishing mecca for our area.
We will cruise through the town of Wofford Heights to Kernville,
California, which is at the north end of Lake Isabella. In Kernville,
we will stop at the ?That?s Italian? Restaurant for a fine lunch and a
little antique shopping. This restaurant has diagonal parking in front
which I am trying to reserve for our beautiful DeSotos. Last time I ate
there, I took my 55 DeSoto and had a million(????) gawkers who could not
believe the beauty of these fine automobiles! And, we may be able to
eat on the veranda overlooking our precious machines and observe the
admirers.
After lunch, we will continue north up the Kern River through some less
rugged but extremely beautiful terrain. Then we will turn west, heading
into the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Our destination? The Trail of a
Hundred Giants! Yes, there are redwoods in our neck of the woods, too!
We will walk through these giants and enjoy the crisp mountain air (it
might be a bit cool...better bring your jackets!) and the beauty of
nature. Who knows, we might even see a deer or two!
>From here, we start our decline down the west face of the Sierra
Nevadas, heading back to Bakersfield. Is this the end? NO!!! We will
see deep mountain valleys and view the change in vegetation from high
mountain evergreen forests, to forests of mid-range oak trees, to golden
hills of grasses, and then back to Bakersfield in time to get to our
motel rooms and freshen up for dinner.
This tour promises to be very interesting. Where else can you go on one
tour and see rivers, canyons, lakes, mountains, evergreen and redwood
forests, oak forests, rolling hills, ghost towns, and enjoy fine cuisine
all in the same day? This is a tour you don?t want to miss!
Once back in Bakersfield, we will meet again at 6:30 pm at the Roadhouse
Grill about a mile or so from the motel. This is a fairly new
restaurant that features a roadhouse motif, peanuts (throw them shells
on the floor, Honey!) and has steaks that melt in your mouth (I
GUARANTEE IT!) After filling up, we will then cruise to the Jensen?s
house for a club meeting and fellowship. If I can get my shop cleaned
up, I?ll show off my pride and joy shop that I built and show you my
latest project: a 1956 Ford Crown Victoria steeltop under construction!
Sunday, October 31, 1999
We will start out on Sunday with our Farewell Breakfast at Spencer?s
Restaurant at 8 am. At 9:15 am I have to leave (I?m a preacher for the
deaf people at our church and have to do my duties. I plan to shorten
some of our activities to get me out earlier than normal! You are
welcome to come if you like.) Those of you that can stay, we have
activities planned for the afternoon.
At 11:30 we will meet for lunch (what would you like to eat?). After
lunch, we will cruise into Bakersfield to the Pioneer Village at the
Kern County Museum. Fitting with our Saturday activities (Ghost Town),
the Pioneer Village is a large collection of buildings from the Kern
County area. Included are houses (a log house, a couple pioneer houses,
and a good sized mansion with an old car in the garage), to school
houses, jails and courthouses, assessors office, railroad engines,
cabooses, railroad cooking cars, pioneer churches, and many, many more
interesting and historic buildings. In the basement of the Museum
itself there is a display of about 10-15 old original condition
(unrestored) cars (some quite rare). What a fitting end to a fabulous
week-end. After this visit, we will cruise back to the motel. Anyone
who wants to, can come over to my house to visit, or take off for home.
You are welcome as long as you want to stay, but this ends the planned
activities.
How much money should you plan on bringing? Here are some figures:
Motel: See above
Sonic Drive-In: Typical greasy-spoon prices minus 20%
Spencers Restaurant (B-fast) About $6.00 per person
Tickets for Ghost Town: $3.00 per person
Lunch in Kernville: $3.50-$8.50 per person (avg $6.50)
Trail of a Hundred Giants: Free
Roadhouse Grille (dinner): About $15.00 per person average
Tickets for Pioneer Village: $5.00 each ($4.00 for seniors)
Lunch on Sunday: Depends on what we want
Cherry and I are excited about this tour, and especially about your
visit. We know you will thoroughly enjoy this weekend and hope that you
will reserve this weekend to come and be with us! You won?t be sorry!
See you there!
Steve Jensen
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