1969 Ford F150 Farm & Ranch Special, West Texas

 

David Branch found the truck in West Texas.

Cold Blue Spring, Mid-Cambridge.

 

1968 Chevrolet C10, Alabama

 

Photos from Alabama came to us via Greg Philipps in Appalachicola, FL 

The Back Roads of Alberta, Automotive Treasures, and a Chance to Find True North

Anyone who follows Autoliterate is aware that the Canadian prairie provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta have big skies, relatively dry climates and a lot of old metal. Thanks to Matthew Sheehey for the heads-up on this piece in Hemmings on what's out there on the backroads of Alberta.

,,,

 

2023 Morgan Three-wheeler

 

From a first-look review in Motor Trend: "The first car the Morgan Motor Company built 113 years ago was a three-wheeler; two wheels up front for steering and stability, and a single drive wheel at the rear. In fact, until 1936 Morgan built nothing but three-wheelers. Over a century later, the all-new Morgan 2023 three-wheeler might be the most important yet.

"Morgan ended three-wheeler production in 1952 as more affluent post-war customers switched to its four-wheel sports cars...the concept was revived in 2012 by thereto-styled 3-wheeler, which was powered by an air-cooled, American-made S&S V-twin motorcycle engine mounted across the front end—just like the Morgan three-wheelers built until 1939.

"That car is now being replaced by an all-new three-wheeler that is arguably the single most important new Morgan in history. Unlike the 3 Wheeler, the all-new Morgan Super 3 has been designed from its three wheels up to meet global crash and emissions standards. And the U.S. is one of the car's key target markets...."

"...In the Super 3 the Ford Dragon engine, which drives the single rear wheel through a Mazda MX-5 sourced five-speed manual transmission connected to a bevel box and carbon-fiber reinforced drive belt, makes 118 horsepower at 6,500 rpm and 110 lb-ft of torque at 4,500 rpm. That doesn't sound like much. But as the Super 3 is expected to weigh not much more than 1,400 pounds, Morgan says that's enough grunt to shoot it to 60 mph in less than 7.0 seconds on to a top speed of 130 mph. And with no roof, no doors, optional aero screens, and the road rushing past just under your elbows, that's going to feel very fast."

Then there's the video. 

Thanks to Alex Emond for the heads-up on this car.

AL has posted several more traditional Morgans, like this one in Carlisle, MA

The Hi-Lo

 

Tour of that Hi Lo Country

The Hi Lo Country  Map by James R Gober 1998

 I did not know very much about the Hi Lo when I first started going there. What made me want to go there was the empty space on the map. Over the last few years while adjunct teaching at Colorado College I have made several weekend explorations through the Hi Lo. For a lone traveler in a car, in some ways there is "nothing there". The overwhelming fact is space--empty land and sky. The towns are not towns you've ever heard of until you get there--Clayton NM, Springer NM, Boise City OK, Dalhart TX. This is ranching country and in years when there is enough rain it's some of the best cattle range in the world. It's almost entirely private land. There's no BLM or National Forest management. You don't see a lot of cattle because the ranches are huge and far apart and cattle have to be ranged sparsely for ranching to be sustainable. I don't know how many hundred acres it would take to sustain a cow/calf in a good year. In a bad year I would imagine the price of hay is very high and a lot of breeding stock get shipped. I'm posting 2 maps of the Hi Lo which I've just come across in Max Evans' Hi Lo Country: Under the One-Eyed Sky, text by Evans and photographs by Jan Haley. Evans is the writer who gave the region its name with his novel The Hi Lo Country.. Still have not seen the Woody Harrelson movie, based on the novel. The novel is an intriguing roughhouse story set in a ranching country that reminds me of the ranching world I found in the Alberta foothills in the early 1970s, working on the GH Ranch in Sundre, Alberta as a very green hand lucky enough to ride sometimes in company with wonderfully skilled Alberta cowboys like Jack Gill and Sid Cunningham.

Heart of the Hi Lo  Map by James R Gober
(Photographs below are all mine, from various trips to the Hi Lo over the last 5 years)

Snowin' on Raton (Pass)

You might sing this song while crossing Raton, if you've been on the road a while.

Between Ocate and Springer NM

Las Vegas NM

Las Vegas NM

Between Las Vegas NM and Mora NM

Between Las Vegas NM and Mora NM

Des Moines NM

Clayton NM

Clayton NM

Between Raton and Des Moines NM

Des Moines NM

Range between Raton and Des Moines NM

Roy, NM

Raton NM

Selfie, Springer NM

North to Roy NM

Cimarron NM

The Plaza, Las Vegas NM

North of Las Vegas NM

Trinidad, CO

Clayton NM

Between Las Vegas NM & Mora NM 

Clayton NM

Clayton NM

Clayton NM

Between Las Vegas NM and Mora NM

Clayton NM

Dalhart, Texas

Clayton NM

Between Tucumcari and Las Vegas NM 

Walsenburg CO

Trementina NM

Clayton NM

Folsom NM

Johnson Mesa, NM

Cimarron NM

Texline, Texas

Dalhart Texas

Clayton NM

Texline, Texas

Between Raton and Des Moines NM

Clayton NM