June 12, 2021– Twenty-one club members met in the parking lot by the Daily Donut Shop, many of us arriving close to 5:00 a.m. YES in the morning! Yes, many of us seniors do actually see the early morning light occasionally, especially to take part in a day trip with the vintage, OLD classic cars loved and cherished by so many of our members.
Leaving promptly at 5:30 a.m., we were going to a car show in a town which some call the “Loneliest Town in America Loyalton, California”.
Loyalton is on the southside of California’s Sierra Valley. It is a mecca for those who love the outdoors, offering plenty of opportunities for hiking, fishing, camping and mountain biking. But people tend to avoid Loyalton and “Loyalton” feels left out. The population is approximately 800, incorporated in 1901 as Loyalton, the name coming from the “loyalty” of its citizens to the Union during the Civil War. However; the people are very clever with a little ingenuity. In 1996, Bill Geist made the editor, publisher, photographer, lead reporter, head of production and advertising divisions of “The Sierra Booster” Hal Wright’s story in an acclaimed piece for CBS Sunday Morning compelling the life of Hal Wright. So, we hope we boosted their spirits by joining in their Car Show at their lovely little town. Thank you Loyalton for having us.
We needed to leave so early because the drive was two hours away and with so many of us being seniors, we were not sure how many stops on the way we would need. When we travel, we do not want to leave anyone on the side of the road, so we actually always travel together caravan style to our destiny. It is a delight to see the thumbs up from the travelers passing by who admire our cars along the way.
Leaving Grass Valley on Hwy. 49 up through Nevada City onto Hwy. 20 then through the woods and the beautiful surroundings along the highway. Up Hwy. 80 through Truckee and over the summit, stopping at the rest area, and we then ventured off through the roundabouts to get onto Hwy. 89. From there we connected with Hwy. 49 again and into Loyalton.
We arrived in Loyalton at approximately 7:30 a.m. YES in the morning. We then parked our 11 Vintage Cars of attendance together right along Hwy. 49 in downtown Loyalton. There were already many other vintage cars parked already waiting for the car show to begin.
In town, they had a cute little restaurant where we all gathered together for breakfast. The food and service were excellent, I have to add.
So, the day begins. Loyalton has a “Western Pacific Railroad Museum” and the Wilbur D. May Museum and Donner Party Artifacts at the school where these museums are located are no longer used as a school. Loyalton’s new school is located elsewhere close to where the town has a community park for social events.
In the old school there was also a wonderful thrift store. Many of us lady Angels were delighted with our treasures that we found and I have to say it was one of the least expensive thrift stores and very good quality items.
Loyalton also has a Mercantile that, I believe, has anything you may searched for. Items such as small tools, kitchen accessories, garden art, wind socks, bird feeders, bird houses and so many unusual items, I believe everyone could find a treasure there as well.
The antique store was a surprise. You would not believe the size of this store and the items they had were marvelous. I was really surprised I did not purchase something from the antiques offered, it was amazing.
Now to the car show. OH! First I have to mention also there was a saloon, every small town has a saloon and this one was a treasure as our fellow Angels’ enjoyed a late morning cocktail.
At the car show, I am thinking they had about 150 cars in attendance of all varieties, the car show advertised all cars, however, I believe I only saw Vintage Cars or at least that is all I paid attention to. I can go to an auto sales lot in any city to see NEW cars – not interested in a CAR SHOW for “RELICS”.
The trophies were something to marvel over; they were all hand made by a gentleman right there from Loyalton, an Old Timer who has lived there for years. He did a fantastic job on those trophies. Two of our Angels each won a trophy. Congratulations to Rick M. with his beautiful 1939 Chevy Coupe. It just so happened there was a trophy for a “Sedan Delivery” so low and behold guess who won that trophy? Congratulations to Danny G. and his beautiful sedan delivery.
Well, we had a wonderful day at the car show and about 2:30 in the afternoon we packed up the pop ups that we had put up for all of us Angels to gather under to protect us from the sun. But wait, that is not the end of the trip.
Danny, of course, had mapped out an opposite route to drive home so, when you travel with the us you rarely see the same road twice on one trip. So, to Downieville we headed off down Hwy. 49. We stopped in Bassett to top off our fuel tanks, but with so many of us all at once wanting to top off our tanks, a couple of us ventured on down to Sierra City, (actually breaking our rule of leaving our fellow Angels behind. However, we would have spent a lot of wasted traveling time waiting in line for fuel). We then let everyone behind us know we would meet them in Sierra City as there was no service on our cell phones, but notified them on the Club Radio to tell them. Once we entered Sierra City their gas stations were wrapped up tight and nonfunctional as well and now too far for radio service to warn everyone behind us. We continued onto Downieville to locate fuel to find really, really Relic gas tanks and definitely nonfunctional. Finally reaching Camptonville the fuel tanks were operating so now all fueled up; by then everyone had caught up and we were off to Nevada City again on Hwy. 49 to enjoy a dinner reserved together at Margaritas.
Come join Danny and I sometime, we really do have a great time with the people who travel with us.
Well Angel Friends it was a Marvelous Day with all of you! Now stay tuned for our highlights from “Our Lighthouse Cruise” in July 2021. Danny and Nikki G.
