The September 18 Open Road Adventure Rally will run partly on the historic BANKHEAD HIGHWAY, an early transcontinental road built in the teens and 20’s, yes, even before Route 66. It ran from Washington, DC to and San Diego. It was part of the National Auto Trail system and now the Texas Historic Highway is part of the new state Historic Roads and Highways Program. The BANKHEAD had a Southern route through Texas, and believe it or not, there are parts of the Road left in drivable condition around Weatherford. If you’ve ever run Route 66 or just dreamed of it, here’s your chance to run an even older Americana Highway. See historic Courthouses, 80 year old bridges, and early century gas stations on The BANKHEAD, with the fun of an Auto Rally. Rally themes include; Mountains, Ranches, Sheriffs, & The BANKHEAD.

There were no Fits among the 44 entrants in our rally last month, but there was one at one of our events earlier.

Register at tinyurl.com/ORA10msr . See the flier at Texas SCCA Rally News for details.

Rallymaster Bob Harris just sent me this email:
"WOW ... Adam and I have just come back from finalizing The OPEN ROAD ADVENTURE Rally with Liz! You should see the roads that we've picked out. The mountain Vistas around Mineral Wells and Weatherford are amazing. Anyone who hasn't driven this corner of the world will be truly impressed at the beauty of it all. Combine this with the competitive Rally component that Adam and Liz have set out and it's going to be a challenging Rally; I'll bet we're talking about this one for years. I can't believe Liz is so creative in designing Rallies! Mountains, lakes, the historic 90 year old Bankhead Highway, Texas County Courthouses, windy swervy country roads, straight-aways ... this Rally has it all. It'll be a blast for anyone with a sports car or a family car.
Anyone with FaceBook can see the page we've created with some details of the ORA Rally. Login | Facebook

I'll be surprised if this isn't the biggest Rally of the season for SCCA. Adam may even bring his DeLorean!

See you Saturday, September 18th. Bob"

 

SCCA Road Rally to circle 80 year old Landmark.

One of the many sights you’ll see if you enter the SCCA sanctioned OPEN ROAD ADVENTURE is the Mineral Wells landmark “The Baker Hotel”. This impressive landmark is the tallest structure, by far, for miles around and was termed a Sky Scraper in its day.

The Baker was designed with the same architecture as the famed Arlington Hotel in Hot Springs, Arkansas. The hotel was a hot spot in the 30’s & 40’s for Hollywood with names like Clark Gable, Tommy Dorsey, Lucille Ball and many others traveling by car or train to relax and bathe in the mineral spring water. She opened her doors November 9, 1929 and her grand opening was November 22, 1929 just two weeks after the great stock market crash. The Baker Hotel’s front door was placed facing The Bankhead Highway, which was a testament to the importance of both. We’ll give you a few minutes on the Rally to walk the stairs up to the front door, if you’re interested in looking inside.

The hotel closed for the final time in 1972. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. A group has been put together to investigate cost and funding for redevelopment of The Baker as a top meeting and event destination hotel. It would be grand to see it open and be busy again.

You can see this grand old Hotel before the proposed $54 million renovation, while driving on the SCCA Open Road Adventure.

Can the Baker Hotel be reborn? | Business | Dallas Business, Texas Business, Fort Worth ...

Preregister for the rally at tinyurl.com/ORA10msr . Get more information on the rally at www.texasscca.org/ORA10flyer1.pdf .