Traveler savors old car, back roads

SANDY — The pace of day-to-day life for many in the U.S. leaves little time for the simple things he has come to love during his transcontinental road trip.

Driving in a Spyker automobile first manufactured in 1907, Stijnus Schotte has taken in the scenes of American life via the back roads and lesser-known routes for the past month. As he travels with no windshield and a max speed of 55 mph, Schotte said few views have escaped him.

"On the drive it's all about what you see," said Schotte, a native of Holland. "It's been more than I was expecting. It was more overwhelming then I could have imagined. You see the scenery changing and all the varieties, from the bread basket in Iowa to the cattle ranches in Nebraska then to the Rocky Mountains. Amazing."

While he is not pressed for time, the route is not an accidental wandering. Schotte is recreating a trip done by Alice Ramsey, the first woman to drive a car from coast to coast, running the car from the Maxwell Car Factory in New York City to the St. James Hotel in San Francisco.

In 1909, then 22-year-old Ramsey was commissioned by the Maxwell Car to drive a Maxwell DA across the U.S. as a publicity stunt to prove that women were both capable and qualified to operate the machinery of the day.

For Schotte, however, the drive is less about history and more about the view of the world from a vehicle that was created more than 100 years ago.

On Sunday, Schotte brought his sturdy Spyker over Guardsman Pass, an unpaved road that ties Midway to Salt Lake through the Wasatch-Cache National Forest. Once in the valley, Schotte spent time with his extended family in Sandy on Monday. He'll continue on toward California through Tooele County today.

"People are surprised to see the scenery where they live," Schotte said. "It happens when you drive these cars, because you drive at slow speeds and you can really see what's going on. When you drive a motor car surrounded by glass and a roof and a radio, you have really no attention for what's really happening around you."

While traveling, Schotte and his cousin, Clausden Haan, have had the opportunity to participate in impromptu car shows, meet local sheriffs and interact with the "real" America they said doesn't appear in Hollywood films or popular advertisements.

With the same tools used in 1907, Schotte handles all repairs and maintenance along the road. Replacing spark plugs, lubing joints and replacing a quart of oil are routine tasks, but the reliability of his car isn't something Schotte questions. He can build it from the ground up.

Schotte owns more than 40 antique cars from nearly all eras, he said. As the curator of his personal museum in Holland, Schotte has collected the history of automobiles in the form of ads and antiquated gas pumps.

He said the historical cars and the lifestyle they created can lead to serenity.

"It gives you all the time to think about what you'd like to think about," Schotte said. "Your mind is free on the road to go all the directions it wants to go."

E-MAIL: cnorlen@desnews.com