An American Adventure

Transcription of the Journal of our Trip Around America from Fort Worth, Texas to Hartford Connecticut and Tom Wright’s Wedding in 1972.  Travel party was Dave and Cheryl Post and Norm, Marge and Nicola Hills, from England.  Niki was 10 at the time.  This was the Hills first trip to the US.  Route was generally Fort Worth, Phoenix, Grand Canyon, Page, Yellowstone, Mount Rushmore, into Canada to Niagara Falls, across NY to Connecticut.  Return to Ft. Worth was more direct going through Cleveland, Oh and then to OKC and Ft. Worth.  Hills returned to England from Connecticut and Cheryl flew back to Ft. Worth to meet her work schedule.  Dave drove the rig back to Texas with Posty in her car.  She was moving to Phoenix to retire.

The vehicle was a 1971 International Travelall towing a small Apache tent trailer.  Much more primitive than the Coleman tent trailer currently owned.  Average price for gas was about $.39 per gallon, though in some places we paid $.50.  Thought that was outrageous!

A 1971 Travelall

Background:

Cheryl and I were married on June 24th, 1967 in Snape, Suffolk, England.  We rented half of a small duplex in Snape called Peace Haven.  Just up the road was a small farm.  The family included a youngish girl, probably 17 or so.  In the summer of 1968, a couple of sisters from Ireland visited the farm family and we had a couple of fun outings on the beach with all of us.  We rich Americans had a car.  The Irish girls also thought we were quite funny.  We referred to the “mail truck” instead of the “post van”.  That summer, we were also introduced to a family in Aldebourgh, a small town a few miles away, named Hills.  Marge and Norm Hills had three daughters, Sue, Sally and Niki.  Sue was around 16, Sally a couple of years younger and Niki was 7 or 8.  Norm was the chief chemist at Sizewell Nuclear Power Plant, on the coast.

The Hills became very close friends.  We had Sunday afternoon tea there most weekends.  Marge even cooked a Thanksgiving turkey for us in 1969, complete with sausages draped over the bird.  She also had a bite of pumpkin pie, which Cheryl had made and declared it “Ghastly”!  I thought the pie quite excellent.

When I got accepted to the Airman Education and Commissioning Program (AECP) and we were making arrangements to return to the States, we invited the Hills to make their first trip to America to visit us after I finished my college work and had a permanent duty station.

In April 1971, I finished Officers Training School and was stationed at Carswell AFB in Fort Worth, Texas.  Cheryl finished her nursing degree at Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse, NY at the same time and we settled into our new life in Texas.  We had remained in touch with the Hills and they then made plans to visit us in the spring of 1972.

At the same time, an old friend from the AF, Tom Wright, was making wedding plans. Tom was the third member of our family in England.  We all three made a road trip around Europe together, crossing the Channel from Felixstowe on an overnight ferry.  Tom had to have a bachelor cabin.  It was considered inappropriate for a married couple to have a third person in the room.   Very sinful!   Tom had left the AF after four years and gone back home to Connecticut.  There he met and made plans to marry a very nice girl named Lynn, although sometime in that period he flew out to Phoenix to dally with Tanna.  However, “East is East and West is West and never the twain shall meet.”*  Couldn’t stand the desert heat.  The plan we developed, therefore, was for the Hills to come to Dallas/Fort Worth and for all of us to make a road trip around the US, ending in Connecticut for Tom’s wedding.  Cheryl was scheduled to be part of the wedding party.  I think I was too.  Also, Posty had met Tom on her trip to England so she was also coming to the wedding.  From there, she was moving to Phoenix to retire in the desert sun.   This journal was the result of that road trip.

*Rudyard Kipling.

Prologue

As I transcribe this, I will occasionally add notes and comments.  In the body of the journal, I will use parentheses, ( ).  For notes at the end of each entry, I will add the comment as an Editor’s Note.

Additionally, I have decided to include links where I think they will improve understanding of the narrative.  Obviously, a hand written journal in 1972, or 2006 for that matter, would not have embedded links.

The Journal

May 16:

Departed Fort Worth at 8:50 am.  Stops included lunch at Abeline-45 minutes, a snack at Snyder, gas at Abeline and Roswell.  Made camp at Roswell KOA.  Very nice facilities with a pool.  Had a dip.  Days travel easy but uneventful.  Total mileage 446.  Arrive KOA 1730 local.  Travel time was approximately 9.5 hours.  Cost factors were:

Gas:  $19.85

Food:  $4.94

Camp:  $3.50

May 17:

Departed Roswell KOA at 8:10.  Mileage was 31817.  Stopped for gas in Socorro, NM.  Interesting trip form Roswell to Socorro.  Mountains and Lincoln National Forest.  Had lunch along the road in Datil.  Cold and windy.  Bought gas again at Show Low.  Show Low to Christopher was dusty and slow.  Dirt road part of the way.  Saw Olive but Howard Walker not home.  Creek damage due to flood of September, 1970 was bad.  Howard’s spring dry.  Left Christopher at 19:00.  Came into Phoenix after dark.  Lights very impressive.  Arrive Thornburgs at 21:40.  Total mileage 533.  Travel expenses:

Gas:  $12.25

Food:  Nil

Camp:  Nil

Time:  14.5 hours

Editors Note:  Though not mentioned in the diary, I remember that Olive had prepared a beef heart for dinner.  Turns out that Norm Hills dearly loved a well prepared heart so the meal was most excellent.  Of course in 2006, a beef heart is probably not considered an appropriate food item.  Very high in cholesterol.

May 18:

Washed car and checked electrics—all ok.  Began tour around Valley at 10:00.  Dad guided us around the State Capital, downtown then out to Tempe and ASU.  Saw Dave’s Cathy (David Quebbeman, a fellow officer at Carswell) standing on a corner and waved.  Cheryl talked to her.  Shopped at Los Arcos before lunch.  Bought a trailer tire and tube plus two pillows.  Marge and Norm enjoyed looking ‘round.  Bought Nichola a doll.  Had lunch at Lula Belle’s and ate well.  Marge shopped downtown Scottsdale and then went out to 5th Avenue.  Returned to Phoenix along Lafayette Drive.   Stopped to see Abuelita.  (Cheryl’s grandmother on her father’s side.)  Got home for Dairy Queen at 16:00.  Went to Pinnacle Peak for dinner at 18:30.  Saw Rawhide wagon train and town.  Cheryl bought a purse-$22.00.  (She still has it in the closet!)  Had dinner at Pinnacle Patio and met an English western singer.  Had Marge in stitches.  Got home at 22:15.  Was a marvelous day.

Gas:  $7.20

Food:  Nil

Camp:  Nil

Editor’s Note:  Though not included in the diary, I remember an incident during dinner.  At Pinnacle Peak, the waiters all wore western costume, including the Hollywood gun belt.  As part of the entertainment, the waiters would get into arguments and have mock shoot outs.  One of these occurred near our table and the resulting shoot out had one waiter dropping to the ground, apparently dead.  Nicky, the 10 year old, gasped to her mother, “Mom, that man just shot the other man!!”  Marge calmly replied, “This is America, they do that all the time!”

Another incident sticks in the memory.  Pinnacle Peak had warning signs about rattlesnakes.  Marge was quite taken aback.  “There are rattlesnakes around here?”  She said nervously.  “Of course, this is the desert!” We replied.

A couple of pictures are on the next page.

The Group:  My Dad and Cheryl’s Mom                               The Purse from Rawhide

Are on the Right Rear.

May 19:

Departed Phoenix at 8:30.  Drove out Black Canyon to Sunset Point.  Could see the Prescott fire.  Continued to Montezuma’s Castle and had a nice look.  Then on to Oak Creek Canyon.  Proceeded up the Canyon to Flagstaff.  Dody was not home so we ate and gassed while waiting.  After seeing him, we departed Flag for the Grand Canyon, at 15:00.  (Don’t remember who the Hell Dody was.  Cheryl is as blank as I.  The years have killed the same relevant brain cells.)

Arrived at the Canyon at 16:30 and stopped at Mather Point.  Marge and Norm were impressed.  Camped at Mather Campground.  Cost was $2.00.  Had a visit to the store and then dinner.  At 19:30 we walked to the rim and then went to a ranger talk.  A French TV crew was filming.  Went back to camp and to bed, after a cup of tea.  Tent heater worked fine.  Travel time was 7 hours.  Mileage was 236.

Gas:  $7.00

Food:  $4.00

Camp:  $2.00

Viewing the Canyon                                          Mather Point

May 20:

Departed Grand Canyon campsite at 7:40.  Drove around the Canyon and made Desert View at 11:00.  Spent an hour here while Marge shopped.  Off at 12:00 for Page.  Dusty, windy trip through Page for lunch and then the dam.  Norm and I took the tour.  Left for Utah at 17:00 Utah time and arrived Panguitch at 19:00.  Stayed in a KOA.  Travel time 6 hours.  Distance was 280 miles.  Didn’t record expenses.

May 21:

Left Panguitch at 9:00 heading north on Hwy 89.  Bought gas and then drove through to Nephi for lunch.  Country dry and hilly—very pretty.  Had lunch at Nephi Park then drove on to Salt Lake.   Arrived Salt Lake at 14:45 at the Temple.  Salt Lake is nestled in the mountains and there was snow on the peaks.   Spent an hour in the square viewing the Mormon Tabernacle, Temple and other curiosities.   Headed out of Salt Lake at 16:00.  Had a quick trip up to Ogden when an idiot nearly crossed into my lane.  First panic stop. Put me in a foul mood for about an hour.  Passed through Ogden to Logan.  Logan and the university (Utah State University) are located right in the mountains.  The university overlooks the town.  From there we drove through magnificent scenery to Montpelier, Idaho and a KOA.  Arrived 19:00.  Mileage 375.  No record of expenses.

The picture shows our campsite in Montpelier.  It was getting cold.  The other shot was taken in Salt Lake.  Cheryl is using her new Rawhide purse.

Marge and Cheryl Doing Dinner                                    Salt Lake City.  Norm, Niki, Marge, Cheryl

May 22:

Left KOA Montpelier at 9:00.  Cloudy with occasional drizzle.  Road was good and not as steep as yesterday.  Arrived in Jackson (WY) for lunch at 12:00.  Got the truck brakes adjusted and bought 25.5 gallons of gas.  Cost me $11.25! (For those without a handy calculator, that’s $.44 per gallon.  Very high in 1972.)  The drive through the Grand Tetons was very pretty.  Saw chipmunks and Marge saw a beaver.  Stopped at Flagg Ranch for the shop.  Bought food at outrageous prices.  Saw two Moose (Meese/Mooses) at the edge of the road and sent Norm into the woods for a pic.  Continued to Yellowstone over a high pass.  Snow was piled up 5 or 6 feet along the road.  No more game but a nice drive.  Stopped at West Thumb (Geyser Basin) and then Old Faithful for the night.  No showers or laundry as listed.  Really not impressed with the room but only cost $16.00 for the night.   Mileage was 207.  It is now snowing.

Cheryl at Firehole Lake                                                A Geyser at Firehole Lake

May 23:

Left Yellowstone Old Faithful at 8:30.  Drove up towards Madison.  Saw elk immediately then a buffalo.  Went through Firehole Lake Drive  and Norm caused Fountain Geyser to go up!  Great shot.  Saw woodchucks then drove on up the road.  Along Firehole Falls, Marge and Nichola fed the chipmunks.  We turned east at Madson and saw Moose.  Good pictures.  On to Canyon City and snow.  Nearly got blown off Inspiration Point.  Headed for Lake Junction.  Saw no more animals.  Had coffee and pie at Lake Jct. and headed for Cody (WY).  Spent an hour there in the shops and bought Gaz Lantern Mantles and Globe plus groceries.  A nice town.  On the Greybull KOA for the night.  Travel time:  8 Hours.  Mileage 197.

A good day and warm camp at Greybull.  Looks like thunderstorms, though.

May 24:

Left KOA Greybull at 8:40.  Had no rain and warm night.  The drive out encountered construction with Flag Women instead of Flag Men.  (This was a new concept in 1972.  Woman actually working in highway construction!)  Not bad.  Headed up the Big Horn Mountains through Shell Canyon.  Beautiful!  Saw Shell Creek Falls and crossed Granite Pass at 8950 feet.  Coming down we looked out across the prairie as far as forever.  Had coffee at Ranchester, which was good.  From there we headed for lunch at a rest area along I90 outside Moorcroft.  From there we made South Dakota with only Antelope in the way.  Through the Black Hills we got behind a wood truck but made camp (in Keystone, SD at Mount Rushmore) by 17:30.  Travel time was 9 hours.  Mileage was 320.

Mom took the picture of Shell Creek Falls with her Instamatic 120.  I assume that I have 35mm slides in storage.  Still, this is quite a good photo.

Shell Creek Falls, Wyoming

May 25:

Departed Mt. Rushmore Campground at 8:15.  Drove into Keystone and the Monument for pictures and shopping.  Bought Cheryl some very pretty earrings.  Headed for Rapid City finally, after dragging Marge out of the shops.  The monument was very touching.  I think it impressed us more than anything else on the trip.  We viewed it at dusk, lit up, and in the morning sun.

In Rapid City we  bought gas and food.  Left town on I-90 for Sioux Falls.  Stopped at Wall Drug for coffee and a break.  A very fascinating place but had no time to shop.

From there we drove through to Chamberlain and had lunch in a lay by.  Decided to stop at Sioux Falls for the night.  The first camp was loaded with Gypsies so we moved on to another and are now ready to go for Dairy Queen!  Travel time:  9.5 hours.  Mileage: 366.

Editor’s Note:  Mount Rushmore made a big impression on all of us.  I didn’t expect to have any special reaction to the Monument but we we were all touched by the simple majesty of the large sculptures.  I have since watched a couple of History Channel specials on the creation of the park and still have a great respect for this work.

The Gypsies episode was funny.  As we pulled into the park, the manager alerted us to the presence of a large collection of Gypsies and apologized that he could not refuse to let them use the camp.  Having no real experience with Gypsies, I was inclined to just find a corner away from the group and stay but Marge went ballistic.  Europeans, especially the English, have a much different perspective on these people than we do.  I do remember them as being well equipped with large trailers and motor homes.  They were not paupers.  Anyway, we went to a different camp ground and heard no more about them.

Have a couple of pictures of Mount Rushmore in our album.

The Monument                                     Dave Looking at the Monument

May 26:

Awoke to thunder and lightning plus heavy clouds.  Hustled everyone up so we could pack the tent before the rain came.  Just made it to a truck stop restaurant for breakfast.  Marge even got a cup of tea made in a syrup pot!  Headed for an AAA office for a revised route.  Finally departed Sioux Falls at 8:45.  Rainy and wet.

Rolled through to Omaha (Nebraska) nursing along my tires.  We stopped for coffee at the Copper Kettle and had a nice snack.  Still cloudy but dry as we headed east on I-80.  Made a rest stop outside of Des Moines (Iowa) for lunch then headed for Sioux City (Iowa).  Thunderstorms all around but none ahead or over us.  Found tires in Iowa City and made arrangements to go back tomorrow for mounting.  Had a time finding the West Liberty KOA but made it at 18:30.  Travel time:  10 hours.  Mileage:  426.

Storm came up late but no rain.  Only lightning and thunder.  (Lunder and Thightning)

May 27:

Started the trip today after running into Iowa City for tires.  Total bill was $114.00.  Got back to the camp and picked up the trailer at 9:45.  Stopped in Illinois for coffee.  Crossed the Mississippi and began running into traffic.  The trip around Chicago wasn’t too bad though traffic was heavy.  Finally headed up the shore of Lake Michigan for Kalamazoo.  Stopped there and got chicken and groceries.  Took quite awhile.  Stopped at a Battle Creek rest area and ate, and then called Jackson KOA.  No vacancies.  Drove out to Battle Creek KOA but decided it would be too hard to reach Niagara Falls from there.  Called ahead for reservations at Ann Arbor motel.  Got there and found the room very nice.  Passed through Albion on the way.  A nice town.  Bought gas and washed the truck.  Travel Time:  10.25 hours.  Mileage:  460.