My first Road Call came early...
As best I can recall, I was about 5 or 6 years-old when we took our first long road vacation - from West Texas to the family farm in Wendelin, IL. My parents had made the trip numerous times, but this time we were taking the scenic route through Northwest Arkansas, where we would camp in the Ozarks.
Dad ordered the necessary state maps from AAA and when they arrived by snail mail three weeks later, he and I sat at the dining room table to strategize which roads would be best. He took my input seriously, despite the fact that he’d probably driven those roads multiple times over the years. I knew a squiggly road had to be more interesting than a straight one and anyplace with a green background must be better than white background. White = boring. Green = cool things to look at! And you just have to stop at any place named Dogpatch USA!
Our family car de jure was a 1963 Pontiac Catalina station wagon with a third seat that faced the rear. As the youngest of five boys, that was my seat because it only fit small people. The oldest brother had already left the nest. Since we had the car full of people, pets, pillows, and food, Dad had constructed a camping utility trailer to house the gear.
The trailer looked similar to this one, though ours was probably 7’x7’. A single wheel trailer has a double hitch to the vehicle, so it tracks (and backs-up) in a straight line with the tow vehicle. Talk about a conversation starter!
Dad built and mounted a wooden box that was 5’x7’. The entire top opened on a long piano hinge and could be propped open for easy access. The box and top were wrapped in thin layer of aluminum to provide a weather proof exterior. He then built a small 2’x7’ box of similar construction that could be latched to the larger, mounted box. The smaller box could be opened from the top or the long side could fold down to form a tray, creating an outdoor kitchen that could be located anywhere in the campsite. He got the idea from his Army days (deployed during WW II) and I think he called it the mess box or mess kit. While I see elements of Dad’s design in modern day RVs, I’d never seen anything quite like it before or since.
Once on the road, I had an endless view of where we had been from my perch in the rear-facing seat. And with the maps in-hand, I could also see where we were going too!
I’ve had an affinity for the open road ever since.
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