Snow, Wind, & Rain

A winter mix returned over the last few days. We had accumulating snow, wind, and rain, then days where the high temps were below freezing. Several days have been cloudy and grey, not exactly conducive to spring activities. However, the upcoming forecast is much better with mild temps returning and a small chance of rain. Spring may finally arive!

The main focus of this post is a follow-up to comments Pam and I made regarding our “early years” and a trip we took to the east coast with the Datsun truck. I have a few scanned photos and commentary about that 1976 trip, so let’s get into it.

Yes, we did sleep in the bed of the truck many times. Every few nights we booked a motel room to enjoy a shower and a more comfortable bed, but our budget did not allow us to do that the entire trip. Here is a photo of the truck set for camping, with a tarp over the bed and a mattress pad to sleep on.

Pam does not look very thrilled with this arrangement, but we managed OK.

Typically we parked in mall lots to have access to public bathrooms and minimal security provided by the parking lot lights. The white material you see was a mesh; we could drop the tailgate and mesh to get air into the sleeping area.

We created many memories on this trip. I ate lobster for the first time at Cape Cod; I remember picking a live lobster from a tank to be cooked for my meal. Getting the hang of cracking the shell was a bit difficult at first. Another memory was our visit to Boston, where I had a hard time understanding the New England accents (hah-ahrd vowels), and the visit to Monticello, home of Thomas Jefferson.

One notable stop was Old Plymouth Plantation, a replica 1700s pilgrim town. This was my first experience with “living history” actors playing the parts of different pilgrims. For the purpose of this post I am including only photos of us, although I took many of various tasks being performed. (We have an entire photo album dedicated to this trip.)

Here I am, sandals and all, about to enter an early pilgrim house:

One of my favorite photos from this stop, and the entire trip, is this one of Pam near the replica mill on the grounds of the village.

Another strong memory was created in Bromley, Vermont, home of America’s first Alpine Slide. Here are a couple of internet screen shots of the modern track (there are now three offering various skill levels) and a sled used to ride down the track.

You sit on the sled and pull back the handle to slow down or push forward to speed up. This ride was a hoot, and we returned a second time to repeat the experience before heading home.

We didn’t have a camp stove at the time and relied on fast food places for meals. We got so sick of fast food cooking odors that we began to stop at grocery stores to pick up meat, cheese, and breads for a few meals. No cooler and no space, so whatever we bought had to be eaten quickly.

Other stops on this trip included the Whaling Museum, Old Sturbridge Village, and Quincy (including the Adams Home) all in Massachusetts, and Basketville in Vermont plus the Ford Museum and Greenfield Village in Detroit. Lots of stops, lots of memories.

While not taken on this trip, I do have this 56 second clip of the Alpine Slide at Breckenridge, Co, which dates from the late ’70s. It features Pam, Becky, and myself. Again, quality is not the greatest but I hope you enjoy it. (There is no audio on this Super 8 film clip.)

I have a few other photos from around this same time, including this one of us just after getting the Honda CB-450 motorcycle.

To stay alert as we rode, we often brought Pringles with us to chew on, and I carried Jolly Rancher hard candy that I could tuck up between tooth and gum. Every now and then, at the end of a long day, I would feel Pam’s helmet hitting the back of my helmet and know that she was falling asleep on the back of the bike. While we never had an incident, I was always concerned her feet would slip off the footpegs as she tired.

You may have noticed a container on the rear luggage rack in this and other photos that include the Honda. We always carried spare clothing in Colorado as changes in elevation, and resulting temperature changes, required heavier gear at higher altitudes and cooler clothing on the plains. We put a lot of miles on the bike during those early trips.

One such trip was to the top of Pikes Peak, a “must” visit for any Colorado resident and most tourists.

I recall getting rained on during this outing, but the rain quit and we were dried out before returning home to Boulder. The road to the top had not yet been paved and riding the motorcycle up (and down) the gravel and twisting road was a real challenge!

Here is another shot taken in Victor during a fall visit. In those days, railroad artifacts, like this old rail car, were common and one could walk right up to them. I doubt this is the case today.

Finally, a photo that brings back some real nostalgia, as this place no longer exists. When we were first in Colorado, and drove to the top of Mt. Evans, we stopped at the summit and visited this gift shop / restaurant to buy soda, snacks, and souvenirs.

Sadly, several years later the building burned down and the Forest Service decided not to rebuild. You can still drive to the top but this building is now long gone.

So much for going down memory lane in this post. I plan to scan more old negatives and include a few in future posts. There are those hose cart races in Idaho Springs…

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Penny

Ah, the early days of marriage. We were so poor — both of us working plus attending college part-time, occasionally on food stamps — and definitely “vehicle challenged.” The Datsun truck was a step up in the transportation game, even though we had to sleep in it to take the East Coast trip.

These slides certainly reflect travel high points; day-to-day living back then was not so exciting in my memories.

A person might wonder how I could manage to fall asleep on a motorcycle. Since childhood [as I was plagued with motion sickness] I trained myself to fall asleep while traveling so I wasn’t sick to my stomach. Add in the reduced oxygen content at higher elevations, and you can see where falling asleep might occur.

Happy Trails.