Click on this to make it full size, or click through to see it at https://this-old-stomping-ground.tumblr.com/image/654305784335908864 then click one more time for full magnification. It's worth it.
Found via the always great time waster, https://dailytimewaster.blogspot.com/2021/07/friday-open-road.html and his weekly Friday round up of roads
Back in the 70s my ex, eight/nine year old son and I had spent a night at Devils Tower in Wyoming. The next morning after perusing our trusty Rand McNally we headed northward on our way to Billings, Montana. The road we took soon turned into what is represented in the posted image. I recall stopping shortly after the character of the road changed and consulted the Rand McNally again to see where I might have missed a turn, thinking there was no way what we were on could be a road on a current map. We quickly concluded it was the only show in town though. I estimated the distance to be about 10 miles from the park to the next town, so made a note of the miles on the odometer and decided to press on for another 10 to 12 miles. If we didn’t come to signs of civilization after that we would turn back. We were in a full size van, so clearance was no issue, and we had a full tank of gas and plenty of water. After about an hour, much to my relief my ex said she could see a water tower in the distance. Civilization! A cafe’, bar, small grocery store and gas station as I recall. That whole experience was the first thing that came to mind upon seeing the picture.
ReplyDeleteJesse, ever since you you credited http://dailytimewaster.blogspot I love checking out what C.W. post there. There's always something to comment about, and just like here at your great blog, I will usually find something to leave a comment on. even chat with other folks who leave theirs. This is the type of thing the internet (rabbit hole) was created for. rlk's story is cool, and makes me want to see that road he was on. Just like Swanson's post of Friday Road Trip, you want to go there. This is one rabbit hole I don't mind falling into.
ReplyDeleteYou have expressed my own sentiments perfectly jsfury. Being retired and a certified, card carrying old fart I find myself indulging in the very thing you describe. It’s a comfort to know I’m not alone. Regarding your thought of seeing the road my family and I were on...well you won’t. Unfortunately it’s paved now! During the visit out west referenced in my previous remarks we came across the Custer Battlefield heading towards Billings. We stopped there and it was instant addiction for me. I’ve been back there about six or seven times since then, and on one of those occasions in the 90s stopped in the town of Alzada, Montana on US 212. We had lunch in the local cafe’ and mentioned to the seasoned waitress that we had been there before coming out of Devils Tower and described our adventure on the rutted road. She began laughing and said she used to hear that story all the time from tourists over the years, but assured us it had since been paved. “Oh darn,” I thought. My plan was to go back that way on our trip home. Tonight I found a 1956 Shell map of Wyoming on line, and after 40/45 years I figured it out. We went north out of Devils Tower on Wyoming 24 to Hulett, Wyoming. From there we picked up Wyoming 112 north. Everything was fine on 112 for a while, and then---as I mentioned in my previous remarks---the road turned to dirt and then the dirt turned into two ruts with all manner of green stuff between them. The 56 Shell map displays that “unimproved” stretch for 10/15 miles south of Alzada. In fact, in 56 many of the roads in the vicinity had an unimproved status.
Deletein 1956, people had what I think of now, as the golden age of being outdoors, outboards were getting to be lighter and more reliable, AND their design aesthetics were peaking (in my opinion) plus fishing boats made of aluminum were in high production numbers, used Jeeps were plentiful, and that is WW2 surplus as well as the Willys suv type, and camping trailers were also plentiful. Stanley and Coleman were making loads of camping gear, https://jimgoldenstudio.bigcartel.com/product/vintage-camping-gear as well as Cabellas and LL Bean.
DeleteJust ideal circumstances for fishing, camping, and hunting cabin life.
Sadly, that was about the best time for some guys getting together and buying a cabin on a lake, and meeting up for fishing season, and hunting season.
In the UP of Michigan where I grew up, that was very common, but now is far too expensive for anyone making less than 6 figures annually to even consider.
I've know many families with either fishing, or hunting, cabins that spent most weekends at the lakes, or in the woods, just relaxing and enjoying the company of friends while having cribbage games, horseshoes, etc, with all cooking over a fire pit.
The only way to get out to those rustic cabins was two rut roads, and a chainsaw to get past the trees that often fell across the trail.
I can recommend the forest highways of Houghton county as some of the prettiest you'll ever see, with lakes every couple of miles apart and nearly all of them have boat ramps, and campgrounds put in by the CCC or the Forestry dept.
I hope to see them all once again, slowly, when I get to retirement age, as I make my way around the country one last time before kicking the bucket.
I accordingly have a bucket list of places to see, museums to see, friends, acquaintances, and old shipmates to see one last time in person, and many country lanes, dirt roads, small lakes, etc.
Just a slow 4x4, maybe a mid 50s Jewel or teardrop, some small fishing boat with a quiet outboard for exploring lakes and sneaking up on bluegill... and some books to read during the hot afternoons and wet rainy days.
Now and then, a small town diner for pie and ice cream
Seems like a great plan anyway
Jesse...You say in your opinion the aesthetics of outboards was peaking around 1956. Your view was shared by some very heavy duty design company in the person of Brooks Stevens, before you were even in the womb. I’ve read some of the stuff you’ve posted about Stevens in the past, so I’m sure you're aware of the standing he had in the industrial design community. Some have even called him the granddaddy of the enterprise. If not the first client, one of his early ones was Evinrude Outboards. Ole was the guy who invented the device, Brooks Stevens was the one who made it pleasing to look at.
DeleteStevens was a racing enthusiast, and some time in the early 50s built three racing cars on modified Henry J chassis. He personally raced at various sports car venues around the country, including Sebring. The power sources are debated, but I’m inclined to think they were changed from time to time. The ‘Old Man’ dubbed the cars Excalibur J’s, the J presumably a reference to the humble Henry J chassis. At any rate some time in the early 60s I believe, Studebaker commissioned the guy to build a one-off attention getting car they could include with their exhibit at the New York auto show. He went to work, starting with a Studebaker Hawk GT (?) chassis, ending up with a beauty that vaguely resembled the Mercedes SSK. Brooks called it the Excalibur. After the New York show Stevens started getting inquires from people about how they could get one. The rest is history.
Brooks Stevens was a giant among design giants, and from the point of of view of taste you're apparently in the same league Jesse. (Dang, that qualifies as compliment of the month at least, if not the year.)
And you say your a Yooper Jesse! (You explain it please…) I have a very good friend living in Alloez off of 41, maybe 20/25 miles north of Houghton/Hancock. Used to run with him in Milwaukee back in the 60s. Did anyone in your family ever work the copper mines back in the day?
Awwww shucks, that's high praise! Thanks! Definitely a compliment of the day! Yes, I'm a Yooper, born in L'anse, raised in Sidnaw, graduated L'Anse high school in 1989. Trapper, fisherman, snow shoe user, hunter, snow shoveler with a Yooper scoop, snowmobile rider, and user of the plow mounted to the front of a truck.
ReplyDeleteWell, it's a strange coincidence that there is a city of Allouez, in Wisconsin just off the 41 next to Green Bay, and Allouez Michigan that you told me about!
Both just off the 41.
No, no one was in the copper mine industry, my grandparents on both sides moved to the UP in the 40s and 50s, and located in Sidnaw, too far from the mines to consider getting a job in the mining industry