This little lad is 38 years old today. He was 5 months old above - and enjoying a bath in the sink of a 1977 Scramp travel trailer - in 115 degrees Las Vegas.
My Mom used to always say - Everhart's have gypsy in their blood. My grandfather Roy Everhart ran off in 1923 - left my grandma with 4 little kids - and joined the Merchant Marines. All the Everhart boys love to travel. Already our grandson who is 6 years old has been to England - France - Greece - Italy. The beat goes on.
In 1977 - we went on one big adventure. We had just sold The Tamaqua Paper to Russ Funk - and used the cash to buy a brand new car and trailer. We left Tamaqua in late June - and traveled west. Lulu had the whole trip laid out and she was the navigator. My Dad had his fishing rod taped to the top of the camper and all he wanted was to fish in the Pacific - sort of a bucket list thing. Good thing because 5 years later he died.
We were gone 30 days - traveled a little less than 300 miles a day. We circled the country counter clockwise. We went west from Tamaqua on I-80 - thru Ohio - our second night was spent at Notre Dame - then up into Minnesota and South Dakota. The Badlands impressed us - and the headwinds across the prairie. We enjoyed Yellowstone - the Grand Tetons - Reno - San Francisco - Los Angeles - and Disneyland.
On the way home - we gambled in Las Vegas - flew into the Grand Canyon and walked the rim of Meteor Crater. We ate a big steak in Amarillo. We had a frightening climb up the Arch in St Louis - experienced camping in East Saint Louis IL - pulling in late at night.
On the way through Indiana we stopped to see mini-busses being built - and planned for the future. The next year we bought a brand new mini-bus but that is a whole other story. So - the Everhart boys still have gypsy blood in them - as do the rest of the Everhart 8.
In December - the Everhart 8 spent 4 days together in Disneyworld - but the best is yet to come.
Our 1977 Scamp trailer - 1977 Chevy Chevette - Pop and Lulu at Notre Dame Stadium. It was the month of July and the Chevy had no air conditioning.
The Badlands in South Dakota were hot but my Dad loved hot. Note the little mirrors on the Chevette.
Inside the Scamp in Yellowstone Park. We slept 30 days straight in that little egg trailer. That table turned into a "double" bed. There were two bunks on the other end. The trailer was fiberglass and weighed 1000 pounds loaded. Soft sided trailers were not allowed in Yellowstone due to the bear.
In 1978 - we traded the Scamp trailer in on a new 1978 Chevy Thomas bus. This is our friend Paul Gimbel. This picture was taken in the driveway of Doris Hollenbach Meneses in Homestead FL. Note the chunks of Anthracite coal along the driveway. Paul later returned to college - and taught English in Lehighton. He is retired and lives in Still Creek now.
1 comment:
What a wonderful story, Harry. I am very glad you got to give your dad his wish!
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