In the summer of 1971, I decided to see the part of the U.S. that I had missed, which was most of it. I paid $125 for a 1961 Chevy station wagon. The floor had rusted through, but I pulled the seats out, squeezed a sheet of heavy-gauge steel roofing in through the tailgate, pounded it into shape with a mason’s hammer, then bolted the seats back in. They bounced a bit, but didn’t slide around.
With a ¾ mattress in the back and curtains all around, it seemed comfortable enough sleeping and changing clothes in a space slightly larger than a coffin; I was more elastic then than I am now. There wasn’t much room for luggage except on the floor behind the front seats, so I kept a couple of changes of clothes on one side, and some camping equipment and canned food on the other. Tucking my .45 under the head of the mattress, I drove away to see America.
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Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.