Close Encounters

Witnesses to a tornado often describe it as sounding like a freight train. You know what else sounds like a freight train? A freight train.

Things We Never Did in Our Station Wagon

Stopped Next to the Pool to Light a Lady's Smoke.

Stood on the Tailgate to See Our Friends off on Their Cruise.

Wore Authentic Cowboy Outfits.

Made Grownups Ride in the Very Back.

Gave Unbridled Affection to our Dog.

Wore Big Yellow Hats.

Pulled Off the Big Heist Using Only Arrows for Weapons.

Hunted Foxes (see #1 above).

The unavoidable conclusion? We didn't need a station wagon, we needed an art director.

Remember?

A diehard Buick man, Dad gave into the realities of five children and a dog and bought a Chevy Bel Air station wagon with a rear facing third row bench--which made everyone carsick. We usually just laid it flat and rolled around in the back. The car lost a hubcap driving home from the dealer and it was all downhill from there.

"A Chevy is a car, but a Buick is an automobile."

Armadillo detail.

Trailer Envy II

The Airstream

Fiberglass Family

Muffler Man and Big Boy Compare Hairdos

Mayflower

When Dinosaurs Roamed the Earth and Eighteen Wheelers only had 10 Wheels.

All of our personal belongings were festooned with Mayflower inventory stickers as a result of our frequent moves.

Mom's Rock Garden

Not the most obvious or practical endeavor for the mobile family, Mom maintained a rock garden. In the background here is the Utah version c1962.
There is also the slightest glimpse of the trailer parked in the back yard in the upper left corner.

Utah Rock Garden

Precariously Parked to Poach "Purty" Rocks

Rather than a warning, the Falling Rocks sign was seen as an opportunity. We would pull off the road and clamber among the rocks while Mom shouted her instructions and eventual selection from the car.