Mothah Nateah??
 

Thank God the snow Angel was taking a Napa when we traversed Donner Pass in the Rockies...

It was late when we arrived in Artesia, southeast of Los Angeles.The trailer was in place and Dad decided he would put the stabilizers in place the next day.
It was here at 5:00 AM the next morning that we discovered one of California's notorieties.
"EARTHQUAKE!" The Tahachapi earthquake paid us a visit. Had our wheeled trailer rocking and swaying like a washing machine. Most of us ended down on the floor, me falling from my top bunkbed out of a sound sleep, and thought that our trailer was going to, see us on the flip side.
Opened the back door and saw the COWs, in a field and pasture, falling and tumbling over like candle pins.

Move'in Noth
 

Shortly after getting to California, my folks decided to sell the 49, as it was brutal on fuel. My Dad was in Transportation Management, and got transferred up to Santa Maria. We had to load the house trailer on a flatbed tractor trailer unit, by crane, to bring it up there. Although the 1948 Buick had the same engine, it was a three speed standard shift, and if we tried to tow the big trailer with it, we probably never would have made it out of Stoneham without burning up a clutch! Being a custom built trailer with accommodations for 11 people, plus all of the provisions loaded inside, it took a lot of torque just to get the thing rolling. This is where the Dynaflow transmission shined!

My Dad and I went down to the trucking co's yard to tow the trailer to the park and set it up on the lot. Well it didn't take very long and you could smell that old clutch burn'in up!! Only had to tow it about three and a half miles, and we made it okay, but had to replace the clutch that week!

Pic#1. Dad on left, watching over Home loading.
Pic#4. Coast Highway 101, on a rest stop.

Brother Mel
 

We stayed at Fort Wayne for a few days doing some general maintenance and such. Us children could be very inventive and were not afraid or shy in any way to pitch in get our hands dirty.

There was an awesome indoor basketball arena right there beside the trailer park and my older brother Mel was a phenomenal player and he'd sneaker over and maid friends with a large group of Indians that invited him into their shoot around for practice before a big game that was going to take place the fallowing night. Well, when they got to see what brother Mel could do, they were fighting to get him on their team!

Well, don't ya know come game time night that Mel, while playing Center for the Indians, scored the winning HOOP to the delight of the huge crowd in the grandstands cheering them on. OH would I ever have loved to play backup for my brother in that game. I have way bigger feet than he did, but he had about three feet in height on me at the time, so I made a better Cheerer and seat warmer.

Pic#2. Bringing our cloths back home from the air dryer.

If you should want a cheap lunch
 

Do not invite us!... A very simple $2.99 cent lunch could take off and run into the tens or more thousands of dollars in a heartbeat!
So maybe some would ask, how we did what we did????
First of all, our Mom and Dad were the Best!... Did I ever tell how they cooked? No contest, they were the best! Now, shut my face!
Grand Parents, Grand Great Parents and so on and on have embodied our very existence since history got invented here!
By the way, they did a wonderful job!
With todays economy, I couldn't imagine any self respecting family restaurant wanting to ban children under a certain age... However, some are...

I would hazard a guess that todays Moms and Dads have lost some of the ( use of the brail system, if you will ), to communicate good behavior to their siblings...


Now!.. / Waaayyyyy back when I was young, and born even younger, my parents taught me and the rest of us children just how to behave, wise? Course, it could have been the size of the herd?.. They never wanted us to get out of hand, ( so to speak ). ( And Especially Around The Dinner Table )...
Here's a pic of all of us enjoying lunch at the very exclusive Columbia Yacht Club back in 19 and 52! They loved us, and could have retired from our bill and tips alone!

Most of us lived in the Magic Carpet for close to two years out in California before we bought a house without wheels...
The world is getting and multiplying faster than Nascar


, these days, kind of needs our collective help, so to speak...

The glass half full, has been replaced with ' our world on top ', if you will.
Let us keep it all going forward...
Love,
Terry

Pic#2. Stopped for a drink, ours was Hires Root Beer since 1876

Please excuse my CRS
 

Dad always said Grace, Before we ate a meal where ever we were together, and that included when Dad sometimes had to work late, Mom would wait dinner until he got home to join us at the table and say Grace...

The Columbia Yacht Club.

I was the
 

Designated Back Seat Drivah. Here's one O my pic's NOT.
How come you see me in them striped Time Out shirts all O the time. :)

What You Did There...
 

https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/...4569426412.jpg

'Times sure have changed. You had no seat belts, and just-recently two states have raised their speed limits—to 80—and (in Utah) 85. :eek2:

.

As I continue to say, thank you so much for sharing your story. I am so enjoying it. [emoji4]


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Cool ApS,

Yes, tons O change long and since 1952, however my faith tells me to keep on doing the best I can, don't over think things like writing 18 one hundred page volumes of hypothetical arguments that Chestah won in the shower.
As long as I can help my loved one's and other's, I'm good. I've almost been around the block once. :)

Thanks ApS.

PS, my pickup loves the pot holes down heah, and it gives me a reason to Take It Easy.

Dad teaching me how to adjust a loose wheel bearing along the way on one of our chore and maintainance stayovers.

And,
 

We never needed Uncle George to draw us a crowd,

As we were already pretty much there.

When the rigger's loaded the Magic Carpet onto the flatbed trailer to take up to Santa Maria, they had to remove the tires so as to provide safe overall height clearance for the bridges and overpasses on the trip.

Pic. Dad between the axles

While in Santa Maria
 

Fred worked and was an extreamly talented heavy Truck mecanic and he worked at the same Trucking Co. as my Dad, and was also amung the very few that could back double ttrailer combinations without unhooking them into the loading docks.

Many prayers were said when Fred thought that it was time for him to serve our Country and enlisted into the Marine Corps and after boot camp served on Okinawa as a Sergeant in the Motor Pool of his unit and taught Automotive Carburetion and Ignition. He mailed me the study text & tests, I'd mail him back the tests for him to grade, then he wrote me back saying that I was in the top 99% of the classes.
May I add, that my oldest brother Fred and I were always pretty close. He taught me how to drive a car in a local State Park back when I was six years old in his 1934 Chevy, with wooden blocks on the brake, clutch and gas peddles, so that my feet could reach them while I was also sitting on cushions so's I could see out the windshield just above the defroster vents. By the time I got to be 6.5, I could drive that car anywhere.

And, back in them days I never considered sewing the town for building the sidewalks too close to my butt either. :)

Sister Doña helping the sergeant load, and I didn't want my Brother to go.

After lunch in Utah before finishing the days trip.

I think this is my favorite picture so far [emoji4]


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Discover Utah...
 

Utah—Waterfront cottages, in an ancient time when ice covered the Winnipesaukee Basin.

https://cdn7.dissolve.com/p/D246_105...05_188_600.jpg

Utah, where, y'know, you can photograph the kids...;)

https://blog.trekaroo.com/wp-content...hn-768x576.jpg

Mountains, natural stone arches, desert terrain, fossils, petroglyphs, snow, dinosaurs, and fast rivers for rafting. Having toured most of the US, if I had only one state to visit again, it'd be Utah. Within one State Park, I managed to drive 85 miles on a dirt road, and never saw another human being. :eek:

On one deserted paved road, I pulled over at a random site to walk the dog. 'Getting about 100 feet from the road, the dog and I turned a corner, and came upon ancient petroglyphs carved and painted into a vertical rock face. :eek2: The site had probably been rarely encountered since carved into that rock—except perhaps Anasazi, surveyors, anthropology students, a few roadway workers, and one (or two) dog-walkers. ;)

Capital Reef National Park has only 20 spaces for campers—Reserve early!

Total Family Adventure Enjoyment
 

Every place we got to see together!!

S'mow
 

Rascal flats, and a wheel bearing replacement that required a file and some emery cloth to fit the new bearing on the axle spindle.

What and Where?
 

Wonderful series, trfour. What is, and where is this monument located? 🐻

Thanks Barney
 

The Monument in Post #137 is The US Civil War Monument, Gettysburg National Military Park, Gettysburg PA.

I didn't want to discourage Folks from visiting the above, you know, when I posted it right here in black and white.

At my age, and with CRS and all, this computer stuff is like climbing for me, only somebody greased the post... :)

Christmas In Santa Maria
 

Our oldest Sister June was working in LA. when Dad got transferred up to Santa Maria to straighten out the truck terminal there.
We had to build a real chimney on the roof of the Magic Carpet, as Christmas was fast approaching, so Santa could deliver our gifts.

Pic#1. June at work in LA.
Pic#2. Home for Christmas. June, Doña, Mom and Linda greeting.

The storyline and pictures here are awesome--thanks for sharing!

Hi You, :) Just remember that I'm enjoying and having just as much fun with this, as Y'all are!

Thank you thinkxingu,
Terry

Oh and
 

Let me S'plain,
Some may have noticed the aluminium outer shell sheets buckling from the steel frame movement over rough roads, Post#47, so Dad called Michican Arrow, ( and at the time we only had one cell phone among us ) and told them about it. So if you'll notice in the Michican Arrow add that I posted, Post#34, from around 1954 that they redisigned the outer shell using horizontal sheets with expansion joints to correct the problem.

Pic#1. Our Old partyline cell phone.

Dad And Mom
 

He never asked for much, and was soooo talented in every way. ' Just A Rock ' for us!!!!!!!!!!!!

Our Mom was Too!
She knew better than to wake him for a [ Gitti-Up-Go-Day ] without having a freshly brewed pot of coffee, at the ready!
One thing that we learn in this life, is to love our Moms and Dads.
These two will forever be loved by us, and any whom got to know them...

PS, This was also inherent In my folks decision, as my Dad hadn't taken a vacation in some twenty years before we went on our journey out to California!

Dad wiring us in for another overnight stay.

The Old cellphone too. :)

Helps. when you go from here
 

Map Shows the Ultimate U.S. National Park Road Trip.
If exploring the breathtaking beauty of our National Park System in one road trip is something on your bucket list, this may be the perfect map for you.

And, Birthday Party Fun Time's
 

12 every year.

Here's Brother Fred's.

National Monuments Suggested...
 

I've hit quite a number of those National Parks, but found National Monuments less crowded and more gratifying. Several have since joined the National Parks System. Note the number of National Parks in Utah! :cool:

Something Very Special
about getting to visit National Parks and Monuments with a Large Family is, with all of our individual prospectives and points of history and knowledge gained made them all so and more enjoyable.

Lets Chat,
There comes a time for all us antiques to fess Up and admit that it is 2019...?... Us Altimers after all, have a clue to the glue.
At the same time, I owned an awesome Toyota 1/2 ton 4x4, that I used to put family and friends boats in the water with when they came to visit me up at Lake Winnipesaukee towing their boats with their motor homes.
Here again, our journey took place back in 1952! As I remember, Flash Gordon was just getting his shower cap wet!
Seriously, I don't know that there was another human being of the day, that we would be able to do what we did, without Our Mom and Dad's Love.

Now, to get back on topic in the early 19 and 50s, our very own Rascal Flats put on a different kind of tantrum deciding to chew up some wheel bearings during our journey to the west!
Brother Fred using a file and some emery-cloth from the safety kit that Dad put together back in Stoneham MA. as the axle spindle got some damage that wouldn't allow a simple bearing swap. ( Has Anyone Else Been Hear? ) Thank God for Old School and some good Ol' Yankee ingenuity!

The In Crowd
 

Watching a video on our one and only cellphone??

Tea Party
 

Ladies Meeting.

Enjoying our first Christmas together in the Magic Carpet and in Santa Maria, California in 1952.

Only One Ouch
 

We 'pulled' into a trailer park ( heading west ), to park and rest over night... Now, my Dad always made it a point to convey to the Clerk at the counter, while registering, that and how come we had a 46 foot trailer and S'more!!..
The clerk said to him, ( ' We have plenty of room for you sir, and gave my Dad the keys for lot # 24 and # 25, for the Magic Carpet '), and lot # 26 for the 19 and 48 Buick with Rascal Flats.
Well, come to find out, there was No Way to fit the Magic Carpet in them two #s 24 and #s 25 lots. So, although our Dad tried his best, the Magic Carpet suffered it's first and only bruise of our journey.
The grounds crew was summoned shortly there and after and offered to extend us a Long Long extension cord, to stay the night, out in the outback, if you will! Free of charge, don't ya know!!

What a lot of challenges! And what an amazing family! Good thing your dad had mechanical ability!!!

Wow what a great picture. The classic Christmas!!


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Thanks for all the pics!

Keep them coming.

As I look at them I realize that they were taken only seven years after the end of WWII.

That means that many of the men you encountered on this trip had fought overseas.

Many of the women had supported the war effort here and abroad.

It humbles me to consider what these every day folks did to ensure our freedom!

My Sincere GRATITUDE
 

It's not my fault.

Go's to our Webmaster Don for all of His dedication and hard work at keeping this Treasure Trove of a website up and running for all of these wonderful years now. #1, All of Y'all's sharing photos and informative info.
Couldn't be better!!

Thank you Don, and Y'all!!
Love,
Terry

Shiny Object...
 

Today, Rt 66 sees light traffic:

https://photos-e1.flightcdn.com/phot...2cea06569c48cb