Harrell
Stevens’ Great 1935 Road Trip
PROLOGUE
I learned at an early age that my
father loved to take road trips.
The summer I turned seven, Pop built
a kind of platform that fit over the transmission hump and converted the
backseat of our ’49 Chevy into a flat space for me, loaded the trunk with
suitcases and camping gear, put my mother in the passenger seat, and drove us
from Galax, Virginia to the Grand Canyon and back. We had a tent, a camera, a couple of Army
cots, and a Coleman stove that burned white gas. My private space in the car was covered with
quilts so I could rest, read and play during the day (even then I never napped)
and sleep there on the nights we camped.
Pop drove almost every mile of the
trip while my mother navigated from a spiral-bound book of trip maps that he
had ordered from Amoco. Each page had
our route marked in bright orange. Cars
had no air conditioning in those days, so most of the time he drove with the
driver’s side window rolled down and his left elbow propped on the sill. By about the third day his arm bore a vicious,
oddly shaped sunburn.
My memories of the trip include
waking at sunrise to find that we were camped within a stone’s throw of the
South Rim of the Grand Canyon, feeding peanuts to chipmunks who ate out of my
hand at Bryce Canyon, and discovering that the Great Salt Lake’s extra buoyancy
was not sufficient to permit me to float like a bar of Ivory soap.
We took many road trips after that –
to New England, where it rained buckets in Boston; to New York, where we stayed
at the Hotel Taft and ate at an Automat; to Washington, D.C., where we
nervously waited out an air raid drill in the undercroft of the Lincoln
Memorial; and to Florida, where I acquired a sunburn so painful that I couldn’t
lie down to sleep.
During these and other trips, and at
other times, Pop would make reference to “the time I drove to California with
some other fellas.” Other than the fact
that he had visited the Grand Canyon, San Diego and Yosemite National Park, and
the name of one of his companions, I knew next to nothing about his trip until
after he died. That’s when I discovered
a small three-ring “Scholastic” binder and a scrapbook of small black-and-white
photographs in which he documented his trip.
Although the journal narrative was spare in its details and many of the
pictures were of unidentified vistas, by putting them together I was able to
understand that for my father, whose early life was severely circumscribed
financially, geographically and socially, the trip to California was a transformative
adventure that opened his eyes to the wonder and joy that comes from
experiencing new places.
Pop’s
love of travel never waned, and I am gratified that in his later years he and
my mother had sufficient means to visit some of the exotic places that he
longed to see, from Mount Denali in Alaska to the Pyramids. Best of all, he passed his love on to me.
Nor do I know who owned the 1935
Pontiac that these fellows drove 7,949 miles in 25 days; if it belonged to my
father, he never mentioned it, and I have not found it pictured in any other of
his photo collections. Considering all
the sightseeing they did and the conditions of the roads they traveled, the
fact that they averaged 318 miles per day is astonishing; even the famous Route
66, which they followed from Oklahoma to California, was unpaved in stretches
in those days, and the “highways” in Mississippi and Alabama were worse. Perhaps
the answer is that Pop, who apparently did most of the driving, had a bit of a
“lead foot” at age 23. (See the entries
for July 15 and 28.)
The journal also leaves these and
many other questions unanswered:
Other than a
leaky tent and inadequate blankets, what camping gear did they carry?
How and
where did they wash their clothes -- and themselves?
Why did Pop and
his companions wear neckties most of the time?
How did he
celebrate his 23d birthday?
What did
they eat? How did they pass the time in the car?
We’ll never
know. Here’s what we do know, in Pop’s
own words and photographs.
****************************************
We left Burlington at 2:20 PM on Saturday, July 13, 1935. The mileage on the car was 10, 385. We were in rain near Hendersonville. We camped by a lake near Franklin on Saturday
night. It was cold.
The mountains were very pretty on Sunday
morning. It was foggy for a while. We ate breakfast at Murphy.
At 10:00 A.M. on Sunday, July 14 we
crossed into Tennessee. The land was all washed up and scarred by big
ditches. No trees. At Cleveland, Tennessee we passed the world’s
largest woolen mill. We reached Chattanooga
at 11:00 A.M. A little later we went
over into Alabama. We camped by
Tennessee River Sunday night. I fixed
supper. I sure was tired. I drove over
250 miles Sunday.
Monday, July 15.
On Monday morning we left at 6:20
A.M. The car mileage was 11,095. We
drove from Selmer, Tennessee down into Mississippi at 7:00 A.M. Monday. One stretch of the road was 11 miles long with
no curves. On this stretch we went 85 at
one time. We reached Memphis at 10:00
A.M. on Monday and crossed the Mississippi River by bridge. After we crossed the river the state was
Arkansas.
From Memphis to Brinkley, Ark the
country is flat. About all you see are
cotton fields. We got to Little Rock at
1:00 P.M. From there to Fort Smith the roads were good. We went through the Ozark Mountains. They were not very large, just enough to be
pretty. I drove 300 miles this
afternoon. At Fort Smith we crossed the
Arkansas River into Oklahoma. This river
was wide and clear. We camped 22 miles
from Fort Smith and cooked
supper. We watched the eclipse of the
moon at 9:12.
Tuesday, July 16. Mileage 11,564.
The roads were rough and we did not
make very good time to Oklahoma City. We
stopped there and looked around for about an hour. Left there at 1:00 P.M. From Oklahoma City to
the Texas line the country began to get more level and there were less trees. We
saw several oil wells in Oklahoma. We came
by a U.S. Army camp.
We crossed the Canadian
River into Texas at 4:45 P.M. From the line to Amarillo there were hardly any
trees at all. The roads were strait and
good. Made good time to Amarillo. I drove 200 miles today. It seemed like the car ran better. We camped on Jack Hall’s Ranch a few miles
from Amarillo. We could not find a shady
place anywhere else. The night sure was
beautiful under the Texas stars on the plains.
The moon was full and sure was shining down.
Wednesday, July 17. Mileage 12,009.
We crossed into New Mexico at Glenrio
at 8 A.M. After we crossed into New
Mexico the countryside began to get rolling and treeless. The only kinds of trees we saw were scrub
cedars. In the afternoon we began to get
into the Painted Desert country. We ate
dinner at Albuquerque. There were some
very pretty mountains before we got there.
We crossed the Rio Grande River just beyond there. The desert began there, and some hills. We did not see a house for many miles. The rabbits there were large and skinny. We also saw prairie dogs on the desert. It rained after we camped at Clark’s Dairy a
few miles from Gallup, New Mexico. We
like to never have found any water or shade.
I drove over 300 miles today.
Thursday, July 18. Mileage 12463.
It was cloudy when we broke
camp. At 7:30 A.M. we crossed into
Arizona. The Painted Desert was a few
miles into Arizona. It sure was a
beautiful scene – red, brown and all colors.
It was a little cloudy, or it would have been even more beautiful. Just a few miles farther we went into the
Petrified Forest. These were large trees
that had been turned to stone. About
noon we passed through Winslow, Arizona.
While we were stopped there, a fellow came over to the car and talked
with us. His name was Troy Hagood. He has a brother who works at Mayfair. His address is Box 751, Winslow, Arizona.
Thursday evening we got to the Grand
Canyon. It was cloudy and we did not get
a good look. That night it rained. Our tent leaked, and we had to sleep in the
car.
Friday, July 19.
We went to the South Rim of the
Canyon. Sure were some wonderful views
from there. This Canyon is so vast and
wonderful one has to see it to really appreciate it. The Colorado River is about a mile below the
rim. It looks to be about like a small
creek, but it is really 300 feet wide, very muddy and very swift. There are 1,000,000 tons of silt carried
downstream by it every day.
The walls of the Canyon are all
colors cut up in every kind of shape and form.
It is one of the most wonderful things I have ever seen. We went to Desert View where one way you
could see the desert and the other rim of the Canyon. Sure was a wonderful view and made one feel
how large and wonderful nature really is.
If
you stand on the rim of the Canyon and look down you see ravines, gorges, canyons,
precipices, bluffs, towers, pinnacles, buttes, solitary mountain peaks,
temples, arches, caves and every conceivable feature and structure of
rock. [It’s] a mile deep abyss full of
things, all of them on such a gigantic scale as to appear like the vast,
hideous and overwhelming objects of a nightmare, but made real and transfused
with radiant splendor, dashed over with all the colors of the sunset, sunrise
and rainbow in combinations never before revealed to man and transfigured with
glory, as if from the very throne of God.
Friday evening we went up to the
north rim to watch the sunset. It was
cloudy, but then the sun came out just before it set. Sure did make a wonderful sight. That night it rained again. All of our things got wet and we did not get
an early start on Saturday.
Saturday, July 20. Mileage 12831.
It was a beautiful morning after the
rain. When we got started it was
cool. After we passed Williams, Arizona
the sun got hotter. The desert
began. Cactus and low cedars were all
the plants we could see. At one time the
temperature was 112 degrees. When we
crossed the Colorado River we were in California. We crossed the river at 3 P.M. at Needles and
turned north to Boulder City and Boulder Dam.
It was getting late when we got there and I couldn’t get any
pictures. I sure wish I could have,
because it was a wonderful place. The
lake was already 300 feet deep and looks like it had just begun to back
up. The canyon there was not so grand as
where we saw it before, but it was still wonderful. The machinery at the dam was not in
operation because of a strike. Some of
the workmen were at work, but not many.
This is one of the man-made wonders of the world.
From Boulder Dam to San Diego we
went across the desert for about 200 miles.
We drove this at night to escape the terrible heat.
Sunday, July 21.
We did not go to bed until about
9:00 this morning. I sure was
tired. I slept until one o’clock. On Sunday afternoon we went to Tijuana, Mexico,
the great gambling and resort place below the border. The saloons and stores were all open. There were large crowds of people, mostly
Americans. The big bar rooms and cafes
had orchestras and girls to dance with.
One bar was about two blocks long and looked like it had every kind of
liquor there was to be had.
Monday, July 22.
Today we stayed at the fair in San
Diego. This was a beautiful place. All kinds of flowers from every part of the
world were planted all over the grounds.
The buildings were all built in Spanish style. There was an outdoor pipe organ there, the
largest in the world. There were several
nice exhibits, and several shows, but I didn’t go in any of them. Henry Ford had about the best exhibit.
Tuesday, July 23.
Today we drove up to Los
Angeles. We could see the Pacific Ocean
all the way. Sure was pretty to see the
breakers come in and leave the foam after they broke on the beach. We stopped at Long Beach for a while; there
was quite a crowd on the beach there.
We had to have the car worked on at
Los Angeles. The battery went down and
the generator would not work. Going out
to find a campsite we went through Hollywood; it was no different from the rest
of the city. We camped about four blocks
from Mae West’s house and not far from ___________ Ranch.
Wednesday, July 24.
Today was my birthday. I was 23 years old. It took us until nearly noon to get the car
fixed. We drove over to Hollywood. We did not see any of the movie stars, but
there sure were some pretty places there.
After dinner we went over to Beverly Hills and saw the houses of the
following move stars: Ann Southern, Irene
Dunne, Robert Montgomery, Ruth Chatterlain, Frederic March, Gary Cooper, Lupe
Vélez, Lionel Barrymore, Richard Barthelmess, Constance Bennett, Wallace Berry,
Marlene Dietrich, Ramon Navarro and Helen Twelvetrees. These were all beautiful places. We then went down to the beach at Santa
Monica. This was a very pretty place; to
the northwest the mountains seemed to go all the way down to the sea. We camped at the same place as on Tuesday
night. It was an orchard and made me
think of the places at home. The man who
owned the place was an Italian. He said
it never rained there except in the winter.
Thursday, July 25.
We left Hollywood about 9:00 A.M.
for Yosemite Park. After we left the
coast it began to get warmer. It is
always foggy in the morning at the coast.
We went across the San Joaquin Valley to the Sierra Madre Mountains. All of this land that was cultivated had to
be irrigated. Grapes, figs, olives,
oranges and all kinds of vegetables are grown there. When we began to get into the mountains the
trees began to get larger. The first
grove of redwood trees we saw were inside the park. We went into the grove. Some of the trees were over 3,000 years old
and more than 200 feet high. They were
all straight and did not have any limbs for a long way up.
We were about 8,000 feet high when
we started into the valley. The road was
good. Sure were some pretty views from
the road. We went through a tunnel over
4,000 feet long cut into solid rock.
When we got to the bottom of the valley the sides were between 3,000 and
4,000 feet high on both sides. They were
solid rock and about as straight as a wall.
Every night they have some kind of fire on top and push it off a
cliff. It looks like a waterfall on fire
and sure is beautiful.
Friday, July 26.
It was cool
down in the valley early in the morning.
In the parks they have rangers who conduct tours every day. On these they stop at the most important
places and point out and explain things that one who did not know about would
miss. We went on two of these tours
today. In the morning we went to the
east end of the valley, where we saw Half Dome, Clouds Rest and other parts of
the rock walls. We went through the fish
hatchery that the State of California has there. At Mirror Lake the water is clear and the reflections
in the water are beautiful.
At night we went to the assembly,
where there were talks and entertainment.
One of the rangers gave an illustrated lecture on the beauties of the
park. This was very interesting. I sure would have liked to have seen some of
the places he showed and talked about.
At 9:00 P.M. the falling fire was very pretty. We then went to where they feed the bears. There were eight or ten large wild bears,
some black and some red. While we were
there a coyote came in and got something.
It was wilder than the bears and ran in and out again and again.
Saturday, July 27.
We had to get out by 6:25 A.M. or
wait until 8:00 P.M. because there is a one-way road for four miles and they
let traffic out for one hour and in for the next. We made it but did not have any time to
spare. The elevation at the floor of the
valley was 4,000 feet. During the first
four miles we climbed 2,000 feet. There
were several hairpin turns
on the road, so we could get a wonderful view of the valley as we went up. The road went up for several miles. All the way along we saw many kinds of
flowers in bloom. We also saw deer and
several smaller
animals. Several times we were above the timber
line. There were pretty meadows and
streams up there. These streams were
very clear and beautiful. Most of them
were made by snow melting higher up.
Many times during
the day we saw lots of snow. At one time
we stopped and went up to a snow bank.
It was not very large. The elevation
there was a little over 9,000 feet.
There were several beautiful lakes in this part of the mountains. They were blue, like the pictures one can see
and not believe there really are any such places. We went through Tioga Pass and started down
grade. We got some wonderful views
there. After several miles we were in
the desert again. It is difficult to
believe that you can get from mountains and snow to desert and sagebrush so
quickly.
We crossed into Nevada about 2:00
P.M. The capital is Carson City, the
smallest capital city in the U.S. We
went through there and then on to the famous divorce capital of Reno. From there the country was desert with very
little growing except cedar, sage and a few other desert plants. Some of the way we were in mountains. We camped at Winnemucca, Nevada. We had come nearly 400 miles during the day.
Sunday, July 28. Mileage 14688
More desert today. Sure was hot, but not as hot as it has
been. We saw several large ranges of
mountains today. After noon we came
across the Great Salt Desert. This at
one time was a salt lake; now the water is all gone. Sometimes we drove for 20 miles where nothing
at all is was growing; it looked very much like snow. The desert was about 60 miles across. It was very level and the road was just as
straight as could be. After we got
across the desert and were going through a town I was not watching my speed and
got pinched for speeding. The judge had
gone away and the officer was very nice.
He said it was my lucky day and let me go; boy was I glad. We went by the Great Salt Lake and Salt Lake
City, which was a very pretty city facing the lake with mountains on the other
three sides. We camped Sunday night
about three miles from Ogden, Utah.
Monday, July 29.
We went into Ogden and there got our
mail. Everyone felt better after they
read their letters from home and other places.
I sure was glad to hear from everyone who wrote me.
Ogden was a very nice town with wide
streets and shady trees. From there we
went north. About two o’clock we crossed
into Idaho. We stopped at Idaho Falls
and bought some souvenirs. From there to
Yellowstone Park there were some mountains – just enough to be pretty and not
get one tired. All the valleys were
irrigated and under cultivation. We went
into Montana before we went into the park.
It was nearly dark by the time we got into the park. We camped at the campsite at Old Faithful
geyser. Everyone like to have froze Monday night. A bear climbed a tree over our tent. I woke up after it had left.
Tuesday, July 30.
We went to
Old Faithful and waited until it erupted.
This was worth seeing. Every 63
minutes it throws between 15,000 and 20,000 gallons of water between 150 and
200 feet into the air. The water is 203
degrees. The ranger there said they
estimated this geyser to be between 40,000 and 50,000 years old.
From there we went to West Thumb,
where you can see Yellowstone Lake, a large clear lake over 7,000 feet
high. There are lots of fish in the lake
and all kinds of birds near the lake. At
one place we stopped and saw the Dragon’s Mouth. This was a cave-like place with hot water
dashing out; it roars like a waterfall.
Near this was
the Mud Volcano, a
pit with mud and gas boiling out.
Further on were the Terraces.
These were places where water boils out of the ground and deposits lime
which builds up the terraces, which are all different colors and very
pretty. There were many hot springs and
geysers in Yellowstone, some large and some small. We also saw the Grand Canyon of the
Yellowstone and the falls.
On our way around the park we saw
many kinds of wild animals. The bears
are all along the roads and will sit up and look for something to eat. Every night the rangers feed the bears and
give an interesting talk about their habits.
We saw deer, elk and moose but did not get very close to any of them. There were several kinds of smaller game that
we saw.
Wednesday, July 31. Mileage 15,612.
Everybody got cold again last
night. If I ever go on another camping
trip I bet I will take enough blankets.
We left Yellowstone about 7:00 this morning. The first hundred miles were very mountainous
and they were working on the road nearly all the way. We followed the Shoshone River for a long
way. There was right much snow on several
of the mountains.
The Shoshone River has made a canyon
as it flows out of the mountains. The
government has built a dam in the canyon that is over 300 feet high. There is a power plant there, and also water
for irrigation. The road goes down this
canyon for a long way. There are four or
five short tunnels on this road. We stopped
at Cody, Wyoming and got something to eat.
This town was founded by Buffalo Bill Cody. There is a museum there with his things in
it. The country from there was a little
more level. It began to look more like
the plains. On the Big Horn River we
went into Wind Canyon, a deep gorge cut by the river. It looked like the road was downgrade when we
would be going up. The river looked like
it was running the wrong way. The road
from Wind Canyon was good all the way to Casper, where we stayed Wednesday
night.
Thursday, August 1.
Got an early start. Went up to the Black Hills of South Dakota as
far as Wind Cave. We went into this
cave. The temperature in the cave was
about 50 degrees, cool enough to be comfortable. It was about 250 feet deep and a mile
long. Below Hot Springs we crossed into
Nebraska. This is a farming state with
beautiful fields of wheat and corn and lots of livestock. The land was level or rolling. Much of it was irrigated.
Friday, August 2. Mileage 16424.
We drove down from Sidney, Nebraska
into Colorado. We did not go in very
far, just enough to say we had been to this state. We crossed the Platte River at Grand Island,
Nebraska and got to Lincoln, the capital, about 3:00 P.M. From there we decided to drive close enough
to St. Louis so we could see a ball game on Saturday. At Nebraska City we crossed the Missouri
River into Iowa. It was after dark, so
we could not tell much about how anything looked. At St. Joseph, Missouri we crossed the river
into Kansas. Then we went back across
the river and drove toward Hannibal. We
stopped for about three hours and slept some.
Saturday, August 3.
This morning we went on to Hannibal
and then from there to St. Louis. We got
to St. Louis about 10:00 A.M., rented a cabin, cleaned up and rested
awhile. We went to the ball game
Saturday afternoon. Saw the Cardinals
and Pittsburgh play. St. Louis won six
to nothing; it was a good fast game. We
had the car worked on in St. Louis and did not get it until about 7:00
P.M. Everyone was about all in, so we
did not stay in town very long. It sure
was hot here after being in the mountains.
Sunday, August 4. Mileage 17,326.
We got an early start today so it
would not be so hot. We crossed the
Mississippi River by the McKinley Bridge.
The river at St. Louis is not so wide.
It is built up on each side so it will be deep enough for the
boats. After we crossed the river we
were in Illinois. This is farming
country. Most of the places are well
kept and look good. It sure was good to
get back to a part of the country where there were plenty of trees and where
places to get good water are not so far apart.
The Wabash River is the boundary
between Illinois and Indiana. It was
about 1:00 on Sunday when we went into Indiana.
We stopped at the George Rogers Clark Memorial on the bank of the
Wabash. At Louisville, Kentucky we
crossed the Ohio River. We decided to go
by Mammoth Cave, as it would not be out of our way. We didn’t get there until late. Camped and slept out.
Monday, August 5. Mileage 17,615.
We could not find out much about the
cave, so we left for Johnson City. We
had a dirt road for about 50 miles. We
got to Knoxville about noon. Sure was
hot. We went on to Johnson City and got
there about dark. We stayed at a tourist
camp.
Tuesday, August 6.
We went to the mill and went through
it. Did not stay long. We came by Asheville and stopped for a
while. I think everyone felt better when
they got back to old North Carolina. We
got to Greensboro about 8:00 P.M. I
stopped there and stayed all night. I
went home Wednesday and rested.
I think this was a wonderful trip
and I enjoyed ever bit of it. I sure was
sorry when it ended, but all good things must end. If I ever get the chance and have the money I
am going on another one.
The
reading at the stop was 18,334
start 10,385
7,949
EPILOGUE
To me, the most surprising thing
about Pop’s trip narrative was learning how little time he and his friends
spent at San Diego’s California Pacific International Exposition in Balboa Park,
which my father always referred to as a “world’s fair.” Given the frequency and fondness with which
he mentioned it, I had assumed that it was the raison d’être for the trip, so I was surprised that “the fellas”
spent only one day there, and that Pop’s journal entry about it was so
perfunctory.
My curiosity about the Exposition
led me to a “pictorial essay” published a few years ago in “The Journal of San
Diego History” in which the authors explained that the event built upon
a Panama-California Exposition of 1915-1916 and was made possible because San
Diego received the first funds allocated to an American city by the New Deal’s
Works Progress Administration for the purpose of creating or expanding parks. This paragraph caught my eye, particularly in
light of Pop’s entry:
The second exposition, quite unlike the first,
featured some controversial exhibits
and unusual sideshow entertainment—a nudist
colony called Zoro Gardens,
Alpha, a silver robot with a walking counterpart,
a Midget Village, an Old Globe
Shakespearean Theater and spectacular lighting
shows. Three internationally
famous gardens—one patterned after the Casa del
Rey Moro (House of the Moorish King) Garden in Ronda, Spain, another
duplicating that adjoining the Alcázar in Sevilla, Spain, and a third from a
patio garden in Guadalajara, Mexico—were also reproduced. Federal funding made
it possible to construct a new permanent building copied from the Mayan Palace
of Governors in Uxmal, Yucatan.
Pop said about
the shows “I didn’t go into any of them.”
When I read that, I assumed that he passed on the sideshows because they
charged admission fees whereas the exhibits were free, but after learning that
the shows were controversial, and included a “nudist colony,” I wondered
whether Pop’s use of “I” was intended to set him apart from his
companions. It’s hard to imagine that
all five of the “fellas,” who were a long way from home both geographically and
culturally, visited Tijuana and a World’s Fair without being tempted to check
out sights and experiences that surely were eye-opening to them, if not
downright shocking. Did they really go
all the way to California and not join these young men peering through the fence at the
naked ladies in Zoro Gardens?
Whatever
he did or didn’t see in San Diego, Pop’s visit to the Exhibition reflected an
interest in World’s Fairs that lasted throughout his lifetime. I know that he had attended “A Century of
Progress” in Chicago in 1934 and would also go to the Great Lakes Exposition in
Cleveland in 1936, but I don’t know with whom he made either trip. In 1939, the
year he and my mother were married, they and some friends went to New York to
attend the World’s Fair known as “The World of Tomorrow” at Flushing Meadows.
When I was a little boy, we had a salt and pepper set modeled after the fair’s
symbols, the Trylon and Perisphere.
Twenty-five years later, in 1964, I accompanied them to the same site to
visit still another World’s Fair.
Another part of Pop’s
journal that particularly struck me was his soliloquy to the Grand Canyon’s
beauty and majesty that appears at the bottom of page 6. I have placed it in italics both because it
is unusually eloquent and because it does not appear in the chronological
narrative; instead it was written on a facing page, which strongly suggests
that it was the product of subsequent reflection about a sight whose grandeur
Pop found awe-inspiring.
And of course it was
thoroughly typical of my father to bend his route and itinerary in order to
include a major league baseball game. In
1961, when Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris were chasing Babe Ruth’s single-season
home run record, he and I persuaded my mother that it made perfectly good sense
to drive from Chicago to Burlington by way of Cleveland in order to catch a
Yankees-Indians game.
I hope you will enjoy reading
about his great trip, and that it will inspire you to hit the road, whether to
California or somewhere else.
Just be sure to take
plenty of blankets.
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