While I'm thinking about old cars and looking through the family slides, I might as well talk about the Wild Wagon. I know you were wondering about it after you were sucked in by the "cat & bow" post.
The Wild Wagon was our Terry single-axle trailer. We got this thing in about 1971 after a particularly bad camping trip involving lots of rain, near Bangladesh-scale flooding, and a vow from my mother to never camp in a tent again. So the Wild Wagon was purchased to solve a problem. I think it cost something like $3,000, small price to pay for my mom's happiness.
It was about medium sized for it's day at 19 feet, nothing like the wall-moving, air-conditioned, big-screen TV-sporting monsters people roll with today. It had a bunk up high that Brian and I inhabited, and we each got a small window. There was a bathroom the size of a phone booth, a fold-away dinner table, a stove with just enough BTUs to boil water, and a little refrigerator.
Everything a happy camper could want. And my mother could sleep well knowing that she would not be rudely awakened by floating coolers and soggy jammies. In fact, I think she loved when it rained at night while we camped. She would point out the windows at the poor suckers frantically shoring up their tents, secretly snickering.
We used this trailer every year on our Pentwater camping trips. It was home base to many an adventure of mine. I stored fresh water crayfish under the steps in cups, and lit sparklers from under the awning. I leaned my raft up against it's walls and napped in the bunk when the sand and wind and beach had stolen all my energy. Home, away from home, truly.
As you can see from the picture, we pulled this thing through the wind with some serious Detroit iron. That Newport had a big-block V8 that hauled the Wild Wagon like it was a kiddy wagon. I think it required it's own oil well though.
We stored the Wild Wagon at my uncle's farm when not in use, and eventually sold it to him for use as temporary housing for his migrant workers. I lost track of it after that.
Although I loved our trips with The Wild Wagon, I have since returned to tent camping in my backpacking trips. I love being outdoors and hearing every little sound outside, and feeling the wind on the tent. It's more "outdoor-ish" and much closer to nature.
Which is a good thing because I'll bet that trailer would be pretty hard to pack in to the Grand Canyon on my back.
3 comments:
I did the calcu-laaaaaaashun and the cost of a week's stay in a nice hotel is about the same as one month's payment on one of those mobile camping units; the ones that aquire a certain piquant from months of being parked in the back yard. And, no insect were harmed while filming this event :)
Hey Dennis,
Judging by the description under your blog name (Stuff I think about) and the complete lack of posts, you must do all your "thinking" on my brother's blog!
"Whatever" good name, though. m
Mary, we're going to have to stop communicating this way. The neighbors are beginning to talk.
I have to admit, Dave does provoke thought and inspire comment. But both of us have to fill up our wells and drip some ink on our own :) I'll accept your comment as a challenge.
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