Adventure Research Archives

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The Airstream-Jeep Rabbit Hole

• CATEGORIES: Camping, Features, videos • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

Some of you may have seen an image of a CJ-2A setup to pull an Airstream trailer that has gone around Facebook. Unfortunately, there was no history attached to that image. So, that’ got me hunting for more information. Below is my quick education on the Airstream history. I’m sure some of. you folks know more, so correct me if need be.

I was able to find a few more images of that CJ-2A and trailer, which has led me to believe that Airstream founder Wally Byam used that jeep, probably purchased in Europe, to pull his trailer around Europe during Wally’s first trip in 1948, which he used to scout various countries for future caravans. However, I have so far been unable to find anyone explicitly saying that Wally did that. But, the jeep is a CJ-2A, so the timeline fits. The top looks similar to other European tops of the late 1940s, and in Europe I suspect there weren’t many vehicle options at that time. Here are the pics I found, the first being the one circulating on Facebook:

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Wally Byam sitting in one of his early trailers. A Cj-2A with a European style top appears to be the pull-rig. I believe this would be 1948.

This photo, clearly in Europe, was posted on this site taken in Turkey, from the 1948 trip:

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And this photo posted on this site. I assume this is in Europe, but cannot confirm it:

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As the Airstream trailer business grew, Wally began encouraging traveling, leading some international caravans himself.

In 1951, he led a trip into Mexico and Central America, using what looks to be an early Jeep Wagon.

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I found this example of a wagon pulling a trailer, but can’t determine when or where this occurred.

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Eventually, Wally assembled the first around-the-world Airstream caravan that travelled over the course of 1963-1964 30,000 miles through thirty countries with 104 people in 40 Airstream trailers. Here’s a video about one family’s take on the event.

According to the video’s summary, Journalist Mac Smith was hired to document the trip and brought along his wife Jackie and their three children, Lorie, Judy, and Scott. Mac would go on to write an account of the Around the World Caravan in his 1966 book, Thank You, Marco Polo: The Story of the First Around-the-World Trailer Caravan [which appears to be out of print].”

So, as you can see, I kind of fell down a rabbit hole of Airstream history.

 
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1963 Article on Kent Frost

• CATEGORIES: Features • TAGS: , This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

As I continue my journey to organize the jeep office, I stumped upon this May 1963 Four Wheeler article about Kent Frost. You can learn more about him here: http://www.ewillys.com/2020/11/11/kent-frost-a-man-of-canyonlands/ and here http://www.ewillys.com/tag/kent-frost/.

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Video: 1972 Darien Gap Adventure

• CATEGORIES: Features, videos • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

Over the weekend I had time to bend the side bars and create the initial mounting brackets for the side bars. But, my metal saw blade for my evolution chop saw (which has been great) gave out due to an unanticipated dust bag mount project–to help deter flies– for the cows.

I had planned to do updates last night, but, as seems to be a regular occurrence, life got in the way, again. But, thanks to Bill, I found this interesting adventure through the Darien Gap from 1972.

 
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1963 CJ-3B/ M-606 Perkasie, PA $7950

• CATEGORIES: CJ-3B, M-606 (military CJ-3B) • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

This one deserves a closer look, as it *might* be an M-606. Note the ventilated windshield.

https://philadelphia.craigslist.org/cto/d/blooming-glen-army-jeep-1963willys/7635557843.html

“Willys Jeep, Model; CJ3B, also known as M606 military 4×4
Runs very well, good original condition.
Has small crack in windshield and small rust in passenger side floor, otherwise very nice.”

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1958 Article From Sunset Magazine

• CATEGORIES: Features, Magazine • TAGS: , This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

UPDATE: This post was originally published 12/26/2018:

This article about exploring southern Utah in a jeep was published in the October 1958 issue of Sunset Magazine. You’ll see a nod to Kent Frost’s guide company and a photo of the front of one of his CJ-5s.

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Jeeps, INC., Sierra Package Trip Brochure

• CATEGORIES: Advertising & Brochures, Features • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

The Sierra Pack’age’ Trip Tri-Fold brochure was probably printed in the early 1960s. It’s the first time I have run across a California or Sierra Nevada brochure for guided jeep tours.  The company is referenced both as “Jeeps, Inc.” and as “Sierra Tours by Jeeps, Inc.”.

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This 3rd page only has print on one side. It’s a flyer that was stuck into the brochure.

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1960s Colorado Mountain Safari Brochure

• CATEGORIES: Advertising & Brochures, Features • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

Sometime in the 1950s Bob Meyer partnered with Lloyd Sehnert to form Mountain Safari, a guide company out of Walsenburg, Colorado, The pair took clients into the Sangre De Cristo’s in Southern Colorado.

According to Bob Meyer’s obituary, Bob “took his jeeps where no one had before, including the Walsenburg fair grounds where he had challenged local horsemen to a calf-roping competition wherein Bob had mounted a saddle to the hood of his jeep so he could freely swing his lariat and lasso the calf.”

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Twenty Year Old Girl Jeeps Through South America

• CATEGORIES: Features • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

UPDATE: This story was originally published August 29, 2016:

A story from the September 20, 1962, issue of the Toledo Blade (and a similar story on the 10th as well) shares the tale of Lou-Bette Herrick’s three month trip through South America. The Richmond Virginia native entered into the adventure after responding to an advertisement placed by Hilary Dunstervile for a companion to drive back to her native country of Venezuela. I did a little research on both women, but didn’t find any updated information on them. It doesn’t say what kind of jeep they used, but there is a reference in the article to camping out in the jeep, so it might have been a wagon.

1962-09-10-toledo-blade-herrick-south-america-adventure1 1962-09-10-toledo-blade-herrick-south-america-adventure2 Continue reading

 
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1946 Jeep Trip to South America

• CATEGORIES: Features • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

UPDATE: This article was originally published September 12, 2016:

This article appeared in the October 8, 1946, issue of the Southeastern Missourian. Mr. and Mrs. Irwin Kenyans, Mrs. Katherine McGregor Wallis and her daughter Miss Trinket, planned to travel all the way to Tierra Del Fuego in a CJ-2A. I could only find one article and one photo, partly shown below. You can see the full version of the image at Getty.

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Caption: Katherine MacGregor with Friends Before South American Trip To South America In A Jeep. Chicago, Illinois: Putting the finishing touches on their jeep before they leave for a year’s trip in South America are (left to right): Mrs. Katherine MacGregor Wallis, Mrs. Anne Knehans, Irwin Knehans, and Miss Iranket Wallis of Quito, Ecuador. Trip To South America In A Jeep. Chicago, Illinois: Putting the finishing touches on their jeep before they leave for a year’s trip in South America are (left to right): Mrs. Katherine MacGregor Wallis, Mrs. Anne Knehans, Irwin Knehans, and Miss Iranket Wallis of Quito, Ecuador.

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1951 DeAnza Trail Jeep Cavalcade

• CATEGORIES: Event, Features, Magazine, Old Images • TAGS: , This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

UPDATE: Originally posted Feb 1, 2018:

1951-07-motortrend-jeep-gymkhana-calvacade-pg1-1The May 1951 issue of Motor Trend captured the 3rd Annual DeAnza Trail Jeep Cavalcade. The author, Ernest Reshovsky, titled the article “Jeep Gymkhana”, possibly attempting to reference timed automobile or equestrian contents designed to test driving skill, though to my knowledge the Cavalcade was not a timed event.

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Qualls’ Roadtrip III

• CATEGORIES: Features • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

(<– See Part II of the road trip)

Over the past few days Randy and Carson made good time, yet saw plenty. From Yosemite, they traveled southeast until camping somewhere in Nevada.

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The next morning, they drove to Las Vegas, Nevada, where they hit the Vegas strip. At some point, Carson broke a fan belt, so they got to spend more time than planned in Vegas.

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Back on the road, they drove to Utah. There, they met up with Jake White and others to take the offroad trip to Toquerville Falls, Utah.

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Continue reading

 
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The Qualls’ Cross Country Adventure Part I

• CATEGORIES: Features • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.
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Randy Qualls is on the left and Carson on the right. Here, they are just entering Arizona.

Randy and his son Carson are currently part way through a cross country trip in two flat fenders. Their journey began a few days ago in Jacksonville, Florida. Their western destination is Ventura, California. From there, they plan to drive back, heading slightly farther north through Utah and Colorado, before angling back south towards Florida. They’ve been documenting their trip on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ P?id=100085873092539

Here are a few pics.

This is a map of their route. They are currently in Arizona driving west along the yellow line.

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From Florida, they drove to Alabama, but had a few mechanical issues at one point.

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Then on to Mississippi:

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They got caught up in some rain, but that didn’t stop them:

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Soon, they were in Arkansas (cool stickers ;-)):

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Eventually they hit Texas (and likely had good weather from there):

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They’ve are equipped to camp at night:

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Howard & Ora Boyd’s Jeep Trip to South America

• CATEGORIES: Features, Old Images, Old News Articles • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.
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A photo from the May 30, 1959, issue of the Eugene Guard showing the FC-170 “EL Borrego” with the Boyds.

UPDATE: This series of articles was first published in 2015. I’ve updated with several additional articles and photos.

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(First published February 15, 2015) This interesting collection of news articles captures Howard & Ora Boyd’s 1958 trip in an FC to South America. The first article was published prior to the trip. The second was published during the trip. The third was published following the trip. I was only able to find one photo and it was poor at best. It may have been that the Boyd’s got the idea from the Schreiders, who did nearly the same route three years before them.

Howard Boyd died in 1993, but Ora Boyd lived until 2009, dying at the age of 106, meaning she was born around 1903. Living much of their lives near Eugene, Oregon, according to her obituary their year-long jeep trip was one of her all-time favorite memories. The obituary was published in the Talent, Oregon, Historical Society newsletter, so I’ve written them to see if we can learn more.

1. This October 31, 1958, EugeneRegister-Guard article discusses trip preparations. The Boyds had a custom camper built for their FC (though no articles mention the model of the vehicle — it looks to me like an FC based on the pic below). They named their jeep “El Borrego”.
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2. November 09, 1958 Eugene Guard .. brief article:

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3. December 14, 1958, from the Eugene Guard:

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Continue reading

 
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1951 Wagon and Trailer Trip to Ensenada, Mexico

• CATEGORIES: Features, Old Images Jeeping, Old News Articles • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

In 1951, Kurland Motors provided the Los Angeles Times automobile editor, Lynn Rogers, a wagon for a journey down to Ensenada, Mexico. A description of the trip was printed in the October 21, 1951, issue of the Los Angeles Times.

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Continue reading

 
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In 1957-58 4 Italians Drove to Toledo the Long Way

• CATEGORIES: Features, International, Old News Articles • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

UPDATE: This was first posted in August of 2016.

This September 13, 1958, article from the Toledo Blade told the story of four italians who drove what appears to be a WWII jeep a distance of 80,000 miles from Italy to Toledo. The men, all newspapermen, planned to drive another 15,000 miles back to Italy. What a trip! I wonder if their counterparts in 2013 knew of their countrymen’s adventure?

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1958 Article on the Tulare County Four-Wheel Drive Club

• CATEGORIES: Features, Old Images, Old Images Jeeping, Old News Articles • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

This December 06, 1958, article in the Tulare Advance Register highlights the Tulare County Four-Wheel Drive Club with pics and text. It’s not a club that I recognize, but the club was pivotal to the formation of the California Association of Jeeps Clubs in 1959 (later known as the California Four Wheel Drive Association). I tried to find a club logo or sticker, but couldn’t locate any example.

Here’s the 1958 article (spliced for easier viewing):

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Early 1960s Anglo-African Trans-World Safari

• CATEGORIES: Features • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

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The March 1963 issue of Four Wheeler Magazine included an article by Brian L. Pinn about the Anglo-African Trans-World Safari, the pics and text of which can be found at The FC Connection.

It turns out there’s a bit more information out there, though not as much as I’d hoped to find, especially given that the group of travelers that made up the trip had access to cameras and film and also given that in January 1963 American Television script-writer John Hicken was supposed to join the group to film the around-the-world adventure.

Without that storehouse of info, or a book, or a movie, we only have the following scraps to better understand the adventure.

South African Derek Linton came up with the idea to travel the world in 1958. At some point, in order to gather equipment, Derek travelled to the United States in 1959. He was photographed at a Ham Radio station in Burlington, Kentucky, a visit later reported in the January issue of Short Wave Magazine:

This map shows the proposed route:

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On September 19, 1961, a photo of Derek Linton and Gerald Cubitt (unsure who he is) was taken by Henry Bush. It’s part of the Henry Bush collection at Shutter Stock:

Mandatory Credit: Photo by Henry Bush/ANL/Shutterstock (5693954a) Anglo-african 1st Expedition Adventurers Derek Linton (left) And Gerald Cubitt. Box 634 413101543 A.jpg. Anglo-african 1st Expedition Adventurers Derek Linton (left) And Gerald Cubitt. Box 634 413101543 A.jpg.

Mandatory Credit: Photo by Henry Bush/ANL/Shutterstock (5693954a)
Anglo-african 1st Expedition Adventurers Derek Linton (left) And Gerald Cubitt. Box 634 413101543 A.jpg.

In the July 27, 1962, issue of the Warren County Observer, a syndicated article appeared by John P. Callahan that shared the news of how the idea for the trip originated and the progress the travelers had made:

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Finally, on January 05, 1963, the Evening Standard (London, England) reported that John Hicken was going to join the crew:

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In March 1963, the Four Wheeler article appeared.

There is also a mention in a 1963 issue of Business Week about the travelers, but I’ve been unable to determine which issue.

After that, I have been unable to learn more about the journey.

 

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The Meyer’s 1949 Jeep Trip From Panama

• CATEGORIES: Features, Old News Articles • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

In 1949, Mr. and Mrs. William H. Meyer drove in a CJ-2A from the Panama Canal to Decatur, Illinois. The article below provide the only records I could find related to their trip. This first article summarizes the adventure and shows a great photo of “DOPEY”. It was published in the Decatur Review, June 16, 1949:

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This second article is a pictorial of the trip that was published June 18, 1949, in Bloomington, Illinois’ “The Pantagraph”:

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This is a different summary of the trip, but contains no photos. It was published in the Daily Advertiser (Lafayette, Louisiana) on May 13, 1949:

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This last article was published June 17, 1949, in the Herald and Review out of Decatur, Illinois:

Continue reading

 
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1957 Baden-Powell AfricaEuropeAmerica Expedition

• CATEGORIES: Books, Features • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

Derek published this story on the CJ-3B Page about three Brazilian Boy Scouts (Gabriel Paula Fonseca Jr., Everardo de Mello Nogueira, and Paulo Pinheiro de Andrade) who traveled the world, calling themselves the Baden-Powell AfricaEuropeAmerica Expedition.

Leaving in 1957, just after Hugo Vidal and his friend returned from their Operation Pineapple adventure, the Baden-Powell party used a CJ-5 that was styled and outfitted in a way similar to the Operation Pineapple CJ-3B jeep.Their goal was to attend the 9th Annual Boy Scouts Jamboree, one that also celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Scout’s founding and the Centennial of Robert Baden-Powell, the Boy Scouts’ founder.

In 2018, a story was published in English called: 1957: From Cape Town to the Nordkap on a Jeep – Three Brazilians youngsters set out to discovery the world. I just purchased it ($6.50) for the kindle, so will be reading it as I can.

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In 2017 a story was published about the trip on this site, but it appears you have to log in to access it. Some pics from this story can be seen on the internet. Based on these pics, the trio may have used the same “built with Brazilian” parts that Operation Pineapple used to fund the expedition:

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1946 Jeep Trip From Hawaii to the Midwest

• CATEGORIES: Features, Old Images, Old News Articles • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

This photo captures three friends traveling from Hawaii to the midwest via Minnesota. Akira Tanaka, sitting in the driver’s seat, helped establish the military intelligence company that was part of Camp Savage in Minnesota.This was published in the September 16, 1946, issue of The Minneapolis Star.

I tried to learn more about these three, but didn’t have much luck. There was an Akira Tanaka that went to work for General Motors and built himself a home that was featured in a 1955 article in the Detroit Press. So, it’s possible that he graduated from College in Michigan, then went to work for GM. If that’s the case, he developed several automotive patents for the company.

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1949 Trip Down Africa in a Jeep

• CATEGORIES: Features, Old News Articles • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

On December 06, 1949, New York Artist and former Gallery owner Elenore Lust drove her WWII jeep  into Capetown, completing a 13,000 mile trek from France to South Africa. Their trek took them across ten countries. During one long stretch in the Sahara Desert she and her husband Paul Koston, who didn’t know how to drive, had to spread wire mesh on the sand, drive atop it, then roll it up, move it to the front of the jeep, then drive forward again, a process they repeated many times.

Unfortunately, I could not locate a photo of her and her jeep, but I was able to find a photo and an obit, which shared that after teaching art in South Africa, she returned to the US and began teaching art in Pennsylvania up until her death.

This article from the December 07, 1949, issue of New York’s Daily News provides some details about the trip.

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Here’s the only photo of Elenore I could find. It was printed in the June 08, 1988, issue of the Philadelphia Inquirer:

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Her obituary was published in the April 24, 1997, issue of the Philadelphia Inquirer:

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A World Odyssey-The Epic Voyage of the Sand Ship Discovery

• CATEGORIES: Features • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

UPDATE II: Maury forwarded an updated video about the Sand Ship Discovery that was posted to youtube in January of 2020. Loren’s wife provides information on some of the unique details of this CJ-5, modified for difficult terrain and the 6’4″ Loren Upton.

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This post was last posted December 26, 2017:  This just appeared in our local newspaper. A couple local folks are helping him out. Here’s an accompanying video:


ORIGINAL ARTICLE FROM MAY 10, 2017:

An article from Spokane’s Spokesman Review alerted me to the story of A World Odyssey-The Epic Voyage of the Sand Ship Discovery. This is actually a local story (for me) as Loren Upton, the man at the root of the adventure, has lived in Yakima and the Tri-Cities and worked at the nearby Hanford  nuclear reservation.

Between 1984 and 1989, Loren piloted a CJ-5 around the world, surpassing 55,000 miles. The jeep holds a Guiness book of World Record for being the first vehicle to cross the Darien Gap. Some of you might remember the 2014 post about the 1959-1960 venture across the Darien Gap in a Willys Truck and a Land RoverHowever, some of that trip was done by floating part of the river.

Loren’s nephew Laurence would like to restore the CJ-5 back to it’s former glory and then take his Uncle on one more world trip. They’ve set up a go-fund-me page and a website with lots of information and photos. Good luck to them!

http://www.outbackofbeyond.com/index.html

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Jack & Doreen’s 1958 Wagon Trip from Australia to England

• CATEGORIES: Features, videos • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

UPDATE: Gil’s hoping to reconnect with he Shakespeare family, so I’m reposting this in the hopes some family member might see it.

Original Post January 18, 2017 — Bill shared the video below from Jack and Doreen Shakespeare. Together, the couple recount their 1958 journey in a late 40’s wagon from Australia to England. The trip took them 114 days. Fortunately for us, they filmed much of the trip. It’s a great story.

 
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Maynard Roberts’ Two-Year Jeep Trip Through South America

• CATEGORIES: Features, Old News Articles • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.
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Maynard Roberts pictures on the left in San Paulo, Brazil, from the January 23, 1950, issue of the Pomona Progress Bulletin.

In 1948, 34 year-old Maynard Roberts, from La Verne, California, traveled south into Mexico and spent the next 18 months exploring Central and South American. He wrote a series of articles for the Pomona Progress Bulletin detailing his trip. He’d hoped to write a book, but I have been unable to locate one. If he didn’t, it’s too bad, because I think he was a very good writer.

His skill is evident early on when he wrote a phrase that caught my attention, “About seven years ago I was keeping company with my last twenty-dollar bill …” His attention to details and telling a few small stories make his tale worth reading. It’s unfortunate that these articles only share snippets, for it seems he’s got a good story to tell and the skill to tell it.

His idea to travel germinated prior to WWII. He was born in Lima, Ohio, in 1914. As a child, his parents moved to California, Near the start of WWII he got the idea to travel to South America, so he began saving money. During WWII he was a draftsman, perhaps a skill learned during his college days at Chaffee college? Finally, by 1948, he saved up enough money to buy a jeep and afford to travel.

Part one of his adventure appeared in the January 09, 1950, issue of the Ponoma Progress Bulleting, split into two sections.

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Part II: This is the second installment of Maynard’s adventure. It appeared in the January 16, 1950, issue of the Pomona Progress Bulletin.

Continue reading

 
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Kjolseth and Kohlschutter’s 1957 Trip to South American

• CATEGORIES: Features, Old Images, Old News Articles • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

On September 11, 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower introduced the People-to-People Program, “to enhance international understanding and friendship through educational, cultural and humanitarian activities involving the exchange of ideas and experiences directly among peoples of different countries and diverse cultures.”

Two students out of Colorado University, Rolf Kjolseth, of Boulder, Colorado, and Andreas Kohlschutter, of Berne, Switzerland, decided to put Eisenhower’s idea into action by driving a jeep from the United States to Rio De Janeiro, where they planned to sell the jeep and return to the United State by ship. Along the way, they hoped to meet people from all walks of life. They called their jeep “Columbus II”.

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June 24, 1957, Albuquerque Journal

The trip was sponsored by the U.S. Information Agency and the Pan American Union. The two young men were supposed to write about their trip and send their stories to several newspapers, but I can’t find any articles with their by-lines. They even had their photo take with  then Vice President Richard Nixon on the steps of the U.S. Capitol, but I haven’t located a copy of that yet.

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June 13, 1957, Greeley Daily Tribune

According to multiple reports, the intrepid explorers drove their early CJ-5 south from Laredo, Texas, through Mexico, into Central America and, probably via boat, made it to South America. The photos below show the pair in Colombia.

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November 11, 1957, The Marion Star, Marion, Ohio,

I could not locate any information following their stop in Colombia.

At the very least, Rolf made it back to Colorado, becoming an associate professor at the University of Colorado from 1971-2011. I don’t know if Rolf is alive or not, but he does have an email address associated with UC. Whether he monitors it or not, I couldn’t say, but I sent him an email. Hopefully someone will respond.