UPDATE: Was on eBay. **SOLD**
Marc found this Paul Revere based ad with a jeep.
I’m surprised there’s no date stamp along with the description.
“This Fine Photo features American Jeeps as they pass over a US PONTOON BRIDGE in the New Guinea Jungle during WORLD WAR II, the troops are loaded with military supplies as they advance toward their ALLIES to aid against the fight with the JAPANESE.”
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was $1250.
Cool old pedal jeep. I’m not sure what type. The price seems a bit over the top given the seller can’t identify it either.
“1940’s Willys Jeep Pedal car had lights, horn, folding windshield, adjustable seat. 2 feet wide 4 feet long. really nice shape and rare have never seen another one like this. $1,250”
<– Day 7 – Mar. 26th: Darth Vader and Tractor Bob | OVERVIEW | Day 9 – Mar. 28th: Charging Futility and FC Roundup Day 1 –>

From left to right Alan, Me and Joe and Joe’s jeeps. Alan also owns a few jeeps, including a Surrey he’s been restoring. He too can blame his father for his Willys sickness.
On Thursday morning we woke up to silence. The room at the Murray was amazingly peaceful. There’s no constant hum of a nearby highway, no air condition churning noisily, just relaxing quiet. For that reason alone we liked our stay in Silver City. But, as all good things must end, we said goodbye and hit the road for a ‘blue highways’ journey through New Mexico and Phoenix.
Before we left Silver City, we wanted to take a couple photos of the former Main Street. You can see the enormity of the damage from a storm that happened in the 1880s. There has been some discussion of filling in the area, but the importance of the event in the town’s history seems to win over any discussions of change.
<– Day 6 – Mar. 25th: TinkerTown and the Turquoise Trail | OVERVIEW | Day 8 – Mar. 27th: Joe’s Jeeps –>

Gordon and Ellen stand in front of their CJ-3B Tractor Bob. A name thought up by their grandson, who is an avid reader of eWillys. Tractor Bob isn’t Mr. Reliable; apparently, on more than one occasion, a jaunt about Silver City in Tractor Bob meant a relaxing hitchhike home. Therefore, Ann and I thank Gordon and Ellen for taking a chance and driving Bob to meet us for dinner and a narrated walk around the wonderful town of Silver City.
Before I share Wednesday’s fun, let me comment on the La Quinta Inn in Las Cruces . . . On Tuesday night when we arrived at the La Quinta Inn in Las Cruces (did I mention the La Quinta Inn??), we were surprised to discover that when we got to our hotel room, it hadn’t been cleaned (pizza boxes piled on a table and the beds remained unmade). Now, while I knew I’d gotten a great price on the room using Priceline, I did have an expectation the room would be clean. So, I went back to the desk and asked for a different room.
The mortified desk clerk apologized and quickly gave us a new room. Off to the second room we went (just a few doors down from the first one). We unpacked, then I went into the bathroom, only to discover there were no tissues in the dispenser (I really don’t give a rip, but in this case it wasn’t a good sign) and there was melted ice in the ice bucket container from the previous guests, meaning this room hadn’t been cleaned/restocked very carefully. While we were too tired to complain, I did check out the bed to make sure the sheets were clean.
Wednesday morning at checkout, I explained our poor experience to the morning clerk. Like the evening clerk, the morning clerk was mortified. She promised to address the situation and told me I’d receive a coupon in my email to make up for the poor experience we’d had. When I checked my email I discovered that the La Quinta Inn felt our poor experience warranted a whole $5 discount. It’s fair to say I remain unimpressed. Did I mention that was the La Quinta Inn in Las Cruces???
However, we didn’t let our La Quinta Inn experience dampen our mood. Our goal for the day was to get to the White Sands Missile Range Museum and then head over to Silver City.
The Museum was a pleasant surprise. Even the price was reasonable (free). The museum is divided into two interior sections and an exterior missile park. We started with the main interior portion. One of the first exhibits we encountered was an original Darth Vader mask. Apparently, the guy who won the Oscar for the Star Wars’ (for you young folks I am referring to Star Wars Episode IV) sound effects obtained a variety of sounds from the missile range, so he managed to get the Darth Vader mask donated to the museum. Nice bit of trivia!


Another small, but powerful exhibit was a series of paintings done by Benjamin Charles Steele, who survived the Bataan Death March and Japanese prison camp. He drew sketches while a POW, but they were destroyed. So, after the war, he got a degree in art and recreated the paintings. The paintings coupled with concise descriptions tell a powerful story of his (and many others) experience as a POW in the Pacific Theatre.
Damon built this Pinewood Derby CJ-2A. He says it wasn’t the fastest model, but I’ll bet it was the coolest!
<– Day 5 – Mar. 24th: Talking Jeeps w/ Worn Rusty Hubbs | OVERVIEW | Day 7 – Mar. 26th: Darth Vader and Tractor Bob –>

Given the use of ‘Bataan’ is used prominently in the Museum’s name, I expected to find a more in-depth look at the loss of Philippines, the type of treatment endured by POWs, the concern over the POWs lives if Japan lost the war (all prisoners were supposed to be executed) and more. However, instead of finding that, the museum focuses more on telling the story of the New Mexico National Guard, from their fights in the civil war to present-day, which is understandable.
So, it’s a fine little museum with free entry, but Ann and I both agreed that they have a unique opportunity to tell an important story that doesn’t fully educate the visitor about that event. Fortunately, there are some sources that do explain why the Philippines were lost and the treatment endured by the POWs (books that are sitting on my book shelf at home and whose names I can’t recall at the moment).
On the bright side, they do have a pretty accurate M-38 in good shape.
James from Red River Offroad, you especially might enjoy this video. The FC-150 sure had a rough time. It took a village to get it out of that mud!
<– Day 4 – Mar. 23rd: Hurray for Ouray | OVERVIEW | Day 6 – Mar. 25th: TinkerTown and the Turquoise Trail –>

Rusty and me with his FC-170. This seemed like an appropriate photo to start the post since the FC Roundup is only a few days away.
We woke up a little lazily on Monday morning. We knew we had a long drive ahead of us from Durango to Santa Fe, but we wanted to peruse a little of Durango before we left, so we hunted down some breakfast using an iPhone App called Ness (that won’t be around much longer), which calculates the time of day to suggest nearby restaurants (for mornings it will find breakfast places for example) and provide ratings. That’s how we found the Durango Diner in downtown Durango.
The Durango Diner had a wide selection of breakfast items that looked good, including two eggs & a chile relleno, which was my choice. I expected to just get the eggs and the relleno, but instead there was a heap of hash browns with green chile sauce (love that New Mexican Green Chile sauce, even in Colorado). It was a lot of food and if there’s one thing I’ve learned on these trips, eating light saves money and bathroom stops. So, I ate a good portion then pushed it away, reluctantly.
We left Durango and quickly found ourselves wandering through northern Idaho, or what looked like northern Idaho to us. Southern Colorado felt remote and looked beautiful as we drove through endless forested valleys with the occasional ranch.
UPDATE: I had mistakenly labeled this a BRC-40. Craig corrected me.
Neat photo with caption. The Associated Press labels it a Blitz Buggy.
<– Day 3 – Mar. 22nd: Old Bones and Old Jeeps | OVERVIEW | Day 5 – Mar. 24th: Talking Jeeps w/ Worn Rusty Hubbs –>

Here’s our selfie at an overlook just south of Ouray, Colorado. Ann is putting on a brave face for the camera, but she’s very scared in that photo. This overlook hangs over the edge of a steep cliff.
With beautiful blue skies overhead, we started the day in Grand Junction with our sights set on the mysterious Colorado National Monument. Having done no research on it, and trusting Dean’s advice from yesterday, we started at the western entrance of the park near Fruita.
After the ranger station, the road climbs quickly, switching back and forth, tunneling through rock, and teasing the driver (who should really keep his eyes on the road according to Ann) with beautiful views of the Grand Junction Valley. Those travelers familiar with Southern Utah will instantly recognize the red sandstone walls, the juniper trees, and narrow canyons.
After four miles of driving, we arrived at the visitors center, a complex perched near a canyon wall with a view toward some of the amazing pinnacles that dot the landscape. Inside the visitors center we learned about John Otto, the man that made the Monument happen. His early vision included an amazing road full of switchbacks that would allow cars to traverse the park from one end to the other. Hi dream might not have become a reality had the Depression not happened, for it provided all the cheap labor ($1/day/per person) he need to carve a twenty-three mile road through the park.
After driving the road, it’s my opinion that it is one of the truly unique features of the park. There aren’t many places along the drive that don’t feature beautiful views. It is one continuous bit of eye candy from start to finish.