West Coast of USA - after BA in Geography, minor Geology at UT Austin
This vacation taken driving a VW microbus owned by Nance Leighton
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not the exact van we drove, but approximately the same model.
This trip started 21 October 1970 from Austin, TX
Traveling with Nance Leighton and her friend from Austin, TX to Seattle, WN via Utah, while on the trip while listening to radio news, heard that the Shrine at San Juan, Texas was destroyed.
Oct 23, 1970, Friday - The Shrine of Our Lady of San Juan in San Juan, Texas was destroyed.
The pilot of a small low-flying airplane deliberately crashed into the roof of the shrine and exploded into flames.
I was surprised and dismayed to hear this, and was doubly surprised to hear national level news of a place very near my home in McAllen, TX.
Route went west to Colorado where we stopped and bought chains for the drive tires as snow was forecast along our route. As it turned out we did not need them, or at least did not use them.
We then traveled north the length of Utah at night, then west to Idaho and continuing west into Washington State.
We crossed Snoqualmi Pass into the lower more coastal area of Washington State.
Traveled with Nance Leighton and her friend in her VW Microbus - darn near froze crossing Utah at night on black ice.
We had a flat tire and put on the spare, and stopped late at night at a gas station (I think in Provo, UT) and as there was only 1 guy at the station he refused to fix the flat as he was alone running the station.
We dove on into Idaho and had the tire fixed while we had a delicious steak and egg breakfast at a truck stop. That was very welcome as we were freezing.
Air cooled rear engine Volkswagen heaters did not work well, and even with the heater blasting we were cold in the van.
We continued on across Idaho and the width W to E in Washington State. It was very scary driving through Snowqualmi Pass in Washington State, Nance Leighton driving at speed through rain, snow and frozen rain over hairpin turns. I clenched teeth so much in terror that the roots of my teeth hurt for 2 days.
I Stayed with Lowry Taylor, a friend from UT Austin undergrad days, who was in grad school at U. Washington at the time. I had a good tour of the University of Washington, Seattle Campus, which was quite beautiful.
Nance & friend stayed with Ann M.
Nov 2, 1970, Monday - began returning to Austin TX from Seattle WN.
Nov 4 Wednesday - Nance, friend and I traveled back to Texas taking a more southerly route not going over the Rocky Mountains due to the season and cold weather.
We went straight south through Oregon and via central valley of California (bad smog downwind of Los Angeles drifting in looked like yellow air, and smelled very bad).
Then in southern California headed east across Arizona and New Mexico and through El Paso, TX (very cold in El Paso) and back to Austin, TX. We only stopped for gas.
1970-Nov- returned home from Austin to McAllen, TX (est date)
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