In 1953 I remember my dad and some helpers carrying in a new Crosley TV. Television had come to Pueblo. There was an antenna on top of our house and soon the world came to our living room in black and white. I think my earliest memory was my mom watching Tennessee Ernie Ford singing “16 Tons” while doing her ironing. This was the “Golden Age” of television. Most every Baby Boomer could list three dozen shows that shaped their lives.
Wednesday night September 18, 1957 “Wagon Train” made its debut. For eight years and 284 episodes, much of America tuned in to follow Major Seth Adams (wagon master), Flint McCullough (scout), and Charlie Wooster, (cook) shepherd a wagon train across the American West.
In Casper, Wyoming they have a great “Oregon Trail” museum. Any illusion I had about the romance of riding along the great American frontier on my way to the “Promised Land” was smashed by a cold dose of historic truth. It was hard and brutal and filled with tragedy and resilience.
Well, as Trail Master MK—double checks my packing, I am struck by the ease of travel these days. Oh yes, I remember my backpacking days when I would head up with friends to the LaGarita Wilderness for a week or so. Everything I took was laid out, and I carried just enough of dehydrated food to sustain me. The weight of the backpack was a source of bragging to my companions. However, being the alcoholic that I was, I made sure that I had room for a quart of Jack Black and another of Jose Cuervo. I now take extra almond butter biscuit bars instead.
I admit I love living in this world where my biggest worry in this kind of road trip is bathroom breaks and walking around. I am a planner. I love the art of trying to figure out where to stay, the best route, what and who I might connect with on the way. MK is not a planner but one heck of a packer. As long as we keep our roles distinct all works well. “Mark, I have rolled all your clothes in your suitcase to make them fit better”!!! Then her next question will be—“Where are we going after New Orleans”?
I look forward to filling you in as to our travels and hopefully, few travails. We are a wagon train of one. I am putting this out there for any of you that might want to meet us along the way. If you are any where near us, feel free to reach out and see if we can connect. Our final stop is in, of all places, Branson, MO from April 1-4. If you have any suggestions of “must see” ‘side trips’ as we go along just let me know. One friend told me I have to see the art and galleries in Lucas, Kansas—we plan to do that on our way to Plainville, Kansas. We hope to not just take Interstates, but also back roads.
I am not sure that I have connected you to Wagon Train but rather to a book I read in high school. Thank you Jean McCown (my American Literature teacher). The book was “Travels with Charley” by John Steinbeck. Steinbeck wanted to see America before he died. We plan to listen to it on Audio Books. The America he found, if I remember correctly, was confusing… I suspect it still will be.
Onward and Upward,
Mark
Lyfting Me Up 