Ultravan: Ahead of Its Time?

(2019 Grand Teton Ep 3)

We’ve made it to Badlands NP in South Dakota (will post trip map soon). Two LONG days of 12+ hours driving and two medium days of about 8 hours.

Our travels took us through Atlanta (always a traffic challenge), Chattanooga (during afternoon rush hour), Nashville (not bad, we took the eastern bypass), St Louis (there is a modern new bridge – to us – across the Mississippi) and Kansas City (a lengthy construction detour).

In between, we were struck by the large number of 18-wheel trucks on the road. A lot of stuff is being moved around the US. For Amazon Prime, perhaps?

Early on we were also amazed at the number of power trucks, tree service vehicles and ambulances leaving Florida the day after Hurricane Dorian. Not much for them to do in Florida, fortunately. We are blessed with amazing resources to help people affected by disasters. Too bad they could not make it to the Bahamas.

Near Omaha, we spotted a rather unusual camping vehicle – a 1965 Ultravan powered by Corvair. We didn’t meet the owners (from Pennsylvania based on the tags) but presume they were on their way to the Ultravan National Rally in Kearney, Nebraska this coming week.

This 1965 Ultravan is surprisingly modern looking, although some say it resembles a whale. The nose and tail are made of fiberglass, and the aluminum center section is built like an aircraft. Perhaps the most interesting detail is it is powered by a 110 hp Corvair engine.

Ultravan went through several powertrain iterations and was finally phased out in the early 1970s. In all, 373 were produced.

For more information about this interesting piece of RV history click here.

Dorian: A Storm to Remember

(2019 Grand Teton Ep 2)

Last Tuesday, not long after posting about our upcoming trip to Grand Teton NP, we learned that (then) Tropical Storm Dorian was expected to intensify and affect Florida.

We decided to delay leaving for Grand Teton until the storm passed by or was deemed to no longer be a threat to Florida.

What a week millions of Floridans have had waiting for the storm! Dorian finally passed by today with no major impact to the state or our home.

The Bahamas were not so fortunate, having experienced a category 5 storm for 48+ hours. Our prayers are with them.

Based on our experiences with Hurricane Michael recovery efforts in Panama City, it will take years for the Bahamas to recover. Meanwhile they have IMMEDIATE needs. Please consider how you can tangibly help by making a donation to the Red Cross, Samaritan’s Purse or other worthy disaster relief organization.

As we resume our travels west tomorrow, we are also keeping the Carolinas in our prayers as Dorian moves along the coast.

Catching Up and A New Journey

(2019 Grand Teton Ep 1)

Hello friends!

It’s been more than six months since our last Rabbitrails blog post! A lot has happened since we returned from Alaska in October and attended the Tampa RV show in January.

We were ‘greeted’ by Hurricane Michael a few days after we got back from Alaska. Although we weren’t directly impacted, the Florida panhandle around Panama City was devastated. Pat and I traveled over to the area several times to assist with hurricane relief work hosted by Samaritan’s Purse, a Christian ministry. Our last trip was is April and although signs of recovery were very much evident, much cleanup and rebuilding remains to be done.

Pat has been spending every other week sharing care for her 90-year-old mother with her sister and brother. Her mom recently moved in with Pat’s sister and brother-in-law while some work is being done on her home. This gives us the opportunity to get away to Grand Teton for six weeks.

2019-08 Henry 002 - 1908122019 — Pat, Liz and Henry enjoy a book

Henry, our grandson, continues to grow and develop. We will visit Liz, Josh and Henry for the first few nights of our upcoming trip.

I was blessed to serve on staff at Christian youth camps in Texas and Ohio this summer. Fun times but LOTS of driving back and forth.

So Long Pancake; Hello Oscar

Pancake, our trusty and small Fun Finder travel trailer, found a new home in February. We will always have fond memories of our travels to Alaska and other camping trips during the seven years we owned her.

IMG_20171217_160251202 — Pancake and Max a few days before our trip to Alaska

After a lot of research and Internet searching, we purchased Oscar, our new Shadow Cruiser travel trailer. The camper has an unusual rear slide with wraparound windows. It also has a much larger bathroom and front-to-back queen bed.

2019-03 Gold Head Branch - first camping trip — Oscar is set up and ready for relaxing.

The camper was somewhat difficult to find in the southeast – we had to drive to Frankfort, Illinois to pick Oscar up. In case you were wondering, Oscar is short for Oscar Mayer, a frankfurter enjoyed by millions.

You are now officially caught up. We set out for Grand Teton National Park in a few days. There are a lot of rabbit trails between here and there. We hope you will join us as we explore each one!