Westward Ho!

Bill DeRose’s wanderlust is legendary. Almost every summer since he graduated from high school, Bill has either hitchhiked or driven his way to the Rocky Mountains. At the time I met Bill, I had very little travel experience save for the annual trips to Ocean City, Maryland. When he invited me to accompany him out West the summer of 1980, I was filled with excitement and anticipation. Since I had a graduate class to finish first, I flew out to meet him in Texas in mid-July. At that time Bill owned the “Luxury Camper”, a used VW pop-up camper with no running water or AC. I’ll never forget my first night of camping. It was in a primitive campground in Big Bend National Park, and it had to be 110°. I didn’t realize what “primitive” meant, but quickly found out when it was time to “bathe”. Bill handed me a milk jug filled with water. “What do I do with that?” I asked. “Pour half of it over you, soap up, and use the other half to rinse off,” he answered.

I learned many other creative ways to bathe that summer, such as sneaking into the showers at Yellowstone Lodge, swimmimg in a lake, or using coin-operated bath facilities (it’s important not to run out of quarters before you’ve rinsed off). What can I say… I was in love…and the beauty of the West and the fun we were having made it all worthwhile.

There were subsequent trips out West together, the last few with children…enough said. Summer work, the kids’ activities, and my various avocations ended our family trips, but Bill could always find a buddy to travel with him.

But now, I’m retired!!!! And the kids are grown!!! Westward Ho!!

This summer’s plans start in Salt Lake City, Utah. I am flying there today and will visit the Family History Library tomorrow to do some genealogy research. Bill is currently in the Black Hills of South Dakota, and he will pick me up in SLC tomorrow evening. I am very grateful I didn’t have to make the long drive across the Midwest!Our goals for this trip are to visit Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks in Wyoming; Glacier National Park in Montana; and Banff and Jasper National Parks in Canada. These were some of my favorite places on previous excursions, and I can’t wait to experience them without children and with our own bathroom!