The Henry Ford Museum located in Dearborn near Detroit was excellent but the most fascinating to us was seeing how vehicles emerged as fun “camping and touring” vehicles. From the VW camper van, to the Airstream, to tents that could be attached to vehicles. How far we come since the early 1900’s when a tent was mounted to the side of the vehicle so families could go camping. The tent trailer was born and is still going strong today.
The most fascinating of course was to see the Packard automobile called “Old Pacific” which was one of the first 3 horseless vehicles to be driven across the USA in 1903. Several months ago we watched the PBS documentary Horatio’s Drive, produced by Ken Burns; a wonderful film about Horatio Nelson Jackson who was the first ever overlander to drive across the North American continent. Driving a Winton automobile Jackson crossed the USA in 64 days. It was in this documentary we learnt about the Packer vehicle called “Old Pacific” so we were quite delighted to see the actual vehicle. Although Tom Fetch driving the Packer was not the first to achieve driving across the USA he was close behind the winner Jackson.
The poor and non existent roads in 1903 made it a dirty, gruelling trip. At one point Tom Fetch the driver of the Packard had to lay down canvas strips to enable the car to cross the sands in Nevada. In those days, it was true adventure and hardship to travel across the lands. The documentary is a must for anyone interested in adventure and overland travel.
Any forum member who follows Ara and his dog Spirit (The Oasis of my Soul) will love the dog Bud that Jackson pick up along the way. Much like Spirit, he wore goggles as the Winton had neither roof or windshield. We will be heading to see the Winton at the Smithsonian museum in Washington. Bud was the first overland dog. More on this story after our visit to see the Winton in the Smithsonian.
In 1995, Hector Quevedo Abarzua and his son Hugo Quevedo Liberona drove a 1928 Model A Ford some 22,000 miles to the Ford Museum in Chicago all the way from Punta Arenas in southern Chile.
The father and his son left their home on Oct 12 1992 with the equivalent of $5.00 in their pockets and a dream that Hector had cherished since the age of 12 to visit the Henry Ford Museum. Along the way they stayed in shelters and accepted donations to help them continue their journey and adventures. They arrived at the museum on December 2nd 1994. They returned to Chile but the overland Ford now resides in the museum. What an amazing vehicle.
Hectors 1928 Ford he drove across the Americas
The Packer automobile one of the first overland vehicles 1903
camping, the beginning of roof top tents?
More photos on our website. What a fascinating place to visit in the USA.
Welcome to the USA
Spearfish Canyon. Great camping spot
Mt Rushmore and President Washington peeking at us in the distance
