Trail Running

by Dal Smilie

Last summer I drove to the RV Hall of Fame (HOF) Museum in Elkhart, IN to co-host a vintage trailer rally. The rally was part of a celebration honoring Forrest and Jeri Bone who were inducted into the HOF for giving new life to the Tin Can Tourists (TCT) club and essentially,
kickstarting the vintage trailer movement in the US. Notably, the Bones were the first from the consumer side of the RV industry, as well as the first from the vintage trailer community to be so honored.

The rally site is over 1600 miles from my home in Helena, MT. Considering I was towing with a 1948 Studebaker pickup, this took some planning. I wanted to take a route that fit with the period of time my truck and trailer (1946 Model 1 Curtis Wright) represented. I knew it would be slower, but more fun.

I chose the first transcontinental highway, named the Yellowstone Trail (YT). With the road fully marked by 1912, many tourists have used it to cross the Great Plains and vacation in the American West. I love old roads and this is one I’ve spent quite a bit of time on, including hosting a TCT vintage trailer rally for several years (Fiddlers Picnic Rally) in Livingston, MT.

My plan was to traverse the YT between Jefferson Island near Cardwell, MT, where I have attended the Big Sky Vintage Trailer Rally for the past several years, to Plymouth, IN. From Plymouth, I planned to jog north to South Bend to take a stretch of the Dixie Highway and
finally, a short stretch of the Lincoln Highway would get me to Elkhart. The Lincoln Highway is also one of my favorites and I was lucky to attend its 100-year anniversary celebration with the TCT in 2013.

Along the way, this route would also send me through Miles City, MT, where my 1948 pickup was sold new that year by the Hatch Agency. It would also pass through South Bend, IN, where it was built. So, the route would also give the truck a homecoming of sorts!

I left home a few days early allowing time to linger along the way. Things went well until the Lewis Clark Expedition’s Pompey’s Pillar site where I started experiencing fuel feed problems. I limped into Miles City and spent a day getting things back in shape, which included returning home to Helena with the Studebaker in tow and swapping it for my Toyota Tacoma (382 miles each way!). To say the least, this false start ate up a bit of my touring time, but I had enough cushion built in to get to events in Indiana on time. My spirits remained high, and I figured this would give me an excuse to take this route again, so the Studebaker can get its homecoming!

At Marmarth, ND, I wandered into Van Horn’s Western and Antique Auto Museum. It featured a YT marker at its entrance, a good sign (pun intended)! It is a truly interesting and unexpectedly high-quality museum in a small town. It occupies several buildings and has an ice
cream parlor, a welcome addition on a hot day!

Every few miles across SD, it was nice to see YT markers. One of my goals was to visit the J.W. Parmley (the YT’s founder) Historical Home and Museum in Ipswich, SD. The home has very limited hours and was not scheduled to be open during the time I could be there. I called the
SD State Park System and was sent to Tom Hammrich who is in charge of the home. Even with my mechanical issues causing me to reschedule a couple of times, Tom bent over backwards for
me. I arrived well after dark in a pouring rain and Tom didn’t even complain about me camping in the backyard of the Parmley home. He gave me a great tour. Thank you!

I detoured a bit to avoid some of the Chicago area traffic, then I went on to Christos Family Dining in Plymouth, IN. It’s a place I really like, with walls covered in old pictures and mementos from the area. One section contains a mini museum for the YT, Lincoln Highway,
Dixie Highway and the Michigan Road. Plus, Plymouth had hosted a TCT regional convention early on. Truly a historical juncture of my favorite type!

I left the YT to travel north to South Bend on the Dixie Highway, where I toured the world class Studebaker National Museum. After the museum, I enjoyed a burger and root beer at the historic Bonnie Doon Drive-In (85 years in business).

From there I headed East on the Lincoln Highway to Elkhart, where I camped on the grounds of the RV HOF Museum. The RV HOF Museum is another place that shouldn’t be missed. It has a
great collection of RVs dating back to 1913 and representing every decade since, as well as an extensive archives. The Museum also welcomes campers to stay on their grounds.

My wife met me in Elkhart for the Bones’ induction ceremony, the original purpose of the trip. Among their accomplishments, the Bones resurrected the TCT, a club originally founded in 1919. We were surrounded there by fellow TCT members at a celebratory rally and other festivities and had a terrific week of camaraderie and fun.

It was a great trip, even with hot August weather in the Midwest and a mechanical challenge. Traveling the historic two-lane highways allowed me to experience so much more of America. It’s even more fun with a vintage trailer and tow vehicle. People often waved and I
felt like I was my own little parade!