Well, this was the first look Dan DeVries & I had after our long ride to “The Land of 10,000 Lakes.” The Trav-L-Aire! We were both so excited we could hardly keep it together! Calmer minds prevailed and I left my bib in the truck as we began to check out this long lost piece of FC history. Pictured is John the original owner's son.
What a time capsule this was. It really reminded me of Marvin Lehman’s FC-150 that the Ybarra’s now own except for a real funky odor about it. It seems that mice got into the cab for a period of time, fortunately never the camper. Funny, everything worked perfectly.
Here’s our first peek into the camper. OK, maybe I should go back and get my bib!!! I was starting to lose my cool!
I’m not sure if John or his dad actually made these steps. I’ll get my fact straight and get back in touch with John for some more clarifications. They are made to fold up in the travel position.
At this point I had lost track of all time and we had been talking with John about the adventures they had taken over the years and I made a deal on the truck. Time to pick up the camera for some FC Dan “Action Shots!”
What a Sweet, Sweet ride!!!
Here's the point where the "Grinnin' Ninny" in me kind of took over. Cash had changed hands and my buddy Dan was driving the beast in the direction of my trailer which we left parked back on the main road. We had to stop one more time for a farewell shot from sunny Minnesota!
Here’s Dan’s official cameo appearance. You can see the ear to ear grin on his face too. We had just scored on a major piece of FC history!!!!
Loaded up, just a chain or two to hold it in place and we were off! We made an uneventful trip back to Dan's in Northern Iowa by nightfall and I continued south after giving much thanks to my FC comrade on a mission well done! Many thanks for sharing the adventure with me Dan!!!
I rolled into Cedar Rapids, Iowa at about 1:45 AM and bunked up at the Super 8 in town. It was a short night and I didn’t sleep well with the truck unattended but parked next to a car hauler carrying a restored ‘60s Mopar muscle car put my mind at ease just a little.
I was up early and back on the road by 7 AM. Still 300+ miles to go and I still had to go to work that afternoon.