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Ken Burns' National Parks Series

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Geo Hahn

Geo Hahn

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Belated, but I didn't see it mentioned here. Last Friday night was the concluding chapter in Ken Burns' 12-hour documentary on the National Parks.

About 15 minutes into the broadcast were shots of old cars entering Yellowstone (demonstrating the huge increase in visitation in the late 50s). Featured was a rear view of a light-colored TR3A entering the park.

Nice to see a TR in that context -- emblematic of the road-going adventurer of the 1950s.
 
George - that's a really fine series; I recorded the whole thing. Really interesting to see how the idea of national parks was developed and modified over the last 100+ years.

And that scene of the TR3 heading into the park - what a great clip. I remember doing the same with my parents in our 1956 Rambler Cross Country station wagon. It had factory air - not many had a/c back then.

56r182.jpg


Tom
 
When I saw that scene it reminded me of my own trip through Yellowstone in my TR6, just over ten years ago. Park Rangers were giving me big thumbs ups as well as quite a few other travellers. I parked next to a Ferrari with New Mexico plates in the Old Faithful parking area. When I returned to my car, there was a crowd looking at my car, with their backs to the Ferrari. The Ferrari owner returned about the same time and we both commented on how neither of us had seen that before. He was used to crowds gathering around his car, not ignoring it. I chalked it up to my top being down (this was early Fall and perfect convertible weather) and showing off the wood dash, steering wheel etc...
 
Geo Hahn said:
Belated, but I didn't see it mentioned here. Last Friday night was the concluding chapter in Ken Burns' 12-hour documentary on the National Parks.

About 15 minutes into the broadcast were shots of old cars entering Yellowstone (demonstrating the huge increase in visitation in the late 50s). Featured was a rear view of a light-colored TR3A entering the park.

Nice to see a TR in that context -- emblematic of the road-going adventurer of the 1950s.
Click to expand...

I saw it.
 
Anything by Ken Burns is always outstanding. Has anyone pulled a "camper" with their TR? I was camping 2 weeks ago and saw some nice little vintage trailers with sleep space in them that were small enough for a small car to pull.
 
I've watched some of it - seems to be a little bit
mixed up.I wish they'd gone from one park to another,but
they seem to skip back-&-forth between parks.
Still good stuff.

- Doug
 
Forgot to mention one time a guy came up to me at the KOA in Wilmington, NY, near Whiteface Mtn and Lake Placid and asked me if I was going to park my car in the tent...we had a good laugh on that one around my campfire with his wife and my girlfriend that night.
 
Speaking of towing:

When I got out of the Navy in San Diego, I did a year at SDCC before moving back east. My folks and their new in-laws picked me up in their 24-foot travel trailer. I had a Honda 50 motor cycle that I took back with me. Our second night we stopped and camped at Carlsbad Caverns, to show the inlaws the place, as they had never left North Carolina before this trip.

Well, after setting up the trailer, we decided to go visit the Caverns, so I chained my Honda to the tongue of the trailer. [You guessed it.] While I was attaching the chain, a hayseed walked over and asked me, "You tow that trailer with that little motor-sickle?" I responded, "Yes, and it was heck getting her over the mountains." The last I saw him he was running back to his place, yelling, "Maude!!! Maude!!! Come look at this!!!"
 
John_Mc said:
...Has anyone pulled a "camper" with their TR?
Click to expand...

trailers2.JPG


I'll confess, was driving with a Healey friend when I saw these 2 trailers parked -- couldn't resist backing in for a photo op.

Not a camper but pretty well loaded down, old-timers may recognize Bob Schaller's rig (I guess those other folks are in the Witness Protection Program):

TRailer.JPG


Several place on the web show how to make a vintage tear-drop trailer based on a Harbor Freight trailer frame. Must be pretty light weight based on the suspension on those frames.

As for the program, he was focusing on the history of the NPS so the story was a chronology, hence it jumped around from one park to another. My only complaint would be that the causal viewer might tend to think there are only 3 National Parks as so much time was spent on them. 3 great places to be sure but so much more is out there.
 
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