The Tale of a Wild Kansas to the Coast Road Trek in 1922-23
Elmer, Estel, and family journeyed in a Model T Ford before paved roads. They negotiated almost impassible mountain and desert roads and trails of the Far West. It took 30 days total driving time. The car had been modified slightly and fitted with extra gasoline tanks and a large canvas to roll out and lay under the wheels to allow the car to traverse the most inhospitable tracts of soft dirt and sand, along with a pick and shovel and chains to get the car through ruts.
The car weighed 1,550 pounds stripped and almost 2,300 when laden with equipment. Elmer liked the route, straight through the Rocky Mountains, the canyons, and on to California.
They would cross the Rockies at 11,000 feet; few bridges were built to accommodate automobiles, so Elmer had to use more than a bit of creativity to nudge the Ford along the tracks on railroad bridges. More than once, they found what appeared to be a well-groomed main road, only to learn after following it, sometimes for miles, that it led only to the entrance of a mine or a rancher’s spread. Asking directions was equally tricky, as some people on the trail had never been more than a day or two’s horse ride from their homes. Extremes of temperature and altitude were exacerbated by bad food, no bathing facilities, and fatigue called upon them to use all the skills they had learned and some that they had not, like road construction.
At one point, the car had to be pulled by a team of horses from mud, but other than that, it ran the entire course under its own power. Elmer and Estel recuperated and relaxed in Golden, Colorado; Elmer worked at a brick factory for the year. When they finally got to California, the Mojave Desert ate so many tires that they were almost halted again.
Grandpa Elmer Johnson taught me a lot of things growing up. He loved baseball and took me to many ball games; whether it was AAA, High School, or College, he loved it all. He was an all-around handyman and a jack of all trades. I was a curious boy, so I watched and helped him, trying to stay out of his way. He could run gas lines or a water line, and he showed me how to change the water pumps on my stepdad's old flathead Ford. Bonnie says-------"I just received this terrific book and already read it to Elza. It's going to be my favorite., next to Mr Jefferson. Truly a great book, Oh, Michael..this is your very best writing. I just felt like I was with Elmer and Estel on that long journey. What a wonderful couple. Few young couples today could, if any could, have done what they did. Many things you wrote of them hit home for Jack and me and caused me to reminisce. Indeed this is your best. Written with such heart. Anyone my age, 93 years, would see themselves within these pages. To quote a phrase, it's Steel and Velvet. I rode every mile with these two beautiful people. They were what America is made of. May God richly bless you and Madeline. I am sitting in my chair watching the moon rise last night."