1959 in an isolated place in Southeast So Cal... Hello, Our family camping spots ranged from beachfront sandy locations, to campgrounds specified locations and in the forests of the local mountains for the “out in the woods” camping experiences. As long as our dad was close to some sort of fishing, we stayed various places and locations. Once, we stayed in a beach front location in a mini town called Guadalupe, not in Mexico, but in California. Our dad knew of a steak restaurant located in town, near the campground and his fishing area. So, after a long day of fishing, we all arrived at this small restaurant. When we got out of the car, we could smell the smoke in the air and were already anxious. The food was outstanding. Later on, my wife and I drove the 1965 El Camino on one of our coastal road trips along the coast to the S.F. Bay Area. But along the way, stopped in Guadalupe for the best steak dinner on the coast… The sad thing was, several years down the timeline, we stopped in Guadalupe for another visit to the same restaurant and it was gone… yikes! It all started with our own family camping road trips along the So Cal coastlines and farther inland into the mountain camping areas. Before my wife and I got married, her family was originally from OKC and then, ended up in Buena Park (1956) in So Cal after one last long road trip from OKC. They, too, always went camping as a family. Her dad was a stickler for towing his outboard runabout boat. The kids had to suffer in good and bad weather, just because her dad wanted to cruise around using the outboard motor. But, when he wanted a longer vacation, the Salton Sea camping sites were called home for a week. By the time they had moved to Buena Park, he upgraded the family car/station wagon to a 1959 Chevy 4 door wagon. The squarish tent with a peak point was made of heavy canvas. At the time, no one thought of a product like a seam sealer or a spray, to coat the canvas for more waterproofing. My wife said they never had moisture coming into the tent during their usage times at the Salton Sea. It was very dry out there, despite the location of the salt water lake. It was also very hot during the times they camped for a week’s family vacation. Many years later, family members used the canvas tent and no one complained of the moisture. When we were in our own family camping mode, we borrowed the orange canvas tent. The weight of the thick canvas tent was so much that both of us had to grab it to move from garage to car, from car to site and back. We had to set it up, air it out to get the “canvas” moisture and aroma to at least get outside enough to allow us a peaceful night’s sleep. Our sleeping arrangement was that our son would sleep soundly between both of us, in our sleeping bags on the outsides. But, we did not account for the middle of the tent sleeping area that dripped water from the peak dome and the seams down to our sleeping son and made him get up earlier than we would have liked. Refugio State Beach in the Santa Barbara/Goleta area... Here he was, a little toddler with scruffy “sleep” hair, warm jacket and vest sitting up looking around with his flashlight. Why? The drops were hitting him in the face and woke him up very early in the morning. Then he used his light like a beacon all around and into our sleeping faces! The moisture always sat on all surfaces. The odd smell of wet canvas and whatever was on the outside surface permeated the overall aroma. It smelled like a wet dog after a rain storm. But, it was soaked canvas in all of its glory and aroma. Finally, a lightweight nylon pop up dome tent with no smells and additional warmth… plus, stand up ability for all of us… Jnaki So, for our last years of family camping, (many more camping trips to Half Moon Bay, Yosemite area and Mammoth Lakes/Crowley Lake areas,) we got ourselves a 4 season nylon dome tent that was strong, seam sealed for waterproofing, and an added protection to the waterproofing spray, a waterproof rain fly to cover the whole dome tent. The tent was so lightweight that my wife could carry it to the campsite from the station wagon. Three flexible poles and the tent popped up in minutes. Standing headroom and plenty of room for the three of us and gear storage. Comparing the new technology nylon tent to the old heavy canvas tent, was it worth it? Definitely, yes. The lightweight nylon tent actually was warmer with almost the same clothing on as the times we were in the heavy, orange canvas tent. The rain fly and inner nylon tent kept the interior warm. So, when we went to sleep, it was comfy and upon awaking, no water drips anywhere. The early constructed all canvas tent? As no one else was camping in those times, the heavy tent bit the dust at the local thrift store donation. So, if you happen to buy an orangish color canvas pyramid tent from a So Cal Thrift Shop many years ago, that was our donation. Note: Despite our local Summer coastal rainy, cloudy weather, a neighbor just got back from inland, Southeast So Cal, namely Palm Desert. It was hot and hotter with clear sunny days plus 100 degree heat. What a contrast in conditions... YRMV
The Jalopy Journal
