Over the next three weeks, we'll be featuring Dale Schwamborn's account of the 1965 "See America First" tour of the American West. Last week, Dale learned he'd be embarking on another great adventure - with a very special guest. This week, the group visits three majestic Western locations.
The Grand Canyon: June 23-26, 1965
Nestled between the scrub pines of the Grand Canyon and the National Parks’ Ranger School, our caravan of Airstream trailers settled down. Lynda’s led the way; it also housed Mrs. Marta Ross, press secretary and Mrs. Carolyn Bennett Patterson, chairman of the Wally Byam Foundation Board of Trustees.
Additional trailers hosted Secret Service and Army communication personnel, our three drivers and National Geographic photographer, and our service engineer.
Lynda visited the various viewpoints with a park naturalist and learned of the dynamic geological history that transformed this area from a plateau into the breathtaking gorge which graces our world today.
Monument Valley: June 27-28, 1965
En route, our entourage stopped at an Indian trading post to shop for artifacts. We found colorful bracelets, ornate necklaces, and handcrafted dolls.
Once again we entered an Indian reservation: this time we were among the Navajo people. They had a complex of several thousand square miles with a population of over 100,000.
Monument Valley can be best described as a meeting place for nature’s lofty cathedrals within the desert. Beautiful rock formations help to hold the skies upward. Unlike most tourists, we parked in the valley near the monuments. At night, it was as if I could feel the presence of God and hear the chimes ringing out in all their glory in the bell towers.
We spent the evenings cooking out, enjoying the fellowship and conversation with our traveling group as well as several Navajo families. In the mornings we rode horses: we concluded the Navajo ponies would never race at Churchill Downs, but their reliability in the desert was paramount to speed.
Mesa Verde, June 29-30, 1965
We first visited Four Corners, where we "walked through" the states of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah in a matter of seconds. Chief Good Luck presented Lynda with a blanket to remember her stop at this unique place.
Mesa Verde brought our group back in time. The archeological significance of this historic place astounded us as we traveled along the precipitous road to the top of the mesa. It conjured thoughts of earlier cliff dwellers, searching for a Shangri-la in the wilderness, and the difficulties they had in transporting their civilization to the top of the world.
We saw Esther, a basket-maiden who lived 1500 years ago: her mummified smile welcomed us to join her on a tour of the past. Our group was most interested in the Wetherill Mesa dwellings that were sponsored by the National Geographic Society. After a long trip, we viewed and explored the ruins.
Lynda was quite interested in the fact that the prehistoric natives used cotton for weaving, though they didn't raise any of their own on the mesa. With whom did they trade, she wondered? The Aztecs? Another bygone tribe from the lowlands?
Pictured: Lynda Bird Johnson prepares her Airstream for a long journey, far from her home in the White House.
Dale “Pee Wee” Schwamborn has silver in his blood. Each week, Pee Wee shares one of his many stories, including his experiences on the iconic Airstream Caravans, his time spent working in the Airstream factory, and the many Airstreamers he’s befriended, far and wide.
This article is part two of a three-part series. To read the other entries, click below.
