Replies

Got out of the Navy, August ‘75 in Charleston, SC, hung out a while and then left for home (Phoenix) in June of ‘76, 21 years old. I-95 to I-10 in Jacksonville and then due west. Driving by myself.

Picked up some heavy nighttime fog in middle of LA, dark as hell. Didn’t matter, I was going about 90-95 with 100 feet visibility ... maybe. Suddenly, out of the fog, I saw the feint outline of a vehicle ahead on the right.....state highway patrol! Cop had no time to start his car and would never catch me in the fog. He flung his door open as I passed, jumped out and with the meanest look on his face pointed his finger right at me and then quickly swung it and pointed it directly at the shoulder. I surrendered.

He was not a happy cop! I just happened to keep my car registration paper with my freshly minted DD-214 so when he asked for license and reg I got it out and he noticed the DD-214.

“You in the service?!” he said. I said: “Well, I just got out and I’m headin home.” He says: “Is that right?”.

He goes back to his car for a second and then comes back and says: “You listen to me son, I could take you to jail right now. I’m gonna cut you a break but let me tell you something, I’ve got all your information and I’ll be listening to my radio all night and if I hear about you getting stopped again you WILL go to jail, you understand me?!”. I say: “Yes sir!”.... Whew! The South in the ‘70s was cool!

Then I get into Orange, TX at the LA/TX border. Hit Houston where I gassed up for 44 cents a gallon. That is the lowest I have paid for gas since that date to today. (Translates to about $1.90 a gallon now). Over 42 years ago!

Picked up at hitch hiker outside of San Antonio. Normal enough lookin Mexican dude, he talked a lot. I let him drive for 3 hours or so. Then, on the radio, I hear about 5 prisoners that had escaped from the TX state prison the day before, still on the loose. My hitchhiker is telling me what a good guy he is and won’t cause me any trouble, etc. Says it a little too much. When I picked him up he said he wanted to go to El Paso. Right on my way. We drive across most barren, unpopulated land I’ve ever seen between S.A and Fort Stockton. Late evening, dust storm blowing. Never seen so much land.

Ok, we get to Fort Stockton...about the only civilization between S.A and E.P. in those days...and by civilization I mean more than nothing! We get something to eat and rest up for a half hour. when its time to hit the road again my hitchhiker tells me he’s changed his mind and wants me to drop him off at some junction outside of “town”. Says he just remembered he’s got some relatives out the other way from EP and he decided to go there. I’m thinking back to the radio news about the escaped prisoners. I say: “Oh, ok.”
I drop him off and say goodbye. I lived to tell about it.

Now on to E.P. by myself. Makin great time. Between Ft. Stockton and E.P. there is, or was, also NOTHING! Nobody cares how fast you go. Now the NM/TX border, I swear my odometer said I put on 900 miles just in Texas! Big state!! Now Las Cruces, now the NM/AZ border, next the lights of Tucson. I’m beat, I’m draggin ass real bad, still 110 miles to go. 2 hours tops. It’s about 8:30pm local time. Too short a distance to quit, gotta press on...Casa Grande to my left, 60 miles to go, can barely keep eyes open. Finally, the outskirts of Phoenix! I turn right, off towards Mesa.

I roll up to the old homestead, mark the mileage and the time: 2314 miles in 59 1/2 hours. I drove all but about 3 hours. I think I slept once for 3 hours or so and took a couple 1/2 hour breaks. I was a superman at 21!