What's in the Bag?

When we were kids, my parents took us camping across country on several occasions, the first in 1967, again in 1969, and finally in 1973. Each trip was filled with excitement and adventure, but each had its' own uniqueness too.

The first trip was special though, probably because it was the first. We had our baptism by fire on the very first day, with a flat tire just 10 miles from home and then came the torrential rains of Herkimer, NY. If it hadn't been for the strong constitution of 2 loving parents, we may have simply been heading home after 24 hours. Greyhound was the recommendation, as I recall. But we dried out along the banks of the Niagara river, and pushed West, like Horace Greeley, for 6 weeks thereafter; a trip never to be forgotten. We had stops in Detroit, right after the riots, and of course, to the family homestead in Iowa. From there, we made our way West, following the trail of Lewis and Clark and over the Bear Tooth pass to Yellowstone. What a sight it was indeed. We turned South, heading for the Grand Canyon, with stops at the Grand Tetons, Bryce, and Zion National Parks, beforehand.

With each day on the road, we became more and more proficient at the camping stuff. Each of us had his or her own task during set up and equally, when we broke camp. We had become a well coordinated chain gang. Even the bathroom activities became duly ritualized. We all had our own "ditty bag" in which to carry our personal belongings for the restroom, toothpaste, toothbrush, floss, soap, and a face cloth. But whatever we didn't have, we could always find it in Mom's, fondly known as the "augmented ditty bag". She had it all in there and then some.

Over the years we streamlined our packing procedures and shortened the list of essential clothing, but the "augmented ditty bag" remained a fundamental necessity for the trips. Anything that was missing would find its' way into this, the "Grand Canyon" of personal hygiene bags. If it hadn't been for the "ADB", who knows just where we'd be today!