They traveled over 7,000 miles on narrow, winding roads, as this was before the large modern highways and interstates of today. They drove Lyle's 1939 Plymouth, which was fourteen years old in 1953 but mechanically sound. Most boys called these plymouths after the ship "Mayflower" that landed at Plymouth Rock with the pilgrims. Most of the time they they traveled at a speed comparable to ours of today.

Even though Lawrence and Mo were the only brothers among them, they were all four about as close as any brothers could be during these years. Marriages and the untimely death of our oldest son, Lyle, broke up a great friendship.

Written by - Sheldon Helle September, 1988

It was 1981 when I first was inspired to put this little book of memories together, and I asked Dave if he could recall some details of the trip. The following letter was written by Dave, and tells more than I had hoped for.

Dear Sheldon,
I am unable to find the log of our trip in 1953 but will try to put to paper my memories of the trip to the west coast. Many things stick in your mind through the years; things that were scarcely noticed at that time.

We started the trip at 2:00 in the afternoon of the last Saturday in June, 1953. Starting place; Sheldon's house in Savanna. We loaded up Lyles 1939 Plymouth which we called the old Mayflower and weighed in in at 4,400 pounds loaded. Empty it weighed 3,400 pounds. Aunt Hazel gave us so many toll house cookies that we still had some left to feed the bears in Yellowstone.

It was hot the day we left. We traveled up Route 52 to Route 16 in Southern Minnesota. We drove all night and when morning came we were in a different world. We cooked breakfast in western South Dakota. Then we saw the Badlands, Wall Drug and the Black Hills. These were amazing sights to four boys from the prairies of Illinois. Lyle was the only one of us who had been out west before.

We saw Mount Rushmore and then headed for the Big Horn Mountains. Near the Big Horn we first noticed the illusion of going downhill while the old Mayflower was in second gear, pulling for all she was worth.

Probably the one thing I remember most about the first day was seeing great distances. We saw towns that took an hour to drive to. Back home in Fulton County, Illinois you never see a town until you are in it, and then only the part you are in.

That evening we camped along the highway near the entrance to Yellowstone Park. I almost forgot to mention that while going over the Big Horn, Lawrence was sitting in the back seat, really nervous about going around the curves with sheer drop-offs, when Lyle made a joke out of it, saying: "Dig's got the dribbling sh--'s.

When we woke up the next morning there was frost on our blankets, quite a difference from the hot summer weather we were used to. We didn't waste any time building a fire. That day we saw the wonders of Yellowstone Park. Gas was 43 cents at Pahaska, Wyoming, an outrageous price at that time. From Yellowstone we went into Montana, drove through the mountains all day, and had a brake hose go bad toward evening in Missoula. We were only going about 30 M.P.O. on the level so we were lucky.

That night we went to a movie in Missoula. It was the first 3 D movie we had seen. We wore those little special three D glasses. Just as we walked in an indian threw a tomahawk and we all thought we had had it.

Then we went on to Coure de Alene and Spokane,Washington, then traveled on down through the Columbia River Valley. We were disappointed in the Columbia but probably because the weather was bad.

Seaside, Oregon is where we first saw the Pacific Ocean. We all just stood and looked for a long time in silence. Then we started daring each other to see who would go in the deepest. Always willing to take a dare, some of us were soon running full speed into the waves over our heads.

We then drove down the coast on highway 101 into California and the coast Redwood trees. We had thought the Douglas Fir trees were big, but we hadn't seen anything yet. We took a picture of the Mayflower as it came through the tree with the road through it. That evening we camped on the beach near Ukiah, California and during the night the wind came and threw sand all over us.

On down highway 101 and over the Golden Gate Bridge; we looked close to see Alcatraz Island; on down the coast to Los Angelis, where we sneaked into the Universal International Studios. We didn't get far until a guard spotted us and out we went. We went to a movie that night, a drive-in I think. After the show we couldn't find our way out of town, so we slept in the Mayflower in an alley.

We went on to San Diego and into Mexico at Tijuana. We enjoyed Tijuana, walking around town and buying some trinkets. I remember one little boy was as short as a ten month old baby would be back home but he ran around the yard like he was three or four years old. Many of the Mexican girls were very beautiful but the older women seemed to age quickly.

We came back across the border, swiped some oranges from a grove and headed for Las Vegas. It was real hot going to Nevada and we stopped at a country gas station and went in and drank about fifteen bottles of pop, gave the Mayflower a drink and then took off. Las Vegas didn't impress me much. From there we went down to Boulder or Hoover Dam. We stopped along the road to cook supper that evening and as I ran down the hill with a roll of paper, I jumped over a rattle snake. I called the boys and they came down and looked at it. Then I took a rock and hit it right in the head the first throw. We cut off the rattles and brought them home with us.

I think Hoover Dam was the most impressive man-made thing we saw on the trip. We went on to the Grand Canyon. It was an overcast day so the colors didn't show up as much as they would on a sunny day.

Next we went up to Kanab, Utah where we heard about movie being filmed nearby. We drove about thrity miles we got there everything was gone, but we saw some camel tracks. Rod Cameron and Joanne Dru were in the show. I saw it a years later.

As we drove on we saw cliff dwellings. If I remember right, that night we hit several jack-rabbits with the Mayflower. Being impressed with the size of their ears, we cut them off and threw them in the trunk. The next morning we had a trunk full of ticks and out went the ears.

We went up through Provo to Salt Lake City where we saw the Morman Temple and Tabernacle. From there we went east on highway 40 into Colorado. We stopped and ate in a park in Steamboat Springs. We realized later that Lawrence had left his leather jacket there on a bench with about three rolls of film in the pockets, so most of the pictures of the trip were lost.

Having decided in San Diego to drive day and night till we got home; we went on through Kansas, Nebraska, and Iowa till we arrived back in Savanna. I believe our total expenses were $226.00. I personally returned with a love and a fascination for the west that is with me yet. We were four happy boys on that trip with little thought of what life had in store for us.

- Dave Helle

A few years after Dave sent this letter, the Log book of the trip was located. Penciled in a small note book that still had the lO cent price on it, were day by day notes of the trip. These were brief and may have omitted some of the details that Dave has recalled, but are interesting, telling the story of an adventure that would be a treasured memory for the boys.

The following pages were copied from the log book.

LIST OF SUPPLES AS RECORDED IN THE LOG BOOK
4 teaspoons
4 plastic forks
1 meat fork
1 tablespoon
1 pancake turner
1 Can opeaer and cork screw combination
1 handled stew pan
1 iron skillet (medium)
1 tin pan (no handle)
32 paper plates 1 plastic plate
4 cups (metal)
part roll paper towel
1 box pancake flour
1 box plain flour
2 cans chocolate syrup
3 sm. cans milnot
1 jar strawberry preserves 1 can sugar
1 box tide
1 can spry
2 sacks cookies
4 dish towels
2 towels
2 wash cloths
1 box salt
plastic bags

THE WESTERN EXPEDITION LOG RECORDS

JUNE 20, 1953, Saturday

At 2:15 PM, Saturday afternoon, June 20th, Lyle, Lawrence, David and Maurice left for the west coast expedition.

t 5:45 PM we passed up Decorah, Iowa and at 6:05 we reached the Minnisota state line. A total of 180 miles from Savanna.

At 10 PM Saturday night we refilled the gas tank at Jackson, Minn. We were 325 miles from home and averaging 45 miles an hour so far. With Lawrence driving at 11:30 we crossed the South Dakota line.

David and Lyle were sleeping in the back seat and Maurice was sleepier than heck in the front. But we were determined to drive straight through Yellowstone non-stop.

Lyle took over driving west of Sioux Falls. After we got through Sioux Falls we drove for miles and gased up in a little berg which we did not know the name of.

We stopped and got weak coffee at this same jerk-water town at 1:40 AM.

So far we have not stopped for supper or anything except gas and change of drivers. We never run over 55 miles per hour, and at this speed a Dodge from Michigan keeps passing us.

5:00 AM we got gas at Murdo and changed drivers. David took over driving after getting to sleep two hours earlier. David drove 15 miles before he got sleepy again and Maurice took over driving.

David turned on the radio and got LA. That and the lack of trees is the first evidence that we are nearing our destination.

Lyle is now sawing logs in the back seat. We have passed two cars in over a half hour.

JUNE 21, Sunday

It was 6:30 AM when we got to the Badlands, after going up hill and down hill for an hour. At 7:30 we got out of the car and looked around. This was about the first interesting sight we had seen up to this point in the trip.

For our first meal we had bacon and eggs at 8 AM Sunday morning near Wall, South Dakota. When we ate breakfast, the mosquitoes were so big that David mistook a bird for a mosquitoe. We crossed the Cheyenne river at 9:15. It lies in a beautiful valley, surrounded by rolling hills.

We finally reached the Black Hills. This was about the second highlight of the trip so far. Going through the Black Hills we saw a buick up a creek without a paddle. He had driven off the side of an embankment because he had missed the curve.

We gased up at 11:25 AM in Spear Fish, South Dakota, just before we crossed the Wyoming state line. We are going to take Route 14 into Yellowstone. At 12:15 we first sighted Devils Tower. Lyle took over driving. We are now headed for Devil's Tower at 12:30. At 3:40 PM we gased up at Sheradon, about 20 miles before we get to the Big Horns.

At 4:30 we started up Big Horns. We all agreed we had never seen such a thrilling sight. We saw something out of this world. Going up is a great thrill, but going down is the greatest.

We saw beautiful trout streams and water falls. We drove for miles around on top of the Big Horns. All of us were scared going down except Lyle. Dig was the only one scared going up. I am sure glad we did not miss seeing it.

We left the Big Horns at 6:15. Now we are headed for Yellowstone, after coming through Cody at 7:20, we drove through Shoshone Canyon about 8:00. It was the most beautiful drive we have seen so far.

It was 10:15 when we camped outside of Yellowstone for the night. We were a total of 1213 miles from home. We woke up in the morning and were all about frozen when we ate breakfast.

JUNE 22, Honday
We gased up at Pahorka tippe and fixed a leak in the gas tank.
Going into Yellowstone we saw snow below us and scenery and lakes with ice. We are now about the height of the Big Horns, 8550 ft. above sea level. We can see Grizzly Peak, which is 15000 ft. above sea level. We are still going up.

At Fishing Bridge we packed the front wheel bearings and tightened the brakes. We saw our first bears at 9 am. We fed about all our cookies to a bear that was standing on the running board.

Lyle and Dig took the pictures as David and I fed them. Dig read a bulletin on the danger of the bears to Barney the Bear.

We are heading North through Yellowstone and we just saw Old Faithful and a bunch of other geysers. We just got a picture of buffalos. Dig got pictures of waterfalls, moose and real scenery. We just crossed the Hontana state line at 10:30 AH.

It was agreed by all that Yellowstone had more marvelous sights than anything we had seen. We put an extra $30.00 for gas and are expected to go to the Columbis River Valley.

Dig is now driving through Yankee Jim Canyon with Yellowstone River running through the valley, and steep, enoamous mountains on each side. Just discovered that we have been leaking gas all the way out here. Now we are doing 3 to 4 miles on a gallon of gas. When it rolled around to 2:30 we gassed up at Livingston Montana. After fixing the leak in the gas tank we did 18.2 mpg in the mountains and Yellowstone.

We are still driving in a valley, but David took the wrong highway, so we turned around in the middle of the road and went back to Livingston. We got Ethel gas for the price of regular in Helena, the Capital of the Land of the Shining Mountains. As we were driving out of Helena we started up into the Mountains. Lyle took over the wheel. We had a better view than in the Big Horns. As we came into Hissoula, Montana we lost our brakes.

JUNE 23, Tuesday
In the morning we drove into town without brakes and had the best donuts and coffee we ever tasted. While we got our brakes fixed we saw a 3D movie. With Lyle driving we are headed on to the next town. Dig and David are joking about taking a few steaks off from an old hereford.

We gased up at a small berg that we never discovered the name of. Maurice took over the driving and Dig and David are in the back seat. We just stopped for breakfast and to wash some dirty clothes. It is 10 am and we are in the middle of the mountains by a beautiful little stream.

With Dig driving and a full stomach for all, we pulled out on the road again at 11:10 am. We crossed the Idaho state line, as it is called, the Land of Nature's Wonderland. Dig just took a picture of the three of us by the Idaho line. At 1:25 we crossed the Washington state line. After we got into the state we drove on our first concrete roads. All the state highways in Montana and Idaho and Wyoming, total of about 1500 are all blacktop roads.

This is the first time since the Big Horns we have been out of the mountains. We got our gas for 29 cents a gallon at 2:30. At 4:30 we entered the Columbia River Valley. It is a beautiful valley, with canyons and mountains on both sides. For the first time since we started we are having a good old talk about women.

Lyle just remarked that we are now 2,000 miles from home and, about 80 miles from Willies folks. We now discovered that we have been in Oregon for the last half hour. Besides that we are dissppointed in the Columbia River Valley. We got our next gas at 29 cents a gallon and Dig took over the driving.

We have seen the first Sand Dunes which are off to our left. We also have not seen a fair sized tree since the state of Idaho. The Columbia River is now swift rapids that could upset the Queen Mary. Donald Duck (Lyle) is in the back seat saying, "I'm homesick". We stopped for the night at a state park on the western side of Mosier, which was a good little berg. The park was back in the trees and it had a little brook, picnic tables, a tall timber, out-houses and a beautiful 200 ft. waterfall.

JUNE 24, Wednesday
We are now traveling along the Columbia River Valley on a new, beautiful highway. We can see clouds lower than the tops of the mountains.

David saw a waterfall and went up a trail to take a picture of it. David and Lyle are now in the back seat with their pants off to dry because they fell in up to their knees. Maurice ran a stick in his hand an inch and is now cutting loose a piece of hide off with the fingernail clippers.

I got the hand fixed by a homely, skinny beetle in an oil station. We are running into a lot of traffic and beetle drivers. They even drive busses in this berg.

Water, Water, Everwhere
And all the boards did shrink

Water, Water Everywhere
And not a drop to drink.

This litte verse was put here to signify that at last we are right next to the ocean. At 10:00 Wednesday we reached the ocean. We were 2270 miles from Savanna, when we first saw the ocean. David just said he saw some "peterfried wood." He can't say petrified.

At 11:15 we drove through a valley and saw over a thousand head of cattle. It was 2 PM Pacific Coast time when we stopped for dinner and ate fried potatoes. David and Lyle tried to get wet by walking in the ocean in their big, heavy overhalls. And they succeeded pretty good. One hour later we pulled out and went our merry way.

At Wallport we got some high-priced gas for 33 cents a gallon.

We now have Lyle's overalls hanging out the window to dry. The compass points south as we are going down the coast of Great Pacific Ocean. Dig and Lyle agree on the ocean being the most beautiful sight they have ever seen. I think I'll agree with Dave on the moutains being the prettiest, but I like the ocean too.

Lyle tried to climb part of the cliff above the ocean. Now a rock came off a truck and broke the windshield right in front of Lyle and scared all of us. We saw aome idiot kids from Michigan in a Model T Ford.

JUNE 25, Thursday
We left camp bright and early Thursday morning at 8:45 we woke up at 8:21 on the beach in front of the ocean. We are now entering Sam Sebastian State Park. It is in the midst of a Redwood forest and ia a beautiful drive.

We just slipped by some California policeman0 and the inspection place. We just saw a giant redwood forest. One tree was 18 steps around the bottom and 250 feet tall. Dig took our pictures beside it. We just stopped for gas snd bought $5.00 worth in a dinky little berg.

David is not feeling well because of a gut ache. Lyle snd I did not feel too well, but we are okay now I guess. Just got through with dinner, so we are going to try to make it to San Francisco.

We saw the tree chimney and the house tree and took pictures at the drive-in-tree. It was supposed to cost a quarter to get in, but we got ours back. We just set our eyes on our first orange trees. After eating supper we went to a jolly good show, "Yousy Bess."

JUNE 26, Friday
When we got up from camping all night, we were on our way to San Francisco by 5:40 am. We stopped at Cloven Dale and got some cut rate gas. After eating breakfast we went to San Francisco. While cruising along at 55, entering San Francisco we were passed by a little bitty car named a Lassare.

We just saw one of the most beautiful sights on our trip - The Golden Gate Bridge. The spirits are high as we drive to LA to stay for a few days. We have just put 3000 miles on the little plymouth. Going through San Louise there was a cop that stopped us just for general principles. He gave us all the once over. It was a good thing that Dig was driving because David's license has expired one month now. However, he did not ask for Dig's license, but took a look at Lyle's registration card and license. After asking us a few questions he let us go on our merry way.

After we ate supper we tried to find a good show. After 15 minutes we found a drive-in and watched the Titanic and the Lone Hand. After the ball was over, we tried to find the main section of L.A. After trying for an hour and a half we ended up on a dead end, so we slept in the car.

JUNE 27, Saturday
At 7:45 AM we took off and are now trying to find a jug of water. No luck so far. We ate breakfast at 8 am and went into Los Angeles. We tried to get into some studios, but found it was next to impossible. We tried Warners first, then went to Columbia and from there to UI. None of them were shooting today so there was no chance of getting a Job to get in.
We left Los Angeles and went toward Mexico. We went to a town right next to the border named Tijuana. The prices of souveneirs were cheap. We are going to eat supper. We have oranges and olives that we bought and some other food. All of us have salt on us from swimming in the ocean. After eating the last meal of the day and stealing some lemons from a lemon grove, we went into San Diago and saw another 3D movie..

JUNE 28, Sunday
After eating breakfast at 8 am Sunday we headed the Mayflower's compass north toward the Grand Canyon. We bought some bananas at a fruit stand and ate them for dinner then headed across the Majave Desert, which was terribly hot. While driving through the desert the engine started boiling. We just made it to a place to get water and cool it down.
We crossed the Nevada line at 4:15 and drove through Las Vegas and bought some groceries outside and went on our way to Hoover Dam. We saw Hoover Dam at 6 pm and it was a beautiful and massive sight. Now we are going to eat supper at 6:45.
We stopped for gas late and then killed two jack rabbits and cut off their ears and threw them in the trunk. We stopped for Dairy Queens then kept on driving until we reached the Grand Canyon National Park at 12:15 AM.

JUNE 29, Monday
This morning we went to some view points to see the canyon after breakfast. We saw six beetles in shorts in about three minutes. We learned that the canyon is about 22 miles long and 5000 feet deep. It only looks about five miles across and 1/4 mile deep.

After buying groceries and changing oil in a little berg, we crossed the state line and went from Arizona to Utah. In some little berg in Utah we fixed up the brakes and greased the little plymouth, then we went on a 30 mile goose chase to find a movie location. We had no luck.

JUNE 30, Tuesday
We did not stop for supper last night but drove all night. At 11 am we found ourselves in Colorado. We only made two stops for gas. Dig and David drove most of the night. At 4:15 we stopped at a truck stop and got gas and coffee, then Lyle started driving.

Lyle went to sleep in Utah and woke up in Colorado. Lyle expressed his sentiments by saying "Thats the last shit straw."

JULY 1, Wednesday
At 9 am, Rocky Mountain time, we stopped at Sulpher Springs (after buying groceries at Kremling) and ate breakfast, hought some gasoline and changed clothes. We are now 95 miles from Denver and everybody is feeling wonderful and in gay spirits as it is a beautiful day in Denver. Driving through Denver we saw the Capital building and some very good looking women. Lyle says we will be in Savanna by noon tomorrow.

We crossed the Kansas state line at 3 pm and had to set our watches ahead to 4 because of the time belt.

We gased up at Atwood at 6 o clock and Maurice took over the driving. This is the flat wheat lands we are in and we have seen more combines than we knew existed. The wind is really blowing from the southeast. Dig and Lyle are in the back seat; Lyle is sleeping but is waiting for nightfall because David and he are going to drive from then til morning. We expect to get home by 11 am tomorrow with money in our jeans.

Crossing the Nebraska line we found the highways a lot better. It was 8:15 pm when we went over the state line and Dig, who was driving said the road was as smooth as glass.

JULY 2, Thursday
It was 12:15 when we crossed the line and entered Iowa. When we gased up at 3 am we ate a hamburger. Lyle was driving when we gased up and when we stopped for gas again in Cedar Rapids he was still driving. We ste breakfast at Marian which is only 75 miles from Savanna. We pulled into Sheldon's with a total of 7000 miles on the little Mayflower. We surprized everybody with our excellent time.

This completes our "westward expedition" from Savanna, Illinois to the West Coast and back. We all had the time of our lives and it is a trip we will remember in many years to come.

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