Editor’s Note: The following is a diary written in 1963, and has been edited minimally to maintain the original spirit in which it was written. Included in the record are photographs taken by the family on the trip, as well as postcards saved by the Eaton children.

In the summer of 1963, Nancy Eaton of Greenville plotted out a cross-country road trip for her and her five children: Betsy, 15, Jane, 14, Chuck, 13, and Susan, 12, and Dick, 10. In their station wagon, the family went from Greenville to California, hitting some of the United States’ most-famous landmarks. This is the eighth installment of 10 in the diary she kept along the way.

In the previous installment, the family visited the Crater Lake Mazama Campground and visited the Cascade Mountain Range in Oregon, and start this installment at a dude ranch in Oregon. The Bakers referenced in this section owned the dude ranch. Nancy Eaton references an Ed Kimball, who worked on the ranch, and whom Jane Eaton became infatuated with, and when they left, joined her roster of pen pals. As the summer creeps to a close, the family begins to make their way back east, making their way through Montana.

July 24

Our camp was close to local men working on roads and some forestry men – three trailers one tent set up. One of the men had a right hand claw. There were quite a few very nice and young boys in the forestry group.

The morning weather forecast was rain and it soon became quite threatening so we put up 4 tents all with A frames hoisted up with rope and wired together, a hard job. It rained a bit.

After an early lunch, a little clearing of weather and we were off. We went to a spot where there was a wonderful view of the Wallowa Mts. We have been in the Blue Mountains.. It rained hard during our mid afternoon stop at a campsite. I stayed in the hut.

Back to camp, hamburg, potatoes and gravy fruit. I was pooped, went to bed for a short time and then up for popcorn.

July 25

Up early on Thursday with much work to take down all the tents cook breakfast for 22 and pack stoves et. al. in the truck. It was 9:00 or 9:30 before we got going. We stopped at Toll Gate again on the way home. Watched them measure a load of lumber. We didn’t reach home until nearly 5:00. I had a swim to limber up. I couldn’t even raise my second foot with saddle in my arms when I tried to step into the barn.

Some went swimming after supper – I went to bed. On the way home we came across 4 or 5 views just beyond Tollgate – you should have seen my horse’s surprise. Many saw elk and deer.

There were places where the ground was riddled with ground squirrel burrows.

July 26

Friday morning I did nothing but try to write a few letters and catch up on the diary and also did a large quantity of laundry having started Thursday night. Went swimming in the afternoon and then after a light supper of shrimp and pilaf a little rest and the square dance.

July 27

Sat. An all day ride starting at 9:30. It was all up hill and down – nowhere near the view of our 3 day trip. I was sorry I had gone. Jane stayed home. We had plenty of time for a swim when we got back and I had time to do some mending in the late afternoon and then after supper another square dance. Chuck stayed home and finished Treasure Island.

I came home at 11:00 and talked with Mrs. Baker while her cake baked until 12:00. Found out that as she put out the lights she found raspberries to be picked over and stayed up another 1 hr. doing that.

July 28

Jane woke me at 6:00 to find out the time so she could go and milk with Ed Kimball. She has been quite fond of Ed whose father is Hiram Albert Kimball and his father. Would be interesting to know how near the connection is. I got up at 7:30 and began to pack. Breakfast wasn’t until 8:30 cafeteria style with huge cinnamon buns. Everyone was leaving after breakfast but we did not get away until after 11:00 a.m. and then to find we had carburetor trouble. This was fixed in Athena where the fellow removed and thoroughly cleaned it and replaced a welded or built in plug with a rubber one. Lunched while this was being done at the Athena Hotel – terrible.

Stopped at A and W in Colfax and looked for food – none – On way out of town flat tire – new rim and dinner at restaurant in Colfax. An expensive day.

Archie called yesterday morning to say that he had planned to leave Sunday at 5:00 a.m. but now a Mr. Davis was coming Monday so he would leave Tues. morning and drive to Monmouth, Illinois. expecting to arrive there on Wednesday night.

When we asked about camping areas last night Laird State Park some 40 miles away was recommended as those nearer were full of ... harvest workers. It was after 6:30 and dark when we drove into the camp and round a table and area only by help of the campfire of the next site. It was a very pretty wooded area and how pretty the blue sky was in the morning though this area has many white pine.

I got up and started a fire outside and hot cocoa orange juice and doughnuts tasted pretty good. We had been unable to get ice.

Now on route to Cour d’Alene we have a 25 minute stop for road repair so after a half hour of silent driving we are all writing like mad.

All day yesterday we drove through very hilly areas brown with newly harrowed fields or light tan with unharvested or stubble of wheat or other grain. They were planting dry peas barley and wheat.

July 29

Stopped in the afternoon at the Lucky Friday silver mine in Mullan, Mont. They gave us samples of silver, lead and zinc but we were too late for a trip through the mine. We took a 23 mile short cut from St. Regis over dirt roads narrow and winding with no barrier between road and steep but not high bank to brook.

We stopped about 6:00 P.M. for the night on Flathead Lake South west of Glacier National – a nice lake – Susan and Dick went swimming while Jane and I went for ice and to call Daddy. He leaves for Monmouth, Ill. tomorrow at 5 p.m. A limb of our elm tree had just fallen when I called – no damage done.

It’s getting dusk and so to bed.

July 30

Up at 7:00 and on the road at 9:00 with breakfast under our belts but no tent or fire – Cold. Drove only about 80 miles, several stops for food, gas ice all take time. Had lunch at Avalanche Campground in Glacier Nat. Park – a beautiful spot.

Dick was so happy feeding the Columbia ground squirrels that he could hardly be dragged out to take the trail to Avalanche Lake. From the lake one could see 5 high falls, dropping from the snow patches on the mountain around. I walked the trail alone. The boys were ready to come down when I got there and had decided to walk down the river gorge instead of following the path. I mentioned this to someone after they left and they said, “Don’t let them. That is where they have been seeing the grizzlies. This is about the only place in the U.S. where there still are grizzly bears.”

I worried all the way home about the grizzlies and their falling into the gorge but they reached camp soon after I did.

Sidebar from the diary of Jane EatonJuly 29, 1963

We left Laird Park in Saint Joe National Forest at about nine o’clock. We drove all day throughout Idaho and Montana and went through one time zone. We made one stop at the lucky Friday Mine in hopes that we could tour it, but the only tour had just left and we were late.

We are spending the night at Flathead Lake State Park. I went with Mummy to a nearby town, Polson, Ida. to call Dad. He said a big limb just fell from the elm tree.

July 30, 1963

Drove all morning from Flathead Lake to Glacier Nat’l Park, where we set up camp and ate. Then the others went on a trail while Betsy, Susan and I stayed at camp and wrote letters.

Excitement! before we went to bed, a bear was seen. He was small and cute, but so scared. Later, when we were all asleep, a bear tried to get into the food box, but Mummy scared him off.