In 1989 I graduated college, didn’t have a job lined up, and wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. So I decided to take a trip across the country.
The US is a big place, and I didn’t have the time or money to go everywhere I ever wanted. Plus my brother wanted to go along, and he was still in high school. This gave us about a month on the road, and limited our route. I had a ’71 Beetle, but we needed something more dependable, and ideally with room for both of us to sleep in a pinch. I looked at pickups, a coworker’s Chevy Caprice station wagon, and more. The Caprice was nice, plenty big enough to sleep in even without removing our gear, and I could have gotten a good deal, but gas would have killed the rest of the budget. I finally found an ’81 Honda Civic wagon nearby at a decent price. The owner was moving and didn’t need the extra car, which was in good shape inside and out. My mom had an ’82, bought new, so I was familiar with it and trusted that it was up to the trip.
Getting everything ready to go. The typical Civic wagon tailgate rust spot. Dad’s Army duffel bag, and a blanket from a spring break trip to Acapulco.
We left in mid-July, first heading for Oshkosh, Wisconsin, for the big airshow. I had friends up there so we had a place to stay, and the airshow is always fun. Planes during the day, brats and cheese curds and beer at night. After a few days we headed out, first taking a girl we had met (friend of my friends) to her grandparents’ place in northern Wisconsin. Then we turned west. Camped in a park the first night. We stopped at Pipestone, Minnesota; went through the cornfields of South Dakota, and headed for the real goal of the trip: the wonders of the West, national parks and other famous and not so famous sights and sites. Over the next few weeks we visited the Badlands, Black Hills, Little Bighorn, Yellowstone, Craters of the Moon, the Great Salt Lake (where we met two girls making a similar trip in the luxury of an RV,) Bryce Canyon, the Grand Canyon, and many less-famous natural and historic sites like the world’s deepest hand-dug well, and the Liberal, Kansas Republican Party headquarters.
The car did well. Only issue was at Yellowstone, a week or so into the trip. It started overheating. No obvious leak, but almost out of coolant; I refilled it and it was fine. (Replaced the radiator a year or so later.) Up and down mountains, in various mostly warm climates, it did great. Good on gas, able to hit 85-plus in Montana (“reasonable and prudent,”) and plenty of room for our stuff. Somewhere in Nevada, after driving down many desert roads, we started calling it the Desert Rat. It was a brownish-gold that fit both the desert and the rodent. We mostly stayed off the highways, and the scenery on the back roads out west was often just as amazing as in the national parks. Most places we were by far the smallest vehicle at the campground.
We drove the back way into the Badlands in SD, past missile silos and around cows laying in the road. Happened to get near Mt. Rushmore during Sturgis, a complete surprise to us. Streets lined with motorcycles, crazed bearded men trying to kickstart their Harleys and Indians. Pulled into a campground that was full, like all the others, and ended up meeting a guy who offered to share his campsite if he could borrow my Swiss Army knife (which had a corkscrew; who knew bikers drank wine?)
On a mountain in Utah. Snow farther up the slope, in August. 70s at the campground. Ground squirrel waiting for handouts.
We generally camped, often at free park sites. The campground in Yellowstone was stunningly beautiful, and deer wandered through. I missed my turn in Albuquerque- shoulda made a left, like Bugs Bunny. We never had to sleep in the Civic, usually using our tent. Once we pitched the tent at a KOA, only place we could find, gravelly and hard and not at all meant for tent camping. Once we got a hotel to shower and do laundry. In Winslow, Arizona we stopped again for laundry, and a flash flood on those dirt streets washed into the laundromat. We and all the other customers helped clean it out, and a biker there asked us to help lift his Harley out of the suddenly-deep mud. Later he said he was leaving town and that we could use his apartment for the night; just tell his landlady we were his cousins if she asked. In the morning, we left him some root beer, all we really had to spare.
In Oklahoma we showered using a hand water pump at a state park. In Missouri the state park had a small laundromat. Life was good. The Civic was dependable. But nothing lasts forever, and we had to get my brother back in time for the first day of school or face our mother’s wrath. We made it, and I went off to start adult life with a good car. A couple of years later, coming back from a day trip to the Hocking Hills with my girlfriend, my dog, and my roommate’s dog, I ran a red light and hit a turning car. Totally my fault. No one was hurt, though one of the dogs flew between the front seats and hit the dashboard. The Civic was totaled. I ended up finding a ’72 VW Bus. A step forwards? Or backwards? Or sideways? I miss both of them.
Related CC reading:
Curbside Classic: 1980 – 1983 Honda Civic (gen2) – The Best Small Car By Unanimous Consent
Oh, definitely a step backwards. Except perhaps in the nostalgia department.
I look forward to the reminiscences of similar trips that will hopefully fill the comments here. An epic change of life road trip is something that many of us share and hopefully will continue as a staple of coming of age (at least in America, but I think elsewhere too). That you did it in a great little car (which decided not to throw any memorable failures at you) is added goodness.
And yes, that rust stain is iconic. The bane of a wagon-owner’s existence.
Every Civic wagon I’ve seen has had it. Yeah, it was a great trip.
Great story! I am 69 years old. This reminds me of my adventures in the ‘70s. Thanks.
Thank you!
I only had my bought-new ‘82 Civic, just the hatchback, for a few years as I transitioned into truck life. But of the 44K miles I put on in just two years, many were weekend or maybe 4 day road trips, with a lot of desert and mountain dirt roads, and a bit of snow, along with a few nights sleeping in the back when it was too cold or wet or windy, or just too late to bother putting up a tent. My only problem was a flat tire near Mammoth, there are some sharp rocks hidden in that volcanic silt. My trucks and now van have been more capable companions for exploration, but the consistent 45 mpg of the Civic was pretty nice. And as Mark notes, power was not an issue; 85+ was easy, at least for my 1500 5 speed. And despite the complex emissions system, drivability was flawless at altitude and in cold and hot weather. At least that’s what my 45 year old memories tell me. Thanks Mark for a great Saturday morning read and trip down memory lane.
Thank you! I had a flat after the trip, a block from home on a sloped street during an ice storm. The jack was… let’s say a little unstable on ice. But I survived.
That was a great read, enjoyed it! Now we need a follow-up on the 72 VW bus! I have a 2000 Civic that I bought new over 25 1/2 years ago, has 323,000 miles and we’re still rolling along.
Thanks! Bus story coming next Saturday, I think.
My mom had two Civics, ’82 wagon and ’98 four-door, kept each for about 250k.
Wonderful story, a trip you will never forget.
Thanks!
I really enjoyed your story. Although I drove from NC to CA for my assignment at Mather AFB, CA (Sacramento) it was not as fun as your as I was on a strict timeline. I was driving my fairly new 1970 Maverick with dash mounted a/c. I then drive back to NC in 1973 in new 1973 318 powered Dodge Challenger. I drove from Mather to Monroe, NC then up to Boston and then back to Mather mostly along I-80 I saw a lot of the country, but mostly at 70 mph. The only exciting exciting thing was my voltage regulator kept going out, typical 1970s car, and so I had dim headlights going through pitch black Nevada at night!
Still cool trips. Yeah, we had to cut corners a little but still saw a lot. The drive home from Arizona was more or less a straight line with no long stops.
I bought 1980 Civic wagon new. brown in color with the 5 speed. The interior could be called spartan and the door panels a bit thin but it was a nice driving car. Great gas mileage back then. Ended up getting rid of it in 1986 for my 1986 626 because the camshaft wiped two lobes for some reason. That reason was the basis for me not looking at a Honda again after that.
Ouch. I’ve had several Hondas since, and worked at the factory for 27 years. Most of them are good cars, but there are always a few with issues. In a later story you’ll see why I’ll never buy a Mazda again…
We did our “great circle” family of 3 trip in the confines of a diametrically opposite form of transportation, a 1975 Cadillac Sedan deVille. MD to NC to TX to NM to WY to MT to SD to IA then home, all in 3 weeks, camping mostly in KOAs, one memorable one right next to a well lit oil tank farm in Rock Springs Wyoming 🙁 with an occasional stop at a Super 8 to rest and clean up. Always the only Caddy in any campground, it’s huge trunk held our Eureka Timberline tent and all our camping junk in good style.
Our one major snafu of the entire trip was climbing into the Bighorn Mountains when the monster 500 cu in V8 began to overheat, almost at the top of the mountain pass, due to a radiator leak. I turned it around and nursed it all the way down the mountain and onto the barren ranch-country flats, heading towards the only nearby town, Greybull Wyo, stopping to add water every few miles. About 15 miles short of town it went into thermal overload and with no more water we had to stop in the absolute middle of nowhere. Not a structure in sight. Desperate times, and with a little kid in the car no less.
With the hood up about 15 minutes went by, when the very first vehicle, a Ford pickup heading in the opposite direction, turned around and parked behind us. He had water and offered to follow us back to Greybull. People will do that out there, something a result of their Pioneer days I guess.
We made it to town about quarter to 5 PM, pulling into a gas station with an actual mechanic, remember those? The guy was just leaving to go camping with his family for the w/e, which just happened to be the 4th of July, a 3 day weekend. Oi! But amazingly he offered to put off leaving that evening, come in the early morning, fix our leaking radiator, and meet us around 10 AM. Unbelievable! But many people in WY are amazing that way. Anyhow we found a local motel, watched fireworks on the ancient TV that night, and the next morning we all had a great pancake and sausage breakfast in a local Main St diner, and at 10 sure enough at the gas station just down the block the car was done! We thanked the kind gentleman profusely, gave him a huge tip, which he didn’t want, and went on our way.
The rest of the trip was uneventful but when crossing the mountains on the Pa Tpke I did notice that the Big Cat was a bit down on power. Turned out, when I took it to Bobby G, our regular mechanic, we found out that the catalytic was clogging up, it’s replacement fixed that quickly.
We still have so many fine memories of that adventure, and fond feelings of things like good folks of the rural West in places like Wyoming who hold a special place in our heart. And remembering things like how after that trip our 3 yr old son wore the cowboy boots we picked up in Dallas – without socks! – with his shorts for the rest of that summer still brings a smile to my now quite old face.
Wow, cool!
My 83 1300FE was the best car I ever owned and I still miss it. I was young and stupid and let it go with 205k miles on it. I drifted away from Honda. Until a few weeks ago, and I’m back in the driver’s seat of a blue Civic hatchback again. It’s very different of course, but a lot of the early Honda magic is still there- the way the switches and controls feel, little thoughtful details. And a comfort that you made a good choice.
Honda interiors always seem to be set up well for the driver, and they are fairly fun to drive. Not sports car handling, but good feedback and at least a bit of pep.
I’ll bet that was a trip of a lifetime! Even without a lot of planning, sometimes you just have to go, there might never be another opportunity like that, and surely we will never be as young as we were then. Being young we are more willing to put up with discomfort and to handle any problems that might develop with a better attitude, then we are middle aged and hauling a family around with us.
I took a month long, solo motorcycle trip around the country back in 1980, at the height of the gas crisis. But it was either go then, or maybe never go again, as there was talk about gas rationing. I took a couple of other long motorcycle trips back in the 70’s. I’ve considered writing them up and submitting them here, but I don’t know if there would be enough interest among the readership.
Your story just reminds me that we’ll only be young once, and experience certain things in a youthful way for a limited time. My motorcycling days are well behind me, and when I take road trips now I like driving a comfortable air-conditioned machine and sleeping in vacation condos. But I still love being behind the wheel, and rolling down that long lonesome highway.
I think they would be interesting to read. Combine them into one if you don’t think there’s enough material for separate ones, but stuff on here doesn’t have to be long- they told me 500-1500 words I think. I wasn’t sure about anyone being interested in my stories, but I just told ’em like they happened. When I look back I’m surprised at the amount of cool stuff I’ve been lucky to do.
We didn’t plan much- pre-internet, of course. But we had a general route and some places we hoped to go. Made it to most of them.
Yes, sometimes just go do it. In this case I knew it was the only big chunk of free time I would ever have (which was true, till Covid and retirement.) So I went. In 2012 my mom invited me to visit France (she was retired and would work part time, then go for 3 months and rent an apartment.) I hesitated, but then said “if not now, when?” I had a place to stay there (and with friends in London) and flights and food really weren’t crazy expensive.
Jose: I for one would love to read about any motorcycle trips! My favorite articles in the old cycle magazines were the road trips, those related by great writers like Gordon Jennings and Frank Connor come to mind. So please do!
Though at nearly 75 I consider myself too old to ride anywhere other than a quick trip down the cul de sac and back to keep them going, I refuse to sell the bikes I have ranging in age from 1942 to 1973, and in size from 125cc to 45 cu in (aka 750c) because I love them, they are a part of who I am, even more so than cars. They’re going nowhere and the “kids” will get them when the time comes and finally I “walk on”.
Great story! You brought back memories of my college years in Albuquerque. I was a broke college student, taking a full load of classes and working full time (I managed to cram a 4 year engineering degree into 6 years), and I needed an all-weather alternative to my 1975 Honda CBK 750. I found a slightly rusty 1980 Honda Prelude, purchased it for $100 with 180k miles in 1991. We named her Grey Thunder, and she took us all skiing, camping, to concerts, all over NM, AZ, and CO, and even a 24 round-trip to Las Vegas. I put 60k on her in 3 years, and she never let me down. I sold her to another broke student for $100 when I graduated, with the caveat that she was never to wash Grey Thunder. We figured that the caliche clay was the only thing holding her together. I do miss her.
Cool! They run forever.