Just the other day I
decided to go through an old box of receipts (1960’s) that belonged to my
parents, Bill and Helen Condit. My
brother, Tom, had found it in the garage. His
wife, Vicki, went through it first and took out any kind of document that
pertained to the house, which at one time belonged to our parents and now them.
In amongst the papers were gas receipts from a trip we took across the US in
1966 in our 64 Mercury wagon.
I really don’t remember much of this trip or even why we
drove. I could only find a few photos of
when we visited family in New Jersey and Chicago at that time, not any of the
trip itself. But I thought it would be
fun to see the states we drove through according to the gas receipts.
This is how I think it went….
Day 1 – June 11, 1966 – Saturday - Bill (47), Helen (41), Crystal (11) and Tom
Condit (10) left Torrance(A) California and drove down HWY 15 to HWY 40 for
405.7 miles. Stopped in Seligman, Arizona and bought 17.2 gal gas @ .45 gal
plus 2 shock absorbers. The next stop was Gallup, New Mexico (262.61 miles) and bought 12.3 gal.gas @ .39 gal.
Day 2 – June 12, 1966 – Sunday – Still on Hwy 40 - Gallup
New Mexico to Santa Rosa, New Mexico (253 miles) and bought 17 gal gas @ 39.9
gal plus 1 qtr. oil. Next stop was Groom,
Texas (212 miles) for 15.7 gal gas at 35.5 per gal then onto Clinton Oklahoma
where we stayed at a Holiday Inn costing $12.75.
I found a receipt with
no date stamped on it from the
Oklahoma Turner Turnpike. I’m pretty sure it was from this trip. Now Hwy
40 turns into Hwy 44 out of Oklahoma City.
Day 3 – June 13, 1966 – Monday – From Clinton to Tulsa,
Oklahoma (A))(190 miles) stopped for 13.9 gal of
gas @ .36. From here we left Hwy 44 onto
Hwy 70 heading NE.
Day 4 – June 14, 1966
– Tuesday – filled up in Brighten, Indiana (807 miles – there must have been a few other stops in-between Oklahoma and Indiana
but the gas receipts weren’t here). Gas in Brighton was 15.6 gal @ 36.9 gal
plus 1 quart of oil. On to Cambridge,
Ohio (305 miles) and stopping for 14.8 gal of gas @ .37 gal. I think we must have stopped to visit my
mothers brother, Stanley Motyka and family, in Chicago at this time. Why else
would we have gone this far north?
Day 5 – June 15, 1966
– Wednesday – From Cambridge, Ohio (A) to
Colonia, New Jersey (B) (457 miles) where we
got 16.4 gal gas at .37 gal.
We must have spent a
few days in New Jersey visiting family.
Bill and Helen are both from New Jersey and most of the family lives
here. I'm wondering if we came for a wedding or something.
Day 9 – June 19 , 1966 -Sunday- This day we got gas in Irvington,
New Jersey as 12 gal @ 35.7 gal. This is where my mom’s parents, Valentine and
Mary Motyka, live.
Crystal & Rosemary
Bush unknown & Mary Motyka
Day 11 – June 22, 1966 - Wednesday - Gas in Garwood, New Jersey 14 gal
@.37 plus a oil filter. Herbert and Elsie
Condit , my dad’s parents’, live in Garwood.
Diana Zink, Bill, Helen, Tom 
Bill & Herbert
Day 12 – June 23, 1966 – Thursday - gas in Union (A), New Jersey.
Day 13 – June 24, 1966 – Friday - heading home on Hwy 80 from Garwood
to Elyria (B)(468 miles) where we stayed
at a Travel Lodge for $16.48.
I don’t have any gas
receipts until …
Day 16 – June 27, 1966 – Monday -We stopped in Clinton, IA (461) for
16.9 gal. of gas @.38 gal. , still on Hwy 80. You have to go through Chicago
on Hwy 80 from Elyria, Ohio to Clinton, Iowa (B) so I think we stopped to visit Uncle Stanley again
and stayed a few days.
From Clinton, IA we traveled to Des Moines, IA (198)
for 16.9 gals of gas @ .38 plus a qt. of oil.
Day 17 – June 28, 1966 -Tuesday -Still on Hwy 80 the next stop was North
Platte, NE (412 miles) getting 7.12 gal. of gas @ 39.9 gal then onto Cheyenne,
WY(221 miles) where we got 16 gal of gas @ 37.9 gal plus 2 quarts of oil. Here we stayed at a New Motel in Evanston,
Wyoming (B) (357 miles) for $14.42 for a party
of 4
Day 18 – June 29, 1966 – Wednesday -From Evanston we left Hwy 80 and
headed south on Hwy 15, the next stop was Fillmore, Utah (201 miles) getting
12.6 gal of gas @ 38.9 plus 1 quart of oil and a T-29N F costing $28.90 (I don’t know what that is, something to do
with the car). Then on into St. George, UT (158) for 11.2 gal of gas @ .41
and continued into Las Vegas (120 miles).
We drove across the country by car in 19 days. I don’t think I would want to do that again
in 19 days. But I would love to do it
with unlimited days! To see our country by auto would be such a memorable trip.
I’m sure during this cross-country trip I was sleeping, reading, fighting with
my brother in the back seat the whole time, as kids normally do on a road trip,
missing the scenery and the beautiful countryside. Hence I don’t remember this trip hardly at
all. What a shame! I wonder if my
brother does?
Thank you Tom and Vicki for saving these receipts for me.
Please leave a comment if you wish. Let me know you enjoyed the trip!
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