The old road to the hunting camp and the orchard, on the sunny side of the canyon. Interestingly, the old camp and orchard are now in a wildlife reserve. No more hunting allowed!
Old rock fireplace at the camp, and a sixteen year old me.
Fellow apple harvester Mark among the apple trees in their fall color.
Our mothers perhaps wondered about the occasional .22 caliber hole in some of the apples we brought back.
This place crawled with black bears at night during apple season. We made sure we were scarce and back at camp downstream well before dark.
On the way back and looking down at the crossing we had of the Mokelumne, just upstream of our camp. The Black Oaks really put on a show of fall color in late October, '76.
Hop the rocks and don't fall in!
Remember Datsun, before they became Nissan? Mark drove one and I rode shotgun.
Great pics and memories!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing that time of your young life!
Looks like your childhood was as good and enjoyable as was mine.
I likes some old pix of a time period I experienced.
DeleteDatsun pickups in that era were tough and affordable.
ReplyDelete'affordable', i.e., at a loss - the business model of most if not every foreign car maker entering the U S. market.
DeleteGreat pics. I had a '73 and a '79 620 Datsun pick ups. I put a Merc. Capri 2.6 liter V6 in the '79, made a real work truck/sleeper out of it. I kept it going until rebuild gasket sets became extinct.
DeleteI had a ‘77 B210 with a 1.4L cast iron engine. So easy to work on and very durable. Too bad the body rusted out so quickly. It was orange and I put a new door on that was brown - the only color I could find in the junkyard.
Delete"'affordable', i.e., at a loss - the business model of most if not every foreign car maker entering the U S. market."
DeleteBought a new Mazda diesel pickup in '83, and the salesman said that they only made $50 on each, but had to sell them to get an RX7, which is where the REAL money was (multiple $thousands).
Great pictorial essay, with a few words regarding the adventures! Thanks, CW.
ReplyDeleteThat is a big fireplace!
ReplyDeleteLooks like someone found a box of old pictures… nice…
ReplyDeleteNice memories.
ReplyDeleteThanks, CW, for a trip down memory lane. Great photos!
ReplyDeleteI'd forgotten all about Datsun becoming Nissan. My Nissan p/u is over 30 years old and I remember the day I bought it. And the pretty red head trying to get me to add extras I didn't want.
ReplyDeleteDatsun was Nissans Export brand name and owned by them since the 30s if i remember right.
ReplyDeleteVery nice story and pics! Thank you.
ReplyDeleteGreat story CW, thanks for sharing - looks like your teen years had some pretty idyllic features. Toyotas and Datsuns were just making inroads into the American markets back then. I remember some fellow students having some old, beat up sedans and pickups and for all their light-gauge metal and tinny doors, those things were sure durable. They seemed to just keep a-runnin'. Meanwhile, Detroit's 1970s crap car designs were just the worst, no creative imagination. I missed the 60s as early as the 70s. All the cars seemed like they had fired the designers and put bean counters in their place.
ReplyDeletemy youth in NE Ohio had boulder-strewn rivers and streams as yours. and a rifle.
ReplyDeleteHow 'bout them apples!
ReplyDeleteWeekends in the Sierras in the '70's. The only California memories I cherish.
ReplyDeleteThey were always Nissan in Japan. "Datsun" was a name used in the US because, for some inexplicable reason, somebody decided it was less Japanese-sounding.
ReplyDeleteThe way I heard it, the president of Nissan decided he needed a brand name to introduce their cars into the American market, but couldn't think of one.
ReplyDeleteHe calls Lee Iaccoca for advise.
"Sure," says Lee, "I'll come up with something, how soon do you need it?"
"Well, by next week."
"Hmm ... dat soon?"
In the Bay Area I saw a guy driving a pickup with DATSUN on the tailgate and the license plate ICE CAR on the license plate below.
ReplyDeleteThe "Lil Hustler." My bride came with one, international orange no less.
ReplyDeleteCool, Thanks for sharing your memories. I wish I had a digital camera way back then. My little brother and I did the same kind of weekend trips, up in the Pacific NW.
ReplyDelete