Drive across the USA in any direction and you’ll see a plethora of hotels and inns that dot most freeway exits. The names are familiar. Hampton Inn. Holiday Inn Express. Hyatt Place. Quality Inn. Motel 6. And the list goes on.
These comfortable temporary abodes have become ubiquitous with their king-size beds and obligatory free hot breakfasts. They are comfortable and, especially to “members” are familiar. Each one is exactly like the last one and the next one, thus pairing the familiar with a certain sense of dullness. If you want surprises you’ll need to get off the freeways.
This, of course, was not always the case. As car culture developed in the United States, lodging for road-trippers evolved, from tourist cabins and camps to independent motels to the current chain hotels.
When Gracie used to talk about her family drive from Westbrook, MN to Bend, OR, she told us that they would stay at tourist cabins and camps. These were new establishments that were springing up alongside the Lincoln Highway, offering a small cabin (and sometimes a garage) where people could spend the night.
As we made our trek along the Lincoln Highway we kept our eyes open for remnants of these establishments. When we saw what looked like it could have been an abandoned tourist cabin or camp site, we wondered if perhaps they had stayed there.
In the town of Fort Bridger, WY there is a restored “tourist stopping place”garage camp” called Black and Orange Cabins that dates back to 1929. After falling into disrepair for decades, the site was restored in 2009 (as a museum), allowing modern road-trippers a glimpse into a very early iteration of the motel.
Did the Danielson family stay here in 1932? It’s entirely possible. Unfortunately, we’ll never know.
And me? I’m headed to a Hampton Inn, thank you very much!
I don’t think I would stay there either, lol
Wow. I wonder how our parents thought about all this travel…. How long did it take? “Are we there yet?” But I think my dad fell in love with camping on that trek. We camped without a tent. We cooked over a fire. We hiked all around the ‘forest.’ We learned to be a little more rugged and a lot more tolerant ( especially in the car!) We loved it all. Thanks, Daddy.
For what it’s worth, I’d be adventurous and stay in one of those little cabins, for sure! What a great break from look-alike chain hotels that would be.
I would too, if that had been an option.