Many cars in the desert area had ‘swamp coolers’ hung on the

Many cars in the desert area had ‘swamp coolers’ hung on the passenger window to provide some evaporative cooling. We begged dad to buy one, but he was also quite frugal and held out.

Finally, in Las Vegas, my mom prevailed and we bought one. It cooled marvelously the rest of the trip to Flagstaff except for the water it blew onto Mom and Terry.

At that point we picked up a cool front that kept us cool the rest of the way to Beaumont.

The rest of the story: The swamp cooler was worth next to nothing in the humid gulf coast climate so we did not use it, but we had paid for it and my dad hung on to it - even after he started having cars with A/C. We actually disposed of it after his passing while cleaning up his workshop.

And, did I mention, my mom realized she was pregnant with my sister during this trip. I think that gave her the leverage to get the swamp cooler.

My dad was truly a manly man.