Pap’s Willys: A Fall Story

Leaves are changing, the air is getting pleasantly chilly, hot soup is sounding good and you’re thinking about (or have already) put your hardtop back on. As such, we thought it would be great to share this fall member story with you, submitted by Tim Kurts. Enjoy, and let us know if you have any special Willys memories you would like to share!

Pap’s Willys – A Fall Story:
Rolli was my mother’s father. He was my “Pap.” Fall was always something I looked forward to because I knew that Pap would come over and say to me “pack your exploration bag and get your boots on, it’s time.”  “It’s time” meant we were loading up his Jeep and going into the hill country to witness the Autumn Equinox. The trip there was by far the best part because I knew we were going to “Burleys” first to gas her up. Bottled cokes, boiled peanuts and red rope licorice was always the choice meal for the ride. He liked getting boiled peanuts because “you crack it, eat it and spit the shells over the side – that way you don’t have to clean them up later.”

By the time the peanuts were eaten the entrance road leading into the hills was here. This was a seriously unsafe road that he said “only his Willys could make it up.” I remember the Jeep bouncing me around like no other carnival ride I ever rode. There were giant cliffs, giant rocks, and giant rivers – it was like a true Jurassic Park for a child of seven or eight. It took about an hour or so to get to Willy’s parking spot at the end of  “No Pass Road.” This was always where the hiking trail to our destination began. Pap and I would walk through the forest of trees to an outcropped rock where we could witness the heavens. We would make a small fire and wait for Summer to turn over the clock of seasons to Fall. I looked hard, but always seemed to miss the exact moment that Summer handed Fall the clock. One would think that two giant arms coming from the sky and exchanging a giant clock would be easy to see!  My grandfather and I only made this trip three times before he was released into the heavens. I have made this trip in my Jeep to see if he was right about “No Pass Road” – my son thinks so!

– Story submitted by Tim Kurts

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