Tiny Wagon Door

“Can you imagine traveling in this thing?” It’s the question parents most often ask their kids when they’re touring the Lost Sea Expedition wagon, the wagon I crossed America with.

THe Lost Sea Expedition in our desert camp. Hudspeth Flats, Texas.
The Lost Sea Expedition taking a desert break in Hudspeth Flats, Texas. In the background, an almost hundred-year old stone dugout. The image is a frame grab from the Lost Sea Expedition TV Series. Look closely, and you’ll see recording equipment on a tripod. This was just coming in to summer. That’s why Polly is hanging out under the awning. One of my favorite scenes.

The answer to my question fell along generational lines. Or was it size….?

Last weekend, I visited the Saunders Family Farms Festival with the wagon. Amazing how many folks squeezed in to the wagon. One. At. A. Time. If I was writing the script, it would would read as such.

Scene: a tiny yellow wagon with a tiny open door.

Actors: Kid, Mom, Dad

Dad to Kid: “Can you imagine traveling across the country in that wagon? Get inside the wagon and see what it’s like.”
Kid jumps in to wagon.

Kid: “Awesome! Climb inside, Dad!

Dad: “Nah, I can’t fit through that door……”

The Lost Sea Wagon on diislay at Saunders Family Farms Fall Festival
The Lost Sea Wagon on display at Saunders Family Farms Fall Festival. Thanks to everyone that came out for a visit.

It made me realize that, yeah, it’s a pretty tiny wagon. It also made me remember the scale of life. As a 4-foot tall kid, a bed spread tipi seemed like a place I could call home.  By comparison, underneath the dining room table was positively palatial.

It was great having all those kids remind me of the magic of scale. Sitting alone in the wagon, after the crowd had thinned, it reminded me what a magical interior space the wagon still is. I guess, in my mind, that door’s still plenty big for me….if I step through sideways and think like a kid.

Me sitting in the wagon as I'm building it at my friend Mel Wyatt's farm in Southern Pines, North Carolina.
Me sitting in the wagon as I’m building it at my friend Mel Wyatt’s Foxtrack Training Center in Southern Pines, North Carolina. The wagon is 31 inches wide inside. The door opening is 20 inches. I rounded the top and bottom for strength and also because it looks shippy.

 

 

Kid

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