Suite 50, Banff

                                                                                                                                        ©JW Burleson 2015

further notes, from Colin Washburn:
"Ahh, memory lane .... Toby dubbed the blue Chevy "Suite 50 ", probably around the time he and I (and, of course, Tripod ) were living in it one Fall. The back seat was taken out, and a piece of plywood fitted in. We must have had an old mattress in there, but it could have been just Insulite pads. Tripod would sleep in the front seat, covered in our wool and down clothes to keep him from freezing. Tob and I would bed down, elbowing and kicking each other, while enduring one another's snoring and farting (and Tripod's, which were absolutely gagging !! ) throughout the long nights. We actually set an alarm clock, uncovered the miserable, shivering Goon ( one of Tripod's many names!), pray the car would start so we could warm up and defrost the iced-over windows, and then head down to the Park's public rest rooms for our morning toilette. Breakfast was usually bran muffins from Pop's Bakery. And this all happened on the streets of Banff, NOT up at Tunnel Mt. campground. (probably because we'd have had to PAY ! ). I remember hanging-out in "Rollie the Goalies" house until it was time to say good night and retire to Suite 50, parked just outside. Yep, we were tough, young, crazy, modern-day mountain-men back then! (Thinking back, I'm amazed the RCMP never busted us. We were stealthy, but the old iced-up Chevy surely must have looked suspicious!) All of the above is true, honest . Ask Toby if you don't believe me !
One other Suite 50 story ..... One Fall ( maybe the same one ) we drove it to Hornby Island to visit Ross Muirhead and Jeanette. It ran flawlessly. That was indeed a legendary, faithful rig. If memory serves, Toby paid a mere $300 for it !!" CRW