Olaf Rasmussen Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Re: James Parfrey's comment about Leo likely
> thinking train chasing was crazy - I suppose maybe
> so, but that didn't keep him from joining me on
> more train chases, such as to the Magma Arizona
> Railroad, as shown in the photo below near
> Superior, Arizona. Leo is the one on the left. Of
> course I can't rule out that visiting a girl
> friend in Tucson on the way back may have been a
> significant inducement.
>
> [attachment 57500 scan00142.jpg]
>
> Leo and Khus, the other Cambodian student at NMSU,
> joined me on another expedition a year later, in
> June 1965. The plan was to go to Yellowstone in my
> newly acquired 1964 VW Beetle, naturally making
> some slight detours via the narrow gauge. The
> first day we drove north from Las Cruces and
> camped in a Forest Service campground near
> Antonito. The next day we chased the Illini
> excursion from Alamosa to Antonito when near
> Antonito trouble started again, the engine making
> a banging noise in sync with the engine speed. We
> needed to get the engine checked out before going
> on, and determined that the closest VW shop was in
> Durango, so we diverted there. In the morning the
> VW shop told us that we would have to leave the
> car there for the day, and they would see what
> they can do. This was fortuitous news, as this day
> the Illini group was making a run to Farmington.
> Leo and Khus decided to entertain themselves in
> Durango, and to pick up the car when ready, while
> I rode the Illini excursion to Farmington, a rare
> treat, and the only time I ever rode that branch.
> Returning from a great day on the narrow gauge,
> Leo and Khus had the car ready, but we decided
> that by this time it was too late to make it to
> Yellowstone and back, since I had another summer
> job lined up with Mobil Oil, this time in Hobbs,
> New Mexico. As it turned out, the VW people had
> merely tightened up one of the valves. By the time
> I got to Hobbs, the noise was back, and the
> problem was finally determined to be a broken 75
> cent push rod.
>
> This turned out to be our last long trip together,
> with girl friends taking center stage, as here in
> Durango with 497 in August 1967. Helen, the girl
> in blue,
> and I were eventually married for 28 years until
> she passed away from cancer in 2000. But in the
> intervening years we had many wonderful
> adventures, including steam trains of course.
>
> As for Leo, I am afraid the odds were not good.
> The last I heard of him he was on his way back to
> Phnom Penh, stopping over in Tokyo to visit our
> mutual friend Hiroshi Saikachi (whose cousin Mineo
> was my railfan guide chasing narrow gauge steam in
> Hokkaido). Leo got back just in time for the Khmer
> Rouge take-over. Wearing glasses and having a
> masters degree in mechanical engineering from an
> American University would have been extremely
> dangerous. Letters mailed to his old address
> simply vanished, but I still hope that he survived
> somehow.
>
> [attachment 57501 scan00103.jpg]
>
> Well, here are a couple of happier pictures from
> 1967
>
> [attachment 57502 scan00204.jpg]
>
> [attachment 57503 scan0022.jpg]
>
> As for the 1949 Mercury, it ran well until my 21.
> birthday in September, 1964, when it threw a rod
> after cresting St. Augustine Pass on the way back
> to school. The day before my brother and I had
> laboriously removed the bent front fender (about
> 50 bolts!) and had replaced it with a fender from
> another Merc in the salvage yard. This photo
> illustrates my feelings for that car after we had
> towed it back to Alamogordo
>
> [attachment 57504 scan00152.jpg]
Really enjoying your stories Olaf, you should think about doing a book of your adventures! Would make for fun reading and viewing. Enjoyed your film footage on a DVD I acquired as well. Thanks.
William
aka drgwk37
