Horatio's Drive: America's First Road Trip

LOVE tom hanks and tom bodett. I was never a fan of adam arkin...(but oddly, I LOVE the timing and wit of alan arkin !) the story of horatio jackson, who bet that he could drive across the nation in an automobile, what we now call the car. Against all odds, like deep mud, broken engines, flat tires, miscellaneous parts. Jackson, his friend, and his dog find a route across murrica before there were paved roadways. Interesting to note that the winston car brand is no more. At one point, they had offered to sponsor jackson, but only if they were in control, so he refused. Good thing he had his own finances! Interesting story. It had taken lewis and clark over two years to cross murrica! Voices supplied by george plimpton and eli wallach. Directed by the amazing ken burns. Story by dayton duncan, who had worked with burns many, many times!

There's something that's just so amiable and adventurous about this documentary about a doctor from the state of Vermont who wanted to be the first to drive an automobile from the West to the East Coast. He's an amateur who buys his own vehicle and personally funds most of his other expenses as well. He's challenged by a team sponsored by an auto maker.

Somehow, Ken Burns finds just the right mix of archival and location footage to make it all a grand and very real adventure, an accomplishment given the limited resources with which he had to work.

And then there's Bud, the dog who accompanied them, and for whom they fitted his own pair of driving goggles.

This movie clearly illustrates the inspiring determination that made our country great. I felt every bump in the road with Hanks narration and, having traveled a similar route in our modern age, felt the frustration of not being able to find a gas station or garage when one was needed. (Of course, my travels made Jackson's determination even more amazing.)

I think that this documentary should be viewed in all the school across the country as we seem to be short on determination and commitment in our society. This brings a subtle message to our youth.

Being an animal lover, I was also impressed with Jackson's commitment to Bud.

Wonderful job, Ken Burns!

As one who was eight when Horatio Nelson Jackson passed away, all I can do is thank him for his pioneering trip.

Even back in 1967, when I cruised across the US in my Mustang, a journey spanning North America was a challenge, sixty four years after HNJ did it with Crocker and Bud and mud holes that passed as roads. Now that I see what conditions were like just after the turn of the century (nineteenth to twentieth), I have an increased appreciation for those who gave it a try.

A wonderful film that really gives one the sense of being there.

All my love to his darling Swipes!

Saw this when it first aired on PBS and have borrowed it from my library at least three times since. My fascination with this adventure never ends.