Donna Eitel sent these incredible vintage photos to us years ago. The photos capture a family camping trip to Yellowstone around 1929, featuring a rare Gilkie pop-up tent trailer from the 1920s.
The group appears to include five adults and six children—Donna’s great grandmother, her sons, and their families—traveling from California and Oklahoma to meet up for the trip. While not every image prominently features the trailer, together they paint a wonderful picture of early family camping adventures.
Even more remarkable, two people from these photos are still living today, both in their 90s. These images are a great reminder of just how deep the roots of trailer camping go—and how much of that history is still within reach if we take the time to preserve and share it.
The photos are named: Yellowstone camping ca.1929. Dick Sr & Gilkie trailer
