Vacation with my family, August 1954.

This happened on our vacation to San Francisco in August 1954. My parents wanted to visit Natural Bridges National Monument in south east Utah. This was located in an undeveloped part of the west and most of the highway had been built only a few years previously. 

It was a good dirt road wide enough to pass other vehicles, but with no bridges over the washes. There were hardly any other cars on this road. I don't remember seeing anyone for miles at a time. There was uranium mining along this route and the traffic was made up mostly of dump trucks and some pick-ups. We had driven through several washes with success.

There were signs warning, use lower gear, go slow, and keep moving. The water in this one was a little deeper than the rest. Water splashed on the car's distributor and everything stopped. The 1951 Plymouth in the picture was our transportation back to New York State.  

Dad took a water jug and on foot, went for help. A few hours later he returned with a man with a "Willies". It didn't take much to pull the car out of the mud, but couldn't start the motor, as it was full of water and sand. We stayed in Hite, Utah, with Rubin and Beth Neilson for at least 2 days, while mechanic Bob Crawford made the proper repairs. Then it was on to California, and then home. The car ran good after that. I don't remember any problems, but