This travel diary is written by the mother of the Sheckles family. The Sheckles family left Dowagiac, Michigan, on May 26, 1950 and traveled in their car nicknamed the chief. The family would either camp or stay in a motel each night on their trip. On this trip it is the mother Marguerite Sheckles, the daughter Backus, and two sons Loyd nicknamed Loydie and John nickname Johnnie. They travel down to Texas to visit their grandmother who is Marguerite’s mother. The grandmother owned a 650 acre ranch. The Sheckles family spent a few days with Grandmother Williams before they left to visit friends, the Gingrich family and the Carpenters family. The family travels through Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, and Texas on their way down. The family also stopped at the Onandaga caves and the Ozarks on the trip down. On their journey home they traveled through Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, and back to Michigan. They visited Mammoth cave in Missouri. They returned to Michigan on June 16, 1950. The father of this family, Loyd W. Sheckles did not go on this trip.