Roamin’ Old Roads with Hoffman Birney A novel inspires a modern-day road trip across the American West BY MORGAN SJOGREN
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n 1928, author Hoffman Birney haphazardly threw a bedroll, thermos, shovel and revolver into his Chrysler Roadster, that he affectionately referred to as Betsy, and set off on what may be the first documented iteration of the iconic “great American road trip.” According to Southwest historian Gary Topping, “his purpose, at least in part, was to demonstrate the degree to which the automobile could serve as a practical transportation through in the hitherto undeveloped West.” Starting from his home in Tucson, Arizona, Birney drove a 7,250-mile loop around the western U.S. covering the Grand Canyon, Four Corners, Rocky Mountains, Mojave Desert, Yosemite/Eastern Sierra, Idaho, Montana and the Navajo Nation. Though Birney was a prolific Western author, he originally compiled his tales from the road for his friends, with no intention of publication. His easygoing tone makes the reader feel as if they are in the passenger seat as he assures, “I made no more preparation for the trip than I would to drive to town.” The resulting travelogue, "Roads To Roam," became one of Birney’s most beloved of the eleven Western novels he penned, influencing Western tourism. Admittedly, I have a bit of a historical crush on Birney, who appears timelessly cool in short shorts, a brimmed hat, aviator shades and rippling ab muscles in lieu of a shirt. However, while Birney looks as if he could seamlessly step into 2021, the landscapes, highways and towns he wrote about do not. His musings in "Roads To Roam" spotlight Four Corners destinations that continue to be iconic road trip destinations today. Furthermore, Birney reveals just how much of this region has been altered and infiltrated by human development in the last century, much of it originating during the years immediately preceding and following Birney’s big trip. Today, driving around the Southwest with a copy of "Roads To Roam" feels like bringing Birney himself along for the ride, and his frank descriptions of iconic road trip destinations and routes are still relevant today while helping modern travelers like myself perceive just how much these places have changed.
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A D V E N T U R E P R O . u s
"Roads To Roam" by Hoffman Birney transports readers through the Southwest on a 100-year-old road trip. photo by Morgan Sjogren
