Presenting Tom Judson's Canned Ham Tour

In the Valley of Kings

Coxsackie, N.Y. -- The Canned Ham is a petite, 12-foot-long sweetheart. As I headed out to Vermont to see Cass, I stopped at the local RV place to pick up a few last-minute items like wheel chocks and leveling tabs. (No one said this column was going to be sexy.) When I came out of the store, I was taken aback by the diminutive stature of my retro baby in relation to these modern behemoths. Thanks to things like "slide-outs," the Canned Ham would literally fit sideways inside a few of the RVs pictured here. But mostly I was struck by the utilitarian beauty of my rig. It's as if the extent of the instructions the FAN Co. designers back in Wakarusa, Ind., received were, "Stove, icebox, sink, table, two beds. Make 'em fit."

I left the lot before Canned Ham could get sand kicked in its face.