There is a great national love in taking a "road trip."

The excitement of seeing new parts of the country or just a glimpse of open road can stir the wanderer inside us all. But it was those daring pioneers of yesteryear that defined the ultimate road trip when they packed family and belongings inside of a covered wagon and headed into the dangers and unknowns of the Old West risking everything.

And they weren't doing 75 miles per hour catching glimpses of historical markers. They were creating many of those markers that stand today at a whopping 3- 4-miles per hour. If junior was acting up in the rear of the wagon, the threat of, "I'm going to turn this wagon around," probably didn't carry much weight back then.

There is also a great love of everything Old West in this country and the many types of old covered wagons has a devoted following of collectors, buyers and those just seeking a glimpse, which is why many of them rest comfortably in museums across the country today.

The latest wagon to take its place among history seeking museum goers came courtesy of fourth-generation horse trader and equipment buyer, Brenda Grant who has recently completed a two-year project for Archibold Museum, located in northwestern Ohio.

Through four generations, Grant has gained extensive family experience on not only horses, but just about anything that has to do with pioneer travel. She operates BG Stables, a business that specializes in antique pioneer and cowboy collectables to include different kinds of wagons and sleighs.

Her Web site, bgstables.com, shows off the various kinds of wagons, sleighs and other collectibles, which is what drew the interest of Archibold Museum.

"The museum found my Web site and contacted me," said Grant. "They told me what they were looking for, which was to rebuild a period wagon between the 1830s and 1850s. Those just aren't around anymore. There are a few here and there in private collections and museums, but the pieces of those old wagons have all rotted away."

Grant said it is very difficult to find any wagon pieces from that time period, but that were enough around left over from the 1880s to build the wagon to the museum's request. There were some slight modifications made, but Grant said the project could be done.

She was competing with one of the nation's premier wagon restorers with several museum pieces under his belt and was thrilled when the museum selected her for the job.

"First of all, I was very honored that they selected me," said Grant. "It was an honor and so fun to do the research. We went to museums, looked at about a million carriage books and went to carriage sales all across the country, which was the best education in the world."

The museum picked up the wagon Tuesday morning and while Grant had to say goodbye to a two-year labor of love, she certainly hopes to see it again.

"The neat thing about doing the project for Archibold is that it's located about 65 miles from where I was born and raised," she said. "My parents still live there in Van Wert and I go back about four or five times a year to visit them and attend a big carriage sale. So, I certainly hope to see it in the museum when I go back."

The wagon will be featured in the museum's upcoming display of Pioneer Settlement, which will feature the lifestyle of pioneers from 1834-1890. The community around the museum was the site of early pioneers that began with a daily struggle for survival in 1834.

Grant said that there were many types of wagons that existed during that time period, which called for some of the modifications that included a drop tongue, which was more prevalent in wagons that were used in the hills of northwest Ohio and other hilly areas of the country. Other modifications included the brake system, which initially was used by pulling a rope from the driver's seat, but later changed to the handbrake system.

The change occurred within the specified timeframe of the museum's request. When the museum said they were giving her two years to complete the project, Grant said she felt as though that would be plenty of time.

"At first, I thought that was plenty of time, but it flew by," she said. "Especially with all of the research that went into this project. I've always wanted to do a museum piece, but have never had the opportunity. I'm honored to have done this project and I hope I can do another museum piece again."

Mark Young/The North Platte Telegraph.