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Date:         Sun, 26 Nov 2000 09:51:21 -0800
Reply-To:     harald_nancy <harald_nancy@EARTHLINK.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         harald_nancy <harald_nancy@EARTHLINK.NET>
Subject:      Thanksgiving in Reno
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

I originally posted this to the wetwestie list. Hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving. Trip to Reno Family asked us if we wanted to spend Thanksgiving with them in Reno, Nevada. So we packed the westy, filled up with gas and drove south. The ambitious plan was to go south, spend a few days camping in Death Valley, and then drive back via Reno. After spending hours packing, we finally get on I-5 on Friday evening, and leave Oly behind. Sleep over at Stanton County park by Canyonville in Oregon. Saturday morning stop in Ashland and have a sumptuous breakfast at the Breadboard restaurant. One of the best places for breakfast along I-5. Cross the siskiyous in bright sunshine and watch the cold fog rising. The mountains are covered in frosty white, and we are once again getting used to being on the road. By nightfall the westy has taken us to Manteca in California, and after driving through Oakdale we see a big sign flashing: Tioga Pass closed .......Sonora Pass closed !!!!!!! What now? We could sleep here, and continue the next morning on south to Bakersfield, or try another pass across the Sierra Nevada. Carson Pass, at 8600 feet might still be open. After much bickering, we finally agree that either of those choices would take too much time, so the detour to Death Valley becomes another camping trip to Yosemite. Always wanted to see the place in the winter anyway. We find a beautiful campsite in one of only two open campgrounds, right in the Yosemite valley. For the first time on this trip, we see a few vanagon westys, one a syncro westy camping here in Y. Regretfully didn't have a chance to talk to the owners. There is snow on the ground, and it's freezing at night, but the plat cat keeps it a comfy 70 deg f. inside, with the top up, and the rain-fly wrapped around the p.t. canvas. Yosemite is a totally different experience in the (off) season. In the summer it's super crowded, but now there are very few campers, and one can really enjoy the park. It's also much more tranquil, almost festive. I'm glad that I left the winter tires on the westy, since there are patches of snow and much black ice. One of the things to do is to get up very early, before 6, and watch the sunrise from one of the vista points. One of the most stunning views can be experienced from Tunnel view. One can see the whole valley from a higher elevation, and the first rays of the rising sun paint the valley in bright colors. Driving through the park I have to brake for a young bear crossing the street, otherwise no bear encounters. After 3 nights camping, we have the propane tank topped off in Yosemite Village. Using the plat cat vented heater every night, the stove and the fridge, the tank took 1 1/2 gallons of propane. There are no plug-in sites in Y. Wednesday morning we leave Yosemite and follow the often steep and windy road to Sonora, past Sutter Creek, famous for the first gold find in CA, and then on to Placerville. During a steep climb on Hy. 50 the wasserboxer starts choking, and the van lurches, but at a lower speed seems to run ok again. We pull into the nearest gas station, and I top off the tank with premium gas, and we also write down some local numbers of VW shops. A friendly guy tells me "many cars do that here, and his truck does the same". Not to worry, it's from the altitude. I think to myself, the F.I. should compensate for the altitude, but hey it sounds good, and doesn't involve any work, so on we go, climbing to 7300 feet, and then all in a sudden see Lake Tahoe in the distance, far below. The van runs good, as long I don't floor it. Lake Tahoe is beautiful, also in the winter. We camp at Sugar Pines s.p. Only a few sites are cleared, but the bathroom is heated and there are only two more campers in the park. A group of cross country skiers stop by and say hello. We turn on the propane heater, cook dinner, read and go to sleep. Next day it's on for a leisurely drive around the lake and some stops in the scenic villages, and by afternoon we reach Reno NV. Reno is the way one imagines it. Somewhat less glitzy than Vegas, smaller, but otherwise not that different. We meet up with family, and have Thanksgiving dinner in Harrah's Hotel-Casino. After the party we decide to leave Reno the same evening, and head back home, and the faithful westy takes us all the way to Redding, where we stay for the night, and drive back to Oly the next day.

Lessons learned: The loss of power going uphill under full speed was not caused by high altitude - thin air. Once we got back to I 5 it started to surge and intermittently lose power again. So we stopped at a rest area, replaced the spark plugs, and problem was solved. Also had a burnt out tail light, which I only noticed by coincidence. Not a good idea to drive with burned out tail lights this time of the year. Till later. Harald. 90 westy


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