Date:         Tue, 19 Jun 2001 11:13:48 -0400
Reply-To:     Stu Schwartz <sschwartz@OS2BBS.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Stu Schwartz <sschwartz@OS2BBS.COM>
Subject:      TripReport, part 1-
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

We left a little later than expected...Saturday, June 9,,,,some last minute details came up...I needed a haircut!

MZ Magic is doing very well...we have gone about 2300 miles so far without incident.  Hills get a little tough now and
then.  BTW...thanks for the warning on the gas...it seems that most of the little towns that don't have major gas company
outlets AND THE STATE PAR  KS only have 85 octane.  Especially the Badlands/Custer area of South Dakota.MZ Magic is getting between 12.2 and
17.5 MPG depending upon hills and wind.  The dometic is working very well.  Only used 1.2 gals in about a week (we use electric during driving periods.

Also see about 1 VW a day...(Hi Hotch..hope your trip to Chicago was great).  Saw a powder blue bus/westy in a junkyard near I-90 in Gillette, Wy...looked
good from here <g>...

Saw a bus at Mt Rushmore.  Saw a yellow Vanagon getting onto I-25 South at Buffalo (they didn't see me)

We went through Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana (saw the sand dunes on Lake Michigan), followed and was ahead of some tornado-generating
Thunder storms.. in Wisconsin, Minnesota and South Dakota. Tornados destroyed a VW rebuilder in Minnesota area...hope you can rebuild.   We've been
camping and staying in hotels depending upon the weather and our travel plans.  The food is better when we camp.  Very little veggie and vegan stuff out
here.  We've traveled about 2500 miles so far..primarily interstate but some deviations for Sundance, Wy, Spearfish Canyon, SD and a few others.

We have met some wonderful people...

We loved South Dakota...we stayed  at Custer State Park for about 5 days.  We saw Mount Rushmore of course, Crazy Horse Monument,
bigger than Mt Rushmore and a better story (Ginger found it extremely touching both for the Indians and the sculptor).  Our trip to Wounded Knee was
aborted due to nothing there!!!! and no gas!!!!  We visited the badlands, (bad to the bone <g>)...and many different types of rock outcroppings and
formations...  lots of buffalo, big horn sheep, prairie dogs, pronghorn deer and a pheasant with babies (we aren't sure though we don't know our birds)..not
to mention many other very colorful birds indigenous to this part of the country).  Still looking for the elusive coyote..maybe in Teton..

We are on the way to Teton now via Yellowstone (route 16)...(we are in Wyoming).  We expect to be in Denver sometime during the next weekend (June
23/24.)

We ocasionally we tune in to NPR for weather and information....

We've been very lucky...except for 2 nights in hotels we have had no rain!!!

No pictures yet as we are still analogue and need them developed....

We can definitely tell that we are in the wild..this is a wonderful country, plenty of land, wide open spaces, different land....the view of the rockies as you
cross Wyoming is incredible.  It is amazing how little little traffic there is...big expansive roads and no cars!!!!  unlike Washington!!!!  Only one traffic jam...in
Chicago.

We hope all of you are well and enjoying the summer.  Jasmine is traveling well and says woof.















--peace--
   stu and ginger and jasmine
   Arlington, VA
   1991 Westy (MZ MAGIC)