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Date:         Thu, 11 Apr 2002 22:00:18 -0500
Reply-To:     Stan Wilder <wilden1@JUNO.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Stan Wilder <wilden1@JUNO.COM>
Subject:      The Way It Is ---- Long.
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1

Preparing for my two day local camping trip I plug my 120v into the receptacle. Set a coffee can full of ice cubes in the fridge, turn on fridge and my tiny computer fan in the fridge. I round up two cans of Wolf Brand chili, two cans of Ranch Style beans, a pound of bacon, five slices of cheese, ½ jar of mayo, and two Irish potatoes. I unplug the 120v power, get in the van and note the wonderful all tin sound that the door makes as I close it briskly, noting that the window dropped a half inch when I closed the door. On the way out to the trip I crank my engine and it burst into the great throbbing 67 hp that I’ve grown to accept. I roll down the driver’s window, noting that the window crank still scrapes on the large speaker grill in my door. I turn on the radio noting that its moved out ½” from the desired position in the dash, I give it a little push back into place and turn it on. I plug in my favorite traveling music starting with Cat Steven’s; Morning has Broken, knowing the next song will be the Who singing Going Mobile. I turn the fresh air blower on and put the tranny in reverse, I watch carefully for joggers and their dogs coming up behind me. I take a quick look at the driveway to see if I’ve developed and oil leak. I get backed out and headed to the local Albertson’s store passing a Splittie en route. Ah Yes! The blower finally started. I lean over and push the radio back in again. I overbuy on deli meats at Albertson’s as always. As part of my trip I scoot through the drive through ATM and punch the Quick Cask $100.00 button ………. Where does all that money keep coming from? I’ve been thinking about getting my own ATM card. I navigate the hard U turn to get out of the ATM lane engineered by New Your Architects. I move into the traffic and reach over giving each of my VDO gauges a little thump with my spring loaded middle finger. The all remain the same (except when the faces fall off). Lets see: Cylinder head temp 300, Oil temp 60, Oil Pressure 5+ Bar, Volts 14, yes all ok. I reach the freeway ramp that leads me to an Interstate nonstop trip of 120 miles to get to Possum Kingdom Lake. I bury the accelerator pedal testing fate by pulling out in front of a Ford Ranger going warp three. I get the Westy up to near sixty before he makes his standard snap lane change to show me how important this lane has been to him. I’m now cruising at close to seventy and I’m checking out the direction the wind is blowing so I can decide if I’m going East or West and possibly changing destinations to accommodate a tail wind. No matter, Caddo lake to the East is just as good as Kingdom Possum is to the West. I watch the flags at Auto dealerships to calculate the wind direction and velocity and find that I can go on to Possum Kingdom Lake. The next two hours is just 65-75 mph Interstate driving with one or two changes of the traveling tapes, I’ve graduated on to Sarah Brightman singing that popular song from Cats, Knowing that the next song is Charlotte Church singing Amazing Grace. By this time I’ve thumped the VDO gauges a few times and I’m seeing; Cylinder Head temp 360, Oil pressure 4 bar, Oil temperature 100 (c), Volts 14. As I approach the lake I’ve several long inclines that are severe enough that they chose to provide passing lanes. I enjoy these now that I have my new engine, reminds me of my years in Colorado when I had an 560 cid Eldorado Cadillac and when I put it to the floor I expected the hood to be sucked right down the carburetor. I reach the nearest country grocery to the lake and ice down some soft drinks, the deli meats and other necessary items. I fill the fridge with frozen water bottles I’ve brought from home. I know my fridge has a good thermal boost by now. It’s just six more miles over lots of hills and through valleys before I get to the lake. I arrive at the lake and cruise about three Pay-For-A-View parks before I turn off onto a gravel road with heavy erosion ruts and severe curves on inclines surrounded by Mesquite bushes. I honk at a small herd of deer that are possessive as a BMW driver of their road. Finally reaching my destination high above the Lake I navigate the Westy to take advantage of the prevailing breezes while still getting it close to level ground as possible. I get out and find two good sized iron colored rocks to chock my wheels. After setting my bicycle out and popping the top, I brew up some hot water, using half to pour into the sink for a shave and the other half to make coffee. Its now time to organize the gear so I can swivel the front seat, set up one table and burn some breakfast. I choose to scramble a few eggs and cook a pound of bacon (I don’t like to clean up so I cook it all at once). Whenever I cook bacon I know full well that I’m going to be driving around salivating for ten days smelling the odors that permeate every crevice of the Westy. That’s it guys; the rest is bike riding, fishing, napping and once in a while I check my oil.

Stan Wilder 83 Air Cooled Westfalia


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