Date:         Mon, 23 Aug 2004 21:39:14 -0500
Reply-To:     All of Us <weber@OWC.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         All of Us <weber@OWC.NET>
Subject:      Trip Report-Short
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

Hello Listmembers,

Just returned from a 5,115 mile trip in "Miss Blue" my '87 GL Weekender (147k miles). Started from home in Brookfield, Illinois (near Chicago) to Thompson Falls, MT and back. Trip was almost completely trouble-free. Only problem involved replacing the front brake pads in the Motel parking lot. Those mountain passes sure are hard on brakes, well, the downhill parts, anyway.

Spent 9 days in T-Falls doing day trips to various spots in western Montana and the Idaho Panhandle. Even spent a day mining for star-garnets on Emerald Creek in the Idaho Panhandle National Forest. The whole family enjoyed it, especially when we stated finding some. Didn't make it to Glacier this trip though. Too far from T-Falls for a day trip with the kids along. Really enjoyed the mountain scenery and swimming in the Clark Fork with my son and daughter. 

A few trip statistics:
Used 278.1 gallons of gas. Average MPG 18.4, best 23.8, and worst 13.9 (fighting a killer headwind while westbound across North Dakota). Highest gas price, $2.139 in Billings, MT and lowest in Waite Park, MN, $1.739. Generally used Regular Unleaded unless Midgrade was available at same price as Regular (happened 2-3 times during trip) or if regular was less than 87 octane. Used about 1½ qt of Mobil 1 during trip and about 1 pint of coolant.

Saw 10-15 Vanagons on the road and even paked next to a very nice '89 Westy in the parking lot at the Garnet Ghost Town outside Missoula, MT. Saw several Bay Windows and several Euro's including 3-4 Rialta Camper Conversions. Stopped in Missoula to check out an '87 7-passenger in a used car lot but it had a big dent in the sliding door. No price displayed and it was after hours anyway so we just moved on down the road. 

Being fully loaded with 2 adults, 2 kids all our stuff, and nobody in my family knows the meaning of "travelling light", Miss Blue did a fantastic job. Generally cruised at 70 MPH even though the legal limit in MT and ND is 75 MPH. Made it up the Pipestone pass and over the Continental Divide at about 45 MPH in 3rd gear but pulled most of the other hills in 4th. All in all, not bad for a 17 year old vehicle with almost 150k miles on her. I think I'll keep her!!!
 
Dan Weber
"Miss Blue" '87 GL Weekender