Date:         Thu, 4 Aug 2005 22:06:21 -0400
Reply-To:     Lisa Bliss <blissx3@EARTHLINK.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Lisa Bliss <blissx3@EARTHLINK.NET>
Subject:      Trip report, westy sitings, misc.
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

Hi Friends,

I just got back from my trip to Colorado in "Bree" and wanted to check in.  Altogether I drove about 4700 miles in a month's time from Atlanta to Crested Butte and then all around Colorado.  It was fantastic.  We made many friends along the way.  The westy was great and is a great vehicle.  I can't say enough good things about the joys of traveling and camping in this vehicle.

  We were fortunate not to have any mechanical problems.  I was nervous on the way out there and when I crossed my first pass (Monarch at 11,000) I was not getting ANY power and thought I was doomed but strangely the vehicle seemed to acclimate and it drove beautifully the whole time.  I made a trip to a place called Tin Cup and then went to camp at Mirror Lake.  A lot of the roads out there are forest service roads and are only seasonal so they are not in the best condition.  Without really intending to, I ended up on some pretty dicey roads that were steep with lots of rocks but I went for it.  I drove up to Cumberland pass at 12,000 feet and we have a fabulous photo of us and the westy with a view that goes on for miles.

I made a special trip to Delta to get a vanagon mechanic to give me an oil change and checkup.

I did not see any Westys the entire way out there but Colorado is lousy with them!  When I got to Colorado I was going north on 17 from Great Sand Dunes National Park and saw 6 within an hour!  I especially enjoyed it because they were giving me the wave or wink of the headlights.  There are several westys here in town but I could not find one for sale and had to travel to get ours.

Another friend of mine takes pictures of every vw bus he sees and he also happened to be in Crested Butte while I was there.  He got up early one morning to take pictures and counted 35 of  them in Crested Butte, which is really a mecca for those who love the outdoors and activities like kayaking and mountain biking.


We went to one of the Route 66 museums on the way out there.  It had an exhibit on "hippies," which included an actual vw bus as part of the exhibit.   It had a description of what a hippy was and I can't remember it specifically but I remember thinking it sounded a little silly.  I like to think i have a hippy sensibility, but I am not sure I can articulate what that is!

The only malfunction my westy experienced was after about a week of travel the hydraulic shocks went on the hatchback.  It was a pain not to be able to have the hatch up while loading and unloading but I can't complain.

Happy trails to all

Lisa Bliss