Date:         Sun, 5 Mar 2006 12:01:11 -0700
Reply-To:     Gerald Masar <azsun99@EARTHLINK.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Gerald Masar <azsun99@EARTHLINK.NET>
Subject:      The view from the loo...
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...or, the simple pleasures of a road trip in a Westy ('90, with 174K miles).
Just back from an enjoyable two-week trip from Arizona to the California Central
Coast.
So, sit back and think of the words to the song "Route 66". Flagstaff, Kingman,
Barstow...
oops!, stop, back up, about 65 miles west of Needles, turn north into the Mojave
National Preserve, one of the newer parts of the National Park system. Twenty miles
off of I40 is the Hole-In-the-Wall campground. Nice, quiet and un-crowded, up against
rhyolyte cliffs. $12 a night. Nearby is the Mid-Hills campground, primitive, no
charge. Also no charge for primitive camping off the roads through-out the park.

Okay, two nights and continue west on I40 to Barstow and then Hwy 58. Severe,
miserable headwinds all day. Up over Tehachapi Summit, where there are literally tens
of thousands of wind turbines. Down through Bakersfield and out through Lost Hills,
where they are still pumping the other kind of energy out of the ground, the black
stuff, and it appeared they are still drilling for more.

On through Paso Robles for gas and groceries and to Hwy 1, heading north for a short
distance to San Simeon S.P., arriving after dark. You don't want to drive the rest of
this road in the dark. San Simeon S.P. has two sections, the creek-side nearer the
beach, at $20/night and Washburn, more primitive and further inland at $11/night. Only
an overnighter, so chose the latter and it was 32º in the morning.

Headed north 60 miles or so, to Kirk Creek Forest Service campground, right on the
bluffs above the ocean (Plaskett Creek C.G. is nearby, also nice, but on the inland
side of the highway). Got a nice site right on the edge, with a great view. Later in
the afternoon, stepped out of the van, and there was another Westy right next door!
Peter and Barbara Lackner, from Santa Barbara, in their Subaru-powered '90 Syncro.
They were on their way to San Francisco for their 30th wedding anniversary.
It's always fun and interesting to check out other peoples Westys and their
modifications, and Peter and Barbara's had plenty, including a giant sunroof with
built-in fluorescent lights in the pop-top and another sunroof over the cab.
Spent four nights over the long weekend here. Rained off and on, heavy at times, but
mostly at night. Now, about the view from the loo (porta-potti). On a frosty morning,
it's great NOT to have to make the trip to the equally-frosty government outhouse,
instead, staying in the relative warmth of the Westy, using your own facilities, and
enjoying the view out the windows, of the dissipating rain clouds over the Pacific and
a glorious rainbow!

A short digression here, about the simplicity part. On the other side of me was a
large, very nice RV. Hardly ever saw the occupants and they only used their generator
at short intervals.
To make a long story short, they couldn't get one of their slide-outs to slide in.
Just before dark on Friday, a service truck pulled up. Came all the way from Salinas,
two hours away, and was there for about 2 hours. Said the motor was fried, but finally
got the slide-out cranked in by hand. They left the next day. The campground host told
me they tipped him $120 to drive the man to where he could make a phone call for help.
So, no tow-vehicle, no On-Star, no cell phone service. Woe was them!

Time to move on, just 4 or 5 miles north to Limekiln S.P. for two nights. Well worth
the visit. The creekside sites were closed, but of the 15 or so beach sites, only 4
were occupied. I got a neat site right under the highway bridge way overhead.
$20/night including hot showers. The hikes back into the canyon, along the creek, in
the magnificent redwoods were great. Dark and damp and quiet, and a 100' waterfall at
the end of one trail. Saw fewer than 5 or 6 other people.

Heading back south now, with a quick stop at Hearst Castle visitor center. This time
of year and in the morning, you can still walk in and get on a tour. They are now $20.
On down to Los Osos, and two nights at Montana de Oro S.P. ($11) and two visits to
GoWesty, coming away more than a few dollars poorer.

Finally heading east and home, with two more nights at Mojave.
Some quick final notes. The federal campgrounds were 1/2 off with the right pass. The
California parks were $2.00 off for over 62 (whoopee, thank you Arnold).
Don't buy gas in Needles, CA. It was the highest at $3.19/gal., the lowest, a CitGo
station in Bakersfield at 2.41. For the 1650 mile trip, I averaged 19.8 MPG. Those
headwinds and the twisty coastal Hwy 1 don't help.
For those that can do it, this was a good time for the trip, but it helps to have a
furnace and it will be even better when I get a real second battery installed, giving
me more capacity than the portable battery-pack. The nights were cold, the days
pleasant.

Sorry for the length, hope someone enjoys it.
Jerry in Arizona