Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2008 09:15:15 -0700
Reply-To: Roger Whittaker <rogerwhitt1@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Roger Whittaker <rogerwhitt1@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: I are mades it
In-Reply-To: <48A43E43.9040801@gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
dear mike
so glad to hear all went well and with out a hitch
or with a hitch as it were
;)
i am pretty sure your refuge status will be accepted in the republic of
oregon
i met many there who were escapees from california - and other parts of the
Union of Associated Republics of North America
they seemed to integrate well-
most had already stopped jumping and jittering at every sound heard in the
new found quiet
some had even begun to relax and let the front end attendant fill the fuel
tank with minimal argument or surprise-
now remember you are living very close to paradise and if you should find
your self wanting to actually experience paradise in its fullest realization
-
you need only to commence a northward journey along highway one oh one
speak with those who protect paradise from interlopers but not all bad guys
or those deluded into thinking they are less than good
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/canada/story.html?id=707707
prove to those protecting paradise that you only want a glimpse of the
rumored nirvana
where people dont get sick - o rat least if they do fall prey they are
magically healed by government employed healers -
anyway -i digress - proceed further north along one oh one and soon you will
find your self surrounded by paradise and several other moderately socialist
ideals
no trailer required-
yours
On Thu, Aug 14, 2008 at 7:16 AM, Mike Elliott <camping.elliott@gmail.com>wrote:
> All,
>
> I arrived in Bend safe and sound. Just got the network up in the house.
> On Sunday I drove from Carlsbad, CA, to Bend, Oregon via I-5 then
> highway 97, arriving Monday night. Met up with the estimable Al Knoll
> outside Lodi for teas and chats -- nice meeting you, Al! Thanks for the
> water bottle sprayer, it saved my a$$ during the hottest part of the
> drive, around Redding, CA (over 100 degrees F) -- anyone wants desert
> travel tips, Al's your man.
>
> Mellow Yellow performed perfectly the whole drive and achieved the best
> gas mileage ever: 939 miles using 49.5 gallons, or 19 mpg. The best fuel
> economy was the stretch between Santa Nella and Corning, a pretty darn
> flat portion of the drive, where I recorded 19.7 mpg; the worst was the
> chunk between Klamath Falls and Bend on 97 where only 17.9 mpg was
> achieved.
>
> During the flat I-5 portions I maintained about 60 mph, and often
> utilized 18-wheelers as "cruise control," by driving behind them -- not
> so close as to be tailgating, but close enough to maybe steal a little
> slipstream. The poorer fuel economy on the last leg was due to wanting
> to get to Bend before dark, so I pushed harder. Second worst mileage was
> from Carlsbad, through Los Angeles, and up the Grapevine to Frazier Park
> where I got 18.4 mpg.
>
> These mileages are impressive for a vehicle that formerly held down the
> bottom end in terms of fuel economy (see the fuel economy survey results
> on the vanagonwiki). In those Bad Old Days 15 mpg was the best I got.
> Then I got the wheels aligned which bumped me to 17 mpg. Why was the
> mileage so much better on this drive: Possibly the trailer, which may
> have reduced turbulence, thus drag, behind the van; or possibly it was
> the properly-working ECU which I plugged in the week before I departed.
> That old one didn't idle properly. Or maybe both factors contributed. (I
> personally think it was due to my obsessing over tire pressure prior to
> departure -- my theory is that I achieved the magic "sweet spot" between
> too much and too little pressure - the Goldilocks theory of tire
> pressure. It's a lousy theory but I like it.)
>
> Photo of van w/ trailer behind it here:
>
>
> http://picasaweb.google.com/j.michael.elliott/LadybugTrailer/photo#5234374945798598434
>
> I've been spending the days after arrival coordinating with handymen and
> house cleaners (seller left the house a mess), rug shampooers, IT guys,
> electricians, vendors, and a slew of details. No furniture yet, that
> will be arriving with Mrs Squirrel on Saturday, accompanied by a 26 foot
> rental truck, a 22 foot rental truck (we have more cr#p than we
> thought), my son, a friend, and possibly her older son. So I'm sitting
> in a folding camping chair typing this on what will be Mrs Squirrel's
> desk in what will be Mrs Squirrel's office. Of course, being a low
> camping chair the desk is about at the same level as my nose, giving me
> a Kilroy look while I type this.
>
> The driveway will be ready for visitors to camp in in a week or so, once
> the trucks are gone.
>
> --
>
> Mike "Rocket J Squirrel" Elliott
> 71 Type 2: the Wonderbus
> 84 Westfalia: Mellow Yellow ("The Electrical Banana")
> 74 Utility Trailer. Ladybug Trailer, Inc., San Juan Capistrano
> KG6RCR
>
--
roger w
There are two kinds of jobs in the world:
Picking up garbage and telling people things.
Successful people do both, with the same good attitude. (riw)
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