Date: Thu, 11 Sep 2008 17:58:41 -0700
Reply-To: neil N <musomuso@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: neil N <musomuso@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Trip Report (WA/OR)
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Hi all.
A condensed version:
http://tubaneil.googlepages.com/ccor08trip
The EP version:
Things got off to a late start last Friday due to a rusty rear
trailing arm. http://tubaneil.googlepages.com/TrailingArmHole3.jpg
Thankfully, I found a guy to weld it up.
http://tubaneil.googlepages.com/TrailingArmWelded2.jpg Hit the road
around 3 and hit the border at around 4:30/5. Things went well, and it
was off to the races!
Enjoyed a drive along the Chuckanut (sp?). Stayed the first night in
Bayview WA. Being a Friday, it was crowded (and I pulled in around 7
or 8) but was quiet and uneventful. As per usual, enjoyed a fire with
some beers. (I didn't drink the fire)
Toppled out just before 11 AM and made the long trek from Bayview to
Catherines Creek OR for the Wet Westy reunion. Took I-5 (yuk), 90,
Ellensburg, Yakima, dicked around finding 82/395 to Hermiston,
Pendleton, La Grande then Union. "Whew!" Quite a long drive I must
say, and I did go through/slow leak about 3/4 litre of oil, but the
engine ran great. Rolled into CC around 9 and met up with some of the
late night crowd. Chris (last name?) belted out some tunes including
the complete version of Alices restaurant. (!) The other person
playing guitar added her dulcet tones with tunes of her own. (sorry.
Not the best at recalling names). I think I even recall "Rain Drops
Keep Falling on My Head". Chatted with Jim, Phil Z, Bob, Lorne, etc.
Hit the hay at a reasonable hour. In terms of finding the CC CG, I
must say that I should be better prepared with better maps. OR GPS!
Finding CC with marginal headlights wasn't the most fun I've had......
but..... what a great bunch of people! Really enjoyed meeting them.
Had a good time comparing engine swap notes and chatting with
Jim/Lisa, (thanks for the top Jim!) Phil, (thanks for the SS nuts
Phil!) Lorne, who had a good laugh over the story of my skunky
sousaphone, Vancouver Bernie, Bob (I call him "quiet" Bob..... he
doesn't know this yet.... ), Jason, Rolf, Tim etc. Again, not so good
with the old name recall, and didn't meet everyone, but chatted with
quite a few folks. I only regret I didn't get there on Friday!
My stays at Barnhouse USFS, La Pine SP, Elk Lake were uneventful, and
I ended up heading toward Salem where I enjoyed a visit with Charlie
and Cheryl. But, I decided to do the long drive back from Salem to
Vancouver that night. Ended up sleeping a couple hours at a rest area
just outside of Seattle. A wise decision. Woke up at ~ 4 AM, made some
horrible instant coffee, and it was back to the races. How convenient
are these Vanagons/Westies eh?! --- :^)
Highlights:
Daytime temps were downright balmy, but evenings were cold up higher.
Noteably at Elk Lake.
In Bend OR, not far after heading in from the south, there is a great
parts place on the LH side. They had exactly the serp belt I needed
(really. why wasn't I carrying a spare??) and have a good collection
of stuff.
Aside from a family of raccoons (one who was sadly splattered) no
notable wildlife, human or otherwise, were spotted or harmed. Many
chipmunks and squirrels though. I hope I don't have any passengers!
The Thermarest mattresses helped out my engine "lump". My Eton "crank"
radio fits the bill nicely (though i should have gotten the SW one) I
especially like that it has Weather "channels", it's fairly small,
sounds good and pulls in stations well.
My fridge stayed lit the whole time, and kept food quite cold (not an
amazing feat given the night time temps) But it was pretty hot on a
couple of days so I figure it performed quite well.
Barnhouse USFS CG was uber quiet and really nice if you're into the
Pack in/out pit toilet thing. La Pine CG had noisy dirt bike or ?
nearby at 4 AM!
In the 2600+ KM's travelled, I used less than a litre of oil. Gas
mileage *seemed* to be better than my air cooled engine though I
didn't measure this. Having REAL HEAT was AWESOME. Being able to slam
it into 3rd to boot away from errant freeway on rampers was really
useful.
Sisters OR is a nice little town, but I errantly ended up buying
alcohol free Becks there. Thankfully, I had spares.
Stuff I learned:
cute chicks DO work at Ranger Stations
buy cold food/beer late aft or night then stock your fridge. Turn it
to Max ASAP in the morning. Let the ice/frost gather.
buy forestry maps in advance. Buy good state maps. Check the state map
out before buying it.
read the label (see "Becks" above)
if possible, pick level campsites
if you're tired, take a nap at a rest area. It does wonders.
asking for directions *usually* helps, but again, a good map or GPS is
the way to go
I had an awesome time. And though there were tiny details on the Westy
as a whole that need to be worked out, the engine ran great, my canvas
patches held fine, the welds at the trailing arm are fine still, the
fridge did it's thing, the terrain was spectacular, the weather was
awesome, and above all, I met some really neat people.
Cheers,
Neil.
--
Neil Nicholson '81 JettaWesty "Jaco
http://groups.google.com/group/vanagons-with-vw-inline-4-cylinder-gas-engines
http://web.mac.com/tubaneil
http://tubaneil.googlepages.com/
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