Date: Sat, 11 Oct 2008 18:54:43 -0700
Reply-To: Don Hanson <dhanson@GORGE.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Don Hanson <dhanson@GORGE.NET>
Subject: Western trip: Trip report
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="Windows-1252"
I just returned this morning from another fun Vanagon outing, from the
Northwest down to the 'almost' Southwest. The Vanagon, an '84 semi-Westie
(has all but the pop-top and the rear cabinets) with a '92 Golf/Rabbit 1.8L
Digifant II gas motor..5sp tranny from a diesel)
I did 2111 miles, from the Columbia River Gorge down to St. George, Utah
with a side trip over to Zion. I took three bicycles mounted on a Yakima
rack that is hung on the rear hatch and my gear for camping, as well as
spares and extra wheels for four days of bicycle racing around St. George.
With that load and traveling at ~65mph average my fuel mileage was 23.7 mpg.
The van worked perfectly.
I headed east on I-84 through the Blue Mts, and overnighted in Ontario,
Or. I "camped" in a lot behind a Pilot Travel Plaza right in "downtown"
Ontario. Pulled in there at 11pm and found the regular lot full of semi
trucks. Using my roof mounted spotlight as I left, I spied another truck
yard with a few stored trailers and some tractors, stacks of pallets, etc.
and decided I could safely tuck in for a few hours of sleep amongst them.
The roof mounted spotlight is very useful for scoping-out potential
campsites after dark.
Then a long day through one of my favorite areas in the world, the high
northwest desert of Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Oregon. I cut south at Twin Falls,
Idaho and headed through what they now call the Great Basin, down Hwy 93. I
choose this route over the MapQuest route down through Salt Lake and Cedar
City on the interstates. Through Jackpot, Nv..Wells, Ely, Pioche and
another overnight at a small state park called Cathedral Gorge in
southeastern Nevada. Very quiet there, with about half the spots (about 10
sites) filled, a great half moon with owls in the trees and coyotes at
night.
From there, I turned east across another range of mountains, scheduled to
arrive at my destination, Snow Canyon State park just outside St. George, by
3pm, where I'd reserved a site for the duration of my 4-day bike races.
The first day's race ran right up the road through Snow Canyon St. Park,
so I could just ride to the start from my campsite. There was a couple in a
very nice white Westie who also were camped there and doing some of the bike
races also. I only talked to them briefly, all of us being pre-occupied
with the cycle racing (The Huntsman World Senior Games)
The second day, our race was run from the west entrance of Zion Nat. Pk.
about an hr east of St. George. There, as I went on my bike down to the
start line, I saw another turd brown Westie, this one with Wyoming county 22
plates (my former home in Jackson Hole, Wyo) The next day (too busy racing
to stop and chat then) I found out the Westie belonged to a couple I'd not
seen for years. The guy built my very first custom race bicycle back in the
70's..He's recently decided to race bikes again and found the old Westie for
that and for camping with his small family. He'd just had it redone by
GoWestie for around $6k and was quite happy with it.
After 4 days of one bike race per day, and camping in beautiful Snow
Canyon St. Pk, it was time to head out for home again.
Left S. Utah at around noon after a ~45mile road race on the bike, back up
Hwy 93. Hit snow flurries in Jackpot, Nv and headwinds (very strong) from
Twin Falls west...Spent another 'short' night in the Ontario parking lot
spot, then into the Columbia River Gorge and home at 10am this morning..No
fuss, no muss.
I recently installed some H-4 headlights...a great improvement across the
cold dark night drives. Still need some refining with the aim, but much
nicer than my sealed beam halogens that I had before.
Sorry for the length of this..but this kinda trip is exactly what the
Vanagon is best at...
Don Hanson
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