Date:         Sat, 26 Sep 2009 17:39:46 -0400
Reply-To:     mcneely4@COX.NET
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Dave Mcneely <mcneely4@COX.NET>
Subject:      Re: [WetWesties] Gas Mileage
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Correction, the Uinta range leg is correct, but was not tops.  That was
a leg on mostly level ground on the High Plains at around 4000 feet
elevation from Amarillo, Texas to Boyce City, Oklahoma on two lane roads
that yielded 23.28 mpg.  Part of that was spent at fairly low speeds
because I was on county and Forest Service roads looking for a seemingly
misplaced Rita Blanca National Grasslands campground outside of Dalhart,
Texas (it was where it was supposed to be and where I'd found in earlier
years, but the roads were not well marked).

BTW, at that campground (technically not a campground, but a picnic site
that rangers have told me on other occasions that I could camp in, no
fee) there was not a soul except myself and Bonnie.  Nothing so
comfortable as a High Plains camp in August when it cools off
dramatically at night and the stars are densely strewn across a velvet
black sky while the coyotes disturb the profound quiet.

It is interesting, too, that this was the site of an extensive planting
of trees that was done in the thirties and again in the fifties and
sixties of the last century.  The site is called "Thompson's Grove".  I
found the old weathered wooden information signs that date from the days
of the plantings explaining the values of "reforestation" (NFS
terminology on the sign).  That is in a location where the only native
trees are along the rare watercourses.  The "reforested" site has an
annual rainfall of about 14 inches, and is bordered all around by
beautiful short grass prairie in a near native condition (though much of
the area, including that owned by the FS, is heavily grazed, made up of
"improved" pasture containing exotic grasses, or is irrigated crop land
growing corn, grain sorghum, wheat, vegetables, and sugar beets).  An
historical note, it is only a hop and a skip from the headquarters of
the North Section of the fabled XIT Ranch that ran from the Oklahoma
border south along the Texas-NM line for over 300 miles.

The forest service has put in bear proof trash disposal at the location
since my last visit several years ago, and has the usual look out for
bears signs.  First I had heard of bears frequenting the Texas Panhandle
in modern times, and I haven't run across any corroborating evidence
other than the sign and the receptacles.  I do know that bears occur
some 40 miles away on the Black Mesa in Oklahoma and New Mexico.

Well, what a rambling post.

Dave Mc


.................................................................................
On Sat, Sep 26, 2009 at 3:55 PM , Dave Mcneely wrote:

> up to 23.20 mpg in the Uinta Range in Utah