Date: Sat, 30 Jul 2011 22:49:05 -0700
Reply-To: Daniel Rotblatt <d.rotblatt@VERIZON.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Daniel Rotblatt <d.rotblatt@VERIZON.NET>
Subject: We went to Mammoth Lakes for a few days too....
In-Reply-To: <CAEuQn0Zzq2bXhP3MAJuV-PgPYypXhKJ_ZX033f=cmF0wf9tAaw@mail.gmail.com>
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Roland,
We also just got back from mammoth on Tuesday (left the previous Thursday)! Almost the same trip. I just bought my van two months ago, so didn't know how it would behave - but did quite well. We stayed at twin lakes, and visited to Devils Postpile, Top of Mammoth Mtn., Bodie Ghost town, Obsidian Dome, and several hot springs in the Long Valley by the Mammoth Airport. The hot springs were great - natural springs in the middle of grassy plains with cows standing around, surrounded by snow capped mountains. Great trip! My girlfriend, her kid and my kid. Only saw 3 Vanagons (and several older ones). We also saw a white synchro parked in Lee Vining - very nice condition, with "Synchro" written in black letters on the back side. Also saw a brown one arriving at Badie Ghost Town as we left, and another brown one SB on 395 as we headed up to Mammoth on Thursday the 21st - they flashed their lights at us.
The van got a name. We were trying to think of one and Rip Van Winkle popped into my head and I called it Rip. The girlfriend: "What?" me: "Rip, from rip van winkle." Girlfriend: "Winky!" Girlfriends Daughter "Van winky!" My son: "Why don't we call it Vanagon?"...some time later... My son: "We could call it Winky!" Me: "What a great idea!" Thus the van is named "Winky," short for "rip van winkle", abbreviation is RVW (or ouR VW).
The heat was brutal down the Owens valley. There was a fire in sequoia and the smoke had blown into the valley on our return trip. We were going to spend a night at the Lone Pine campground, but instead decided to push on. Pulled into Red Rock canyon campground north of Mojave around 10:00 pm and slept there. Generally the Van did well. Only real problem was up at 7-8000 ft., the engine kept dyeing when cold (or even after the engine had been shut off for a minute or two). It's an automatic, so it was one foot on the break and one on the gas pedal keeping the revs up until it was warm. The anticipated 25-30 MPH run in 2nd gear up the slope from Bishop to Mammoth (6% grade) - and a number of other hills - but 65 mph on the levels and clear sailing the whole way. Gas milage wasn't too good though - only around 15 mpg the whole trip. The van is in the shop getting tuned up and fluids replaced - I basically drove it as it arrived from the PO except for overhauling the brakes. So far they found a vacuum leak which might account for the stalling at high altitudes (
Really beautiful country though. Next week me and the girlfriend head out to New Mexico - more desert heat (I wanted to go up the coast....).
Dan
Los Angeles, CA
"Winky" the '85 Westy Weekender
On Jul 24, 2011, at 7:08 PM, Roland wrote:
> What a great place, it was our first visit there, really nice country. Up
> the Owens Valley from San Diego, straight up 395, first time driving this
> stretch in many years, fantastic terrain. We camped in the Lake Mary
> area,the campground just opened a couple of weeks before because the
> heavy snow
> was still around and blocked the roads. Very nice spot, just 50 feet from a
> creek full of snowmelt. We visited Mono Lake and the Devil's Postpile (and
> related things), all sites I've never explored before. And the lakes in this
> area are really fantastic.
>
> The Van did great, before we left there were murmurs of: "Hey Dad, are you
> sure the Van will make it?" And it all went very well, the good ol' 2.1 was
> fine, we cruised at average 65 mph. She only yelped once, there is a 9-10
> mile uphill (5-6%) from Bishop to Mammoth Lakes, at about 8.5 miles or so
> the oil pressure buzzer came on; I half expected it. The oil was higher than
> the 1/2 point after a change last January, and I've had the
> uphill-foaming-oil buzzer before. I just pulled over and let it idle for 3-4
> minutes and all was well. In addition, as we know the power loss at altitude
> is real. We were at 8,000 - 9,000 ft. and uphills had to be done in 3rd
> gear; at about 3,200 - 3,400 RPM I couldn't even accelerate. But no big
> deal, this is expected. We didn't do any offloading or remote exploring,
> this was a survey and chill trip, we'll go back for more some day. The way
> back south was tough, we left Mammoth at 10:00 which put us in the Mojave in
> the early afternoon and LA at 4:00 and hit traffic without air conditioning.
> Really strong headwind all the way down the valley and high desert, we could
> manage only about 55-58 mph.
>
> Our entertainment: the "count the Vanagons game", total of 16 for the 4 days
> north of Lone Pine. I won.
>
> - Me: 7 (advantage: the driver, had to keep my eyes on the road)
> - Daughter: 6 (advantage: smart, keen eyes, and very competitive).
> - Son: 3 (disadvantage: in the back most of the time, watching our dog).
>
> There were 2 Vanagons in our campground, and there were 2 in some storage
> yard just north of Bishop on the east side of 395. I thought we'd see more.
> We spotted one white Syncro camper, not a Westy, not an Adventure Wagon, but
> looked like some other type of fixed top, in Mammoth Springs right on Main
> street. I really thought we'd bump into more Vanagons. Apparently the "in"
> vehicle around those parts in campgrounds is a crew cab, long bed, diesel,
> auto trans, lifted, 4wd, 45 ft long, noisy, 2500 RAM F-350 or some such
> number, American giant pickup of some type with only one person inside -
> ugh. Perhaps that's why seeing another Vanagon was so nice, many more
> Vanagons than other buses, saw one Splittie, a couple of Bays.
>
> And we came up with a new song, to the tune of Willie Nelson, On The Road
> Again:
>
> - In the Van again ...
> - I just can't wait to get in the van again...
>
> .....
>
> A few pics:
> <https://picasaweb.google.com/rmelzer/MammothLakes?authkey=Gv1sRgCMK4p9fC4sntfg>
> https://picasaweb.google.com/syncronicity1/MammothLakes?authkey=Gv1sRgCJe9irD0mom7sAE
>
> Roland
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