Date:         Sat, 2 Sep 1995 07:57:02 -0700 (PDT)
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Jeff Rosen <jeffro@u.washington.edu>
Subject:      Trip report: installment II

Joel- for some reason, this keeps bouncing back to me when I send it to 
vanagon@lenti....  but, as you said you were compiling a bunch of 'em...

Here's a bit more on the 8,422 mi. journey we (myself, wife, Kermit the '78
Westy) completed Sunday----- I thought I was the only one into reading 
about other folks' journeys :-0

August 1:  Left Yuma bright and early.  We're starting to figure out that 
the weather ain't really gonna be much like home, in Seattle.  9:30AM= 98F.
But Kermit's running strong, and most of Southern Arizona's flat, so no 
sweat.  Tam and I see our first organ pipe cactus- otherworldly.  And 
some huge Saguaros- very cool, how they grow so slow.  We have several of 
them we planted as seeds over a year ago, and they're barely a 1/4 inch tall.
The suckers on the side of the interstate, however, are HUGE, and look like 
people standing on the hills all around.  We see an overturned Semi-truck 
up ahead, and realize state cops are detouring traffic around it.  While 
waiting to be funneled off the highway onto a side road, we decide to see 
what we can down south, then head north toward Flagstaff for the night- 
wimpy us, we yearn for the cool air one expects at a mile above sea level.
	But first, we have plenty to see.  Casa Grande, southeast of 
Phoenix an hour or two, was impressive.  Very old ruin.  En route to 
Phoenix from there, we feel the difference between intense dry heat and 
intense heat coupled with humidity: where man has endeavored to farm, he 
(or she) must also irrigate.  Above an air temp of 100F or so, such areas 
are a wet sticky mess for human beings.  Plants love it, though.
Passed through Phoenix around 6:00pm, temp around 111F.  Not bad, says I, 
after feeling 116F in Gila Bend earlier.  Tammy can't tell the 
difference, and is on the verge of heatstroke  :-(.
	We pull off at Lake Pleasant around sundown (beautiful golden 
sunset), swim in bathtub-like water, and get back into the car, into the 
blast furnace heat (air-cooled owners just love blasting the dash heat in 
such conditions, let me tell you).  Tammy barfs, we stop for cold drinks 
and more cold air.  Inside the roadhouse bar, the guy is eying the camper.
"I had a '76", the old fellow says.  I jump into conversation as Tammy 
soaks in the cool air.  The guy tells me the climb into Flagstaff is a 
pretty steep grade- good thing we're running it at night.  He adds that 
the roadside is always lined with people whose cars overheated- not cool.
We head out, and up.  Sure enough, as my wife sleeps, I count 10 cars on 
the side of the road up to Phoenix.  Kermit does fine.  I'm pleased.
	We pull off to get gas in Green Valley, and are attacked by 
swarms of little, green, flying beetles.  They're everwhere- days later, 
I find a couple (alive) under my rooftop gas cans.  We pull into 
Flagstaff around 11:30pm, too late for an easy drive-thru dinner.  But 
Subway's open, so we pull in.  The kid inside makes bus conversation, and 
upon noticing our Washington plates, asks if we happen to have any 
Seattle smoking substance.  Just so happens we do, and we give him some.  
He, in return, gives us a *shitload* of chips- all kinds.  An odd trade, 
but we like it.
	We stay in Sedona under pines and stars.  life is good.
	Next day, we do tourist stuff.  Grand Canyon- pictures don't do 
it justice.  Navajo reservation- you can feel the culture, its ancient 
pulse.  We stay a night at each.
	The 4th, our anniversary, we stay in Santa Fe, NM.  This, we 
decide, is the place to live.  Edge of the desert, skiing nearby at Taos.
Our 5 year celebration day was perfect.  If you discount the blowout we 
experienced outside Albuquerque.  Humming along, 65 mph, and whoosh!  We 
were swaying like the business-end of a diamondback.  The good part was, 
after limping in on an underinflated spare into Albuquerque, we were able 
to experience a Pep Boys!  Yep, I went for the cheapo special on tires- 
gotta conserve funds.  Mistake?  Perhaps it was going for 205x75x14's 
without reinforced sidewalls.  All the way up to Santa Fe the slightest 
sidewind sent us across the pavement.  After our night on the town, we 
hit another Pep Boys the next morning, where the genuinely nice guys 
there swapped the jumbo rubber for a set of OEM-size 185x70's.  Much 
better.
	That night we stayed in Taos, after hitting Santa Fe Vineyards- 
more nice folk.  The owner told us not to miss Chimayo and other old 
towns; he advised taking "the back way" to Taos.  Scary roads, but a good 
call.  
We saw a very old (1760) church, and a Catholic "healing sanctuary," 
where devotees still show up regularly to be cured of what ails 'em.  
Driving the back roads proved to be the joy of the trip in any state- 
people are friendly, and you can see a lot more than on the interstates 
if you're willing to get yer rump out of the vehicle.
	From Taos, we headed West then North.  We bought "package liquor" 
on the way.  This is seriosly bizarre.  You can pull up to a cantina, to 
a side window, where a voice from inside will take your order.  In our 
case, it was two ice-cold Tecates.  The figure inside came back shortly, 
beer in hand, and asked me if I'd like them *opened*!  I declined, paid 
for the brews, and away we went, slackjawed.  We'd been warned in Seattle 
about trying to get alcohol in "dry" areas: this, like many others across 
the country, must have been a wet one.  
	Spent the night in Chama, in N. New Mexico.  I wondered if I'd 
made a mistake not installing oil guages and an extra cooler- these 
thoughts were the stuff of my nightmares til dawn...

End of part II.

Gotta run- late to pick wife up from work!
-Jeff