Date:         Sat, 20 Jul 1996 11:49:46 -0400
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Eddiehintz@aol.com
Subject:      Trip Report: Portland et. al.

Hey now,
     Portland was a success! We picked up our third intrepid traveller to
Inuvik, my dad. My stepsister Signie put us all up in style, setting us up
with a decent camera, and new hiking boots for me! She works for Nike, and
she took me to the employee store, where I got a $70 pair of hiking boots for
$25! Major score, and way more comfortable than the cheapies I bought just a
few months ago in Austin. Avoid Claybrooke boots, they wore out in about 2
months. Junk.
     Signie's landlord worked in Alaska for customs right along the path that
we will travel, so we talked about the trip a little and he warned of
mosquitos and dust...  All told we had good experiences.
     I was able to replace our broken mirror from Chequered Flag Auto Parts
(yes, it's spelled right) for $16, many thanks to all the listfolks who
helped in the quest.
     We crossed the Columba river, snapping the obligitry pictures, and
stopped in Vancouver, Washington, to take up Todd & Becky Francis on their
wonderful offer of hospitality. Strange how VW people are all so nice, isn't
it? With very little notice-about 2 hours-Todd & Becky have been incredibly
hospitable, with a great chicken dinner and everything. We've been talking
list talk, trip talk, dog talk, and generally having a great old time.
Everyone's in bed now, except Todd, who is working dilligently in his shop,
making up for the time he lost chatting and being sociable with us, and
myself-typing this trip report. I've cc'd this report to vanagon@lenti in
thier honor...
     Samantha is very jelaous of Todd & Becky's '86 westy synchro, and is
twisting my harm... really hard...   ;-) I just wish I could get an aircooled
synchro...
     Todd gave myself and my dad a tour of his shop-he makes race parts for
VW dune buggies-and I'm writing this from his office, which has walls covered
with pictures and trophies from various races, including the Baja 1000. Very
cool, I'm envious. Way too much fun! 

      So. The first leg of our trip is nearly over. We have travelled over
3000 miles, in 2.5 weeks, consuming roughly $300 worth of 89 octane Chevron
gas. Our mileage has varied from a high of 25mpg to a low of 19mpg, with an
average of 21.6mpg. Our best mileage was on the downhill side of the
continental divide going out of New Mexico, our worst was going up PCH with
its nasty hairpin turns. Our bus has performed like a champ, our only real
problems being due to my carelesness. I'm looking forward to installing our
new oil temp guage, as I will then be able to tune for maximum efficency. So
far, being less than confident with my reliablility in performing the
dipstick test, I've opted on the side of conservatism. I've kept the mixture
rich, and the advance at about 30 degrees full advance, so I'm ready for a
more objective measure of temprature so I can tweak our engine for maximum
mileage. 
     We've crossed desert with 115 degree heat, and been through the rain of
the pacific northwest. We've driven at 8000 feet, and on the beach. We've
stayed with friends, relations, and at campgrounds. We've seen some of the
most scenic and beautiful lands America has to offer, visited 4 national
parks,  and several national forests. And we've had up close and personal
looks at many wild animals, including Elk and our hungry Black Bear. We have
teeth marks in our cooler to prove it...
     Tomorrow we will likely leave America and cross into Canada. And the
first part of our journey will be complete, nothing now but memories,
photographs, and new friends.
     Tomorrow we start fresh.
Peace,
Eddie