Date:         Mon, 23 Sep 1996 13:29:02
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         EXPRES@gnn.com (RON SALMON)
Subject:      NAWWAL:  Final Trip Report (long)

Just arrived home after our nearly one month cross-country trip, from Ca. 
to Pa., in an '83 w/c Westy.  Happy to report no significant mechanical 
problems (other than the transaxle problem at the very start of the trip 
that I detailed before).  Actually, the Vanagon ran like a champ the whole 
way.  Only problem was a sticky starter solenoid that required coersion 
with a hammer on a couple of occasions.  

This is the end of the VW content, because basically there isn't anything 
else to say.  We got in it, turned the key, drove all day, and it ran 
great. The sink, stove, and fridge all continued to work great.  It was as 
a cross-country trip should be - automotively uneventful. 

Without boring you with a day by day report on where we went, I will 
mention a couple of highlights that I would recommend to anyone who does a 
similar trip (obvious stops like Grand Canyon, etc. excluded). 

Pismo Beach State Vehicle Recreation Area (just recently renamed something 
else, I think, but the above should suffice) is a beach located just next 
to the town of Pismo Beach, about 2/3 of the way down from San Francisco to 
L.A..  You can drive right on the beach itself, along the water, and for 
$6.00 a night, just park and camp right there.  We arrived just in time to 
see the sunset over the ocean (something new for us; remember, we are from 
the east coast, where the sun _rises_ over the Atlantic ocean).  Parked 
right near the water, and practically had the whole beach to ourselves all 
night. It is a long expanse of beach, and you can pretty much pull anywhere 
and camp.  No one else was visable in either direction.  We dug a pit in 
the sand and made a campfire, and then slept in the Westy with the waves 
crashing right behind us.  Quite an experience for an east coaster used to 
sharing the Jersey Shore beaches with a million sunbathers plus assorted 
sewage and garbage that frequently washes onto the beach.   

Puerto Penasco is yet another beach community located in Mexico, off the 
Arizona border.  (No, we did not spend our entire trip at beaches!)  We had 
seen an article in the Pa. newspaper that touted Puerto Penasco as the 
preverbial "best kept secret" of Mexico, and decided to try it out.  They 
were right.  You access it from Arizona, about an hour or two from Phoenix. 
(Spend the night before sleeping among the cacti, at Organ Pipe Cactus 
National Monument, just 10 minutes before the Mexican border.) That 
particular border is some sort of free zone, which means minimal hassles 
for American tourists.  We drove right into Mexico without even being 
stopped, and on the way out weren't even asked for as much as a drivers 
license.  This is Mexican desert, and other than a small border town there 
is nothing for about 45 minutes until you get to Puerto Penasco, a small 
fishing village turned shore resort community.  White beaches, blue water, 
and actually very few tourists (at least in Sept.) Not seedy at all.  Safe, 
tranquil, and mostly bilingual.  We stayed in the Plaza, the local luxury 
hotel, for about $70 a night.  (Figured what the heck, at $70 for a hotel 
that would be $150-200 in the US, we could spend some of the money we saved 
by camping.) I suspect that it and the other hotels, motels, and RV 
campgrounds (many of them very inexpensive) were at about 10-20% occupancy. 
 We practically had the beaches, pool, local restaurants, etc. to ourselves 
on Thursday, and even on the weekend there were no crowds anywhere.  My 
wife and I have been to the Carribean, etc. and agreed that this was easily 
as nice, and much more affordable.  We will definately be back, as long as 
it remains so uncrowded. (I don't imagine that there are enough people on 
this list to affect that!)

Sedona, Arizona (just south of Flagstaff) is also worth mentioning.  As we 
drove south from Flagstaff, we found ourselves driving through a state park 
with green trees and rippling streams along the road.  Went around a bend, 
and suddenly there are these huge, bright clay colored mountains and 
formations filling the horizon.  I can't even decribe the beauty of these 
mountains and the area as a whole; you would have to see it for yourself.  
Topping it off was a full rainbow going across the mountains.  We followed 
the end of the rainbow and it led to Sedona.  Sedona is an artist community 
nestled among these beautiful mountains.  Lots of southwestern and indian 
art galleries and crafts shops, and nice but affordable restaurants with 
great views.  (Also a good alternative food market.  Tried lots of unusual 
food in Sedona - ostrich steaks, bison burgers, cactus, etc.)  Hadn't 
planned to stay in Sedona, but ended up spending a day.  Highly recommended 
stop on the way from the Grand Canyon to Puerto Penasco, Mexico.

Of course there were many, many other great places along the way that were 
everything we had expected (Grand Canyon, Redwoods, Outer Banks in NC, 
French Quarter in New Orleans, etc.), but the above 3 particularly stand 
out because they were unexpected high points of the trip.  

Anyway, I want to thank those of you who invited is over, or offered your 
phone number in the event of van problems. We brought your letters with us, 
and read them as we drove through each area, but in most cases we were not 
in the right places at the right times.  We hope to make a similar trip 
next year (perhaps the northern route cross country), and hopefully, will 
catch up with more of you then.

Also, a special thanks to Kyle Wade of Volks Cafe in Santa Cruz, Ca, 
without whom the trip would not have been possible.

Anyway, it's good to be back home.  Believe it or not, I've really missed 
this List!

-Ron Salmon
 '85 Vanagon Westy
 '83 Vanagon Westy (just back from the above trip, probably for sale)
 '63 Deluxe Microbus
 '76 Westy (FOR SALE)