Date: Wed, 17 Jun 1998 23:13:39 EDT
Reply-To: KENWILFY@AOL.COM
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <Vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: KENWILFY@AOL.COM
Subject: Back from the road! (Long)
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Hey folks it was an excellent trip to California but it is great to be home
again. Saw the US from Long Island, New York, down the east coast, and then
across 40 west to San Francisco. It was great. I had really never camped in
a Westie before and didn't really have a desire to own one until now. We
spent four nights in it (My 90 year old granny on the bottom bed and my buddy
Brian and I bunked in the top) and basically lived in the thing. We ate,
drove, ate, drove some more, and managed to see the Oklahoma City bombing
site, the Grand Canyon, too much of the Sierra Nevada mountains from the
desert side, Seqouia National Forest, and San Fran with stops in many places
in between (like searching for internet access in Albquerque NM -- vain
attempt 'cause I couldn't find any!) Only mechanical problem was a tiny
exhaust leak that developed not long after we left New Jersey but you really
couldn't hear it anyway. Also the A/C turned out to need charging and so
fearing that the desert of the west would be hotter than Tennessee and
Arkansas (they were hot and very humid) I stopped at a gas station and got the
system charged with r-12 for $145! (an excellent deal since he had to add 3.25
pounds and he really wanted to go home but only charged me for the freon and
$20 for his time.)
After getting the A/C nice and cold then the weather turned nice and cool and
we really didn't use it again except for a little in the Mojave and then near
San Fran (aint that the way it works?)
Brian and I took turns. Every 150 miles we would stop, get gas, clean the
thick layer of bug splatter off the windshield, go to the restroom and then
swap drivers. That way we didn't get too tired and we could enjoy driving.
Memories of the states:
Tennessee- Really hot and humid
Arkansas- Still hot, a bunch of semis to ride behind, a nice night at Petite
Jean State Park (check this place out they have hook ups, very clean, lots to
see, and only $15.00 for a night!)
Oklahoma- Windy!!!!! Keep your eyes on the road and your hands upon the wheel.
The bomb site is not advertised we had to ask about it at the visitor's
center. A very solemn place. I could feel the hurt and loss there looking at
those pictures of people whose lives were so needlessly and violently taken.
Very sad.
Texas- Miles and miles of range, then suddenly a city, then back to the range
again.
Stayed at a nice KOA in Amarillo.
New Mexico- Very beautiful (no internet access that I could find anyway) The
bleached bones of cattle and horses used to line this trail now its the
rusting carcasses of vehicles that just didn't make the journey.
Arizona- Sunset Crater, the Painted Desert, the Anastazy Ruins (very cool),
the Grand Canyon (very nice I just wish I coulda hiked down into it or
something though)
Stayed at a nice KOA in Flagstaff. Also saw a Wolfsburg Vanagon for sale
there on 89 (?) asking about $7000.
California- Mojave desert, the southern part needs a lawn mower (every town we
went through looked like the grass had taken over), two very poor KOAs ( the
facilities were OK but the location in Bakersfield and Visilia were both in
industrial areas which stank -literally-.) Got confused and spent all day
Saturday searching for a mountain pass from the east side of the Sierra
Nevadas to the west side. Thought we had found one but the sign at the bottom
of the mountain said "Closed due to snow and ice". I said, "Yeah right it's
90 degrees outside, it must be an old sign" only to find out an hour and a
half of mountain driving in 2nd gear later that the sign was right and the
pass was closed (the remainder of the day was spent going back down the
mountain and then almost back to where we started in the morning :(
Sunday made up for it in Seqouia Forest. Excellent, nice and cool, and
something that I would recommend to anyone headed out that way. If you have
never seen these trees in real life you just can't imagine how big they really
are. One had fallen down a couple hundred years ago and people had used it
for a house, a stable, and a bar at different times.
Got to San Fran at sundown and went up to a place Sorin knew to check out the
city. Man is that place pretty at night. Also checked out the Hait Ashberry
section (wierd). I wish I could've seen more.
So we had a great trip, my grandmom finally got to see the Grand Canyon (the
purpose for the trip) and I got to see how really big America really is and
how much more there is to see (that means more trips in the future I hope.) I
praise God for giving me the opportunity to take this trip and for also
keeping the van running excellent and safe over all those miles (hey it's a
Vanagon you never know what is going to happen and any other Vanagon mech out
there will agree with me -right?- so we prayed every morning and I think that
really helped the trip turn out great.)
Well I just thought you folks (some of which were praying for us) would like
to know how things went. I want to thank Sorin at California Campers too for
providing the van and being a gracious host and all-around nice guy when we
finally met.
That's it for now folks.
Ken Wilford
John 3:16
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