Hi Folks

Just came back from a trip to Bahia de las Animas. You can see the
pictures at http://www.cse.psu.edu/~camps/animas/animas.html

The trip is well worth it, but I would be cautious if driving a 2WD
westy. It is 40 miles from the nearest paved road (such as it is), with
moderate to severe washboarding, and the last 10 on a sandy dirt track
across the desert (much of it at the bottom of a dry "arroyo").
You should have seen the faces of other people camping there (with big
"macho" rigs) when a humble vanagon westy  (no 4WD stickers anywhere, just a
modest, tiny syncro badge on the rear) made its appearance and proceeded along
 the sandy beach without getting stuck (thanks goodness for the diff lock).
Then the tide came and we couldn't leave until it went out again, but that's
another story.  Pmail me for details or directions  if interested.

Many thanks to those who answered my earlier request for mechanic
references around Pasadena, to strictly german for putting in new shocks
(from Vanagain) and to Bella in Burbank for diagnosing my own "running rich"
problem. (No, it was not the O2 sensor, temp sensor, ECU, or idle stabilizing
valve). It was....squirrels deciding to make a nest next to the idle stabilizing control relay and chewing all the wiring in the process!! (in my van the
relay is hidden behind the snorkel for the air filter intake, so this was
not readily apparent!

Cheers

Mario