Hey All,

We always read these horror stories from the road of breakdown and
underpowered VWs (I have sent some). Well, I wanted to report a
positive story. In late June I embarked on a WildWest Adventure with
my two dogs to visit family and friends and play a big Ultimate
Frisbee tournament in the Seattle area. My, new to me, 91 Westy-
Zenith with 164k appeared in fine running order, but I was still
terrified of a breakdown with such high miles and my little knowledge
of her past... Time contraints kept me from a full testing of all the
utilities before departure. So, it wasn't until the day I was leaving
that I discovered the fridge and the water pump didn't work. I have a
full trip report if you're really bored, but in synopsis, all went
well. Zenith ran like a champ. She could go 70 all day if I wanted her
to. Top speed I hit was probably 85 on a mountain descent. Yes, we
crept up many mountains being passed like a guardrail by other MVs. I
almost cancelled this trip due to gas prices... the most I paid was
$2.59 and least was $2.08. I averaged about 21 mpg. So, I could have
flown out twice over for what I spent, but seeing my dogs swimming in
the Pacific and having my bicycle there to tour Vancouver and
Bellingham and Bozeman and Missoula was worth it. I had zero hotel
expenses and ate out of the van the entire time which certainly saves
money. Best road: Chuckanut Highway south of Bellingham-just gorgeous!
Worst roads-my hometown Madison, WI. What is up with all our
potholes!? Got pulled over once in South Dakota for a license plate
violation. The Man let me off after seeing my temp Wisconsin plate and
meeting my German Shepherds (he is a K9 officer). Got my fridge up in
Bellingham with help from John at Northwest Campers. Love the propane
mode! Made ice for my drinks at Potlatch. Everywhere I went peaople
admired my ancient German engineered camper. By the way between
Madison and Bozeman I saw zero Vanagons. From Bozeman west they were
everywhere. The PNW is certainly ripe and Bellingham and Vancouver are
a goldmine of vans (many for sale). My wave return ratio was pretty
low though folks.. I'd say one in five waved back at me.

I have a ton of photos on my photo blog if your bored:
<http://flickr.com/photos/newlow/>

In all I logged 4500 miles. Probably listened to all 10,000 songs on
my iPod. My dogs are ready to do the trip again... maybe we just need
to move that way?

R.
-- 
The best way to make your dreams come true is to wake up.