Bryan,

Re:  "So the question is, does anybody still drive a Vanagon (or loaf) as a daily driver out there? What are you doing with those vans? Are there people here that (gulp) just use the van for camping?  I could never understand that one."

My family has both a daily driver and a camping only Vanagon.  We have three vans, one for parts which I need to disassemble or sell(got to keep the wife & neighbors happy) the other two are driven.  All are Syncro's, one a Westy, one with sunroof, and the parts van.  Of the two that are street legal the Westy is only driven during the summer months and while I drove it daily for the last three summers it will mostly be a camping rig from this point forward.  Last Fall I purchased our Sunroof Syncro for a daily driver and will continue to use it as such but am also modifying it to suit my tastes.  It came with the standard 7 passenger interior with which I am replacing with rear jumpseats and the folding table so that it will better fit my needs.  With curtains, a cooler and a campstove it will be what I drive when I am going somewhere and don't want to take the Westy.

"Are there places besides CA where there are some VW vans left or are most parts of the country as vanless as SE PA?"

There are plenty of Vanagons and few Loaf's roaming Alaska, many are parked during the winter months but some are on the road year round.  I have never tried to count but it seems that a large percentage of them are Westy's and/or Syncro's, which makes sense considering our climate.

Mark in AK