dear vanagon traveler
that was a great trip report - thank you
like your self  - most of our trips this year have been tight in
circumference -
mostly due to time constraints-
but no matter what the circumstances of our journey - even to town (10
Miles)
my lovely wife almost always declares out loud-
"i sure do like our westie"
yours

On Mon, Sep 1, 2008 at 8:24 AM, Stephen Grisanti <bike2vcu@yahoo.com> wrote:

> We took a week and headed for the mountains of West Virginia, western
> Maryland and Pennsylvania.  Stayed first at Blackwater Falls SP in Davis
> WV.  Had planned to move on to Ohiopyle SP in Pennsylvania but our new old
> dog Hank (discarded Walker hound, blind in one eye and bad-hipped) showed us
> what he did during the first part of his life by jerking the leash out of my
> hand and tearing off after deer, baying to beat all.  He was recovered by a
> fellow camper hours later, filthy and scuffed and seemingly glad to be back
> in his new life again but wondering what all the fuss was about.
>
> Thanks to Hank we made it to PA a day behind schedule, just in time to
> learn that Frank Lloyd Wright's "Fallingwater" house is closed on
> Wednesdays, so that will be another trip.  If
>  you are planning to
>  camp in PA with pets, the
>  best single publication of the state's many offerings is the"Stay the
> Night" brochure.  It is the only reliable, non-conflicted source of info we
> could find on which parks allow pets AND camping (not every park permits
> each), and can save you many miles of driving and worry.  You might also
> check for Army Corps of Engineers campgrounds in your area for nice
> facilities near lakes.  These facilities are not always on other camping
> maps and the ones we saw (we stayed at Tionesta Lake) are very nice and may
> be underutilized.
>
> Our main goal for the trip was a drive along U.S. 6 across the top of PA
> through the Pennsylvania Wilds from Warren to the Delaware Water Gap.  Two
> days of drizzle meant that the chief feature of Cherry Springs SP, "Least
> light pollution of any spot on the Eastern Seaboard," would not make the
> planned starparties doable.  The trip was coming up bust as far as The Plan
> went, but that just makes things more interesting, right?
>
> Sightings included a battered, mossy aircooled Westy in the company of
> equally beat bay Westy and hardtop retired behind the Davis (WV) Car Wash; a
> brown early WBX Westy from CT with kayak and mountain bike on the roof rack
> parked beside the Youghiogheny River in Sang Run
>  MD (go see the Cranesville sub-arctic swamp if ever on the western border
> of Maryland);a very nice
>  late grey hardtop that passed us heading west near Warren, but I was
> looking away from road briefly and did not see it in time to wave; a red '91
> GL hardtop (7-passenger and NOT a Weekender, auto, alloys, decent grey cloth
> interior and glass, dented hatch, no tags) on Route 209 just east of
> Stroudsburg PA.  Someone needs to check this one out.  I have a phone number
> and pix.
>
> Bay van sightings (for those interested) include a Country Homes-looking
> camper just east of Warren, a white Westy with bra parked in Stroudburg and
> a beautiful red-and-white Westy heading west from Stroudsburg, a green Westy
> sitting alone in the middle of a huge empty lot off the King St. exit from
> I-81 in Shippensburg PA.  Also saw two EV hardtops and one Rialta.
>
> Our van ran great, not a hiccup.  The seats could be better for long days
> at the wheel, and it could use more power and big brakes in the mountains,
> but the A/C budget R-134A conversion worked well when needed and
>  I topped 300 miles on a tank for the first time.  How this
>  happened I do
>  not know, but we've never broken the 20 MPG barrier before and this trip
> we had four consecutive tanks over 21 with a best tank of 22.22 MPG, heavily
> loaded and with a big dog, and with the A/C on for at least 1/3 of that
> tank.  That is approaching miraculous in my book, but driving 45-50 probably
> had the biggest impact on that. At this rate of improvement, the van will be
> producing gasoline before long instead of consuming it.
>
> Glad to be back home, but equally glad to be part of the Westy camping
> community.  It's a great way to spend a vacation and you folks help make it
> possible.  Thanks!
>
> Stephen
>
>
>
>
>

--
roger w
There are two kinds of jobs in the world:
Picking up garbage and telling people things.
Successful people do both, with the same good attitude. (riw)
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