"cute chicks DO work at Ranger Stations"  always the case! :)

Happy Friday,

Joe
OR.

-----Original Message-----
>From: neil N <musomuso@GMAIL.COM>
>Sent: Sep 11, 2008 5:58 PM
>To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>Subject: Trip Report (WA/OR)
>
>Hi all.
>
>A condensed version:
>
>http://tubaneil.googlepages.com/ccor08trip
>
>The EP version:
>
>Things got off to a late start last Friday due to a rusty rear
>trailing arm. http://tubaneil.googlepages.com/TrailingArmHole3.jpg
>Thankfully, I found a guy to weld it up.
>http://tubaneil.googlepages.com/TrailingArmWelded2.jpg Hit the road
>around 3 and hit the border at around 4:30/5. Things went well, and it
>was off to the races!
>
>Enjoyed a drive along the Chuckanut (sp?). Stayed the first night in
>Bayview WA. Being a Friday, it  was crowded (and I pulled in around 7
>or 8) but was quiet and uneventful. As per usual, enjoyed a fire with
>some beers. (I didn't drink the fire)
>
>Toppled out just before 11 AM and made the long trek from Bayview to
>Catherines Creek OR for the Wet Westy reunion. Took I-5 (yuk), 90,
>Ellensburg, Yakima, dicked around finding 82/395 to Hermiston,
>Pendleton, La Grande then Union. "Whew!" Quite a long drive I must
>say, and I did go through/slow leak about 3/4 litre of oil, but the
>engine ran great. Rolled into CC around 9 and met up with some of the
>late night crowd. Chris (last name?) belted out some tunes including
>the complete version of Alices restaurant. (!) The other person
>playing guitar added her dulcet tones with tunes of her own. (sorry.
>Not the best at recalling names). I think I even recall "Rain Drops
>Keep Falling on My Head". Chatted with Jim, Phil Z, Bob, Lorne, etc.
>Hit the hay at a reasonable hour. In terms of finding the CC CG, I
>must say that I should be better prepared with better maps. OR GPS!
>Finding CC with marginal headlights wasn't the most fun I've had......
>but..... what a great bunch of people! Really enjoyed meeting them.
>Had a good time comparing engine swap notes and chatting with
>Jim/Lisa, (thanks for the top Jim!) Phil, (thanks for the SS nuts
>Phil!) Lorne, who had a good laugh over the story of my skunky
>sousaphone, Vancouver Bernie, Bob (I call him "quiet" Bob..... he
>doesn't know this yet.... ), Jason, Rolf, Tim etc. Again, not so good
>with the old name recall, and didn't meet everyone, but chatted with
>quite a few folks. I only regret I didn't get there on Friday!
>
>My stays at Barnhouse USFS, La Pine SP, Elk Lake were uneventful, and
>I ended up heading toward Salem where I enjoyed a visit with Charlie
>and Cheryl. But, I decided to do the long drive back from Salem to
>Vancouver that night. Ended up sleeping a couple hours at a rest area
>just outside of Seattle. A wise decision. Woke up at ~ 4 AM, made some
>horrible instant coffee, and it was back to the races. How convenient
>are these Vanagons/Westies eh?! --- :^)
>
>Highlights:
>
>Daytime temps were downright balmy, but evenings were cold up higher.
>Noteably at Elk Lake.
>
>In Bend OR, not far after heading in from the south, there is a great
>parts place on the LH side. They had exactly the serp belt I needed
>(really. why wasn't I carrying a spare??) and have a good collection
>of stuff.
>
>Aside from a family of raccoons (one who was sadly splattered) no
>notable wildlife, human or otherwise, were spotted or harmed. Many
>chipmunks and squirrels though. I hope I don't have any passengers!
>
>The Thermarest mattresses helped out my engine "lump". My Eton "crank"
>radio fits the bill nicely (though i should have gotten the SW one) I
>especially like that it has Weather "channels", it's fairly small,
>sounds good and pulls in stations well.
>
>My fridge stayed lit the whole time, and kept food quite cold (not an
>amazing feat given the night time temps) But it was pretty hot on a
>couple of days so I figure it performed quite well.
>
>Barnhouse USFS CG was uber quiet and really nice if you're into the
>Pack in/out pit toilet thing. La Pine CG had noisy dirt bike or ?
>nearby at 4 AM!
>
>In the 2600+ KM's travelled, I used less than a litre of oil. Gas
>mileage *seemed* to be better than my air cooled engine though I
>didn't measure this. Having REAL HEAT was AWESOME. Being able to slam
>it into 3rd to boot away from errant freeway on rampers was really
>useful.
>
>Sisters OR is a nice little town, but I errantly ended up buying
>alcohol free Becks there. Thankfully, I had spares.
>
>Stuff I learned:
>
>cute chicks DO work at Ranger Stations
>buy cold food/beer late aft or night then stock your fridge. Turn it
>to Max ASAP in the morning. Let the ice/frost gather.
>buy forestry maps in advance. Buy good state maps. Check the state map
>out before buying it.
>read the label (see "Becks" above)
>if possible, pick level campsites
>if you're tired, take a nap at a rest area. It does wonders.
>asking for directions *usually* helps, but again, a good map or GPS is
>the way to go
>
>I had an awesome time. And though there were tiny details on the Westy
>as a whole that need to be worked out, the engine ran great, my canvas
>patches held fine, the welds at the trailing arm are fine still, the
>fridge did it's thing, the terrain was spectacular, the weather was
>awesome, and above all, I met some really neat people.
>
>Cheers,
>
>Neil.
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>--
>Neil Nicholson '81 JettaWesty "Jaco
>http://groups.google.com/group/vanagons-with-vw-inline-4-cylinder-gas-engines
>http://web.mac.com/tubaneil
>http://tubaneil.googlepages.com/

Have a nice Day :)