Happy trails Mark and clan! Many thanks for the hitch and safe travels down the Pacific Coast. Again, I highly recommend the canyon country the Escalante valley has to offer. Hole-in-the-rock road can be a little bumpy, but nothing your Syncro couldn't handle. I look forward to hearing a report down the road.

Take care and have fun!

Tyler

On Nov 17, 2011, at 12:13 PM, Mark Tuovinen <aksyncronaut@GMAIL.COM> wrote:

> Thanks to all whom offered storage for our `87 Westy Syncro in the Seattle
> area in preparation for the Road Trip my family is taking starting December
> 15th.  In the end the person whom was furthest away from the Tacoma Docks
> has turned out to be the best arrangement thanks to Campbell Boyz Trucking
> a local(Alaskan) company that will drop our van at Daryl's place for
> $400.00 less than the shipping companies wanted just to get it to the
> Tacoma Docks.  We left our van with them yesterday and it should leave town
> by Saturday headed South to warmer weather.  It felt strange packing it for
> though we are going camping for this portion of the trip it only has gear,
> clothes, tools, spare parts(it is a Vanagon after all), and other misc on
> board.  It will feel great to arrive at Darly's on Dec 15th and fire it up
> to head South towards the sun and warmer weather.  Our route will take us
> to Eugene, OR where we hope to spend the first night and visit with friends
> we have not seen in a few years.  We will depart there on the 16th and head
> for Arcata, CA to pick up our daughter from college.  From there we will
> head South with the intention of being at Van Cafe on the 19th for bumpers
> and maybe a new three window canvas to replace the aging original in our
> van.  Other stops in California may include GoWesty, friends in Torrance
> and ???? depending upon time, desires, and opportunity.  After that we will
> head East to visit family in Sedona for Christmas.  Hopefully it will be
> warmer there this year than is was last January when we visited and it was
> colder than back home in Anchorage.  Plans beyond Christmas are not set but
> will probably include other stops in Arizona, and making our way through
> parts of New Mexico to visit a friend and former employee in El Paso, TX.
> We will have to be in Sacramento by January 15th so our then 9yr old son
> can fly home to Grandmas care while we continue back to Arcata to drop our
> daughter off for her next semester.  Once that is done we will head North
> to Seattle where Daryl has graciously offered to store our Westy until we
> either ship it home or fly down come Spring and drive it home.
> 
> Among the lessons learned in preparation for this trip is no matter how
> busy you are during the Fall owning and operating a Childrens Store and one
> catering to Teens and Young Adults take time away from work to get your van
> packed and ready.  It was near `0F with a strong North Wind yesterday while
> I spent several hours packing the van.  Not the most pleasant of
> experiences but it had to be done.  Lesson number two is that the wife is
> willing to spend money on the van to make it nicer for trips like this thus
> we will finally get the new top canvas and decent bumpers.  We will also
> finally add a second battery, not something we need much up here as Summer
> camping in the Land of the Midnight Sun means you do not use cabin lighting
> very often.
> 
> We hope to have the opportunity to meet up with fellow List Members when
> and where time allows so if anyone is interested just let us know and we
> will see if it can be scheduled.  I also hope to have the chance to look at
> other Westy's we meet up with in hopes of finding ideas for interior
> lighting, storage, or other must have improvements to try on our van.
> 
> Again thanks to those of you able to offer assistance.
> 
> Mark in AK
> `87 Westy Syncro