Just arrived in the desert sw after a smooth and pleasant trip along the
east slopes of the Western coastal mountains.  A favorable weather pattern
allowed me to take other than the I-5 super-slab.  Made The Dalles, Or. to
Gardnerville, Nv. the first day's driving on dry roads.  Slept over in a
Walmart lot in about 15f temps with my doggie as a heater.  On to Bishop,
Ca. where I stopped for the morning to ride my bicycle back up the Sherwin
Grade on the old highway.  Mid-Dec. almost, and riding was pleasant in
shorts, with a surprising number of cyclists out for mid week early winter
in a small remote city.
I recorded an all-time high gas mileage @ 26.xx mpg, bringing my recent
(since I begin using the Fuelly app to track my mileages) average to 24+
mpg. My ABA 2.0 l inline VW is doing good.
  Woke and found a flat, loose valve-stem, easy.  Also my idle has now
began to sometimes be too low...either the Idle control valve or the
throttle switch.  Anyone have any simple way to determine which is causing
the problem? I know the IAC valve hums.. Haven't gone in to listen for that
yet.
  Today the west coast storm caught up and it's actually sprinkling in the
desert.  Don Hanson