Volks,
	Here is the first installment of my GNATT trip report - it's kind of
longwinded... but first!  I would like to publicly thank all of the 
people that went out of their way to participate in this trip:

Pete Sellers and Rose
Joel Walker
Gerry Skerbitz & family
Sami & Maria Dakhlia
Mike Wright

... and those that met up with the tour at some point:

Barry & Marguerite Nichols
The tuna bombers
Mark and Toni
Tobin and Christa

... and special thanks to Alistair & Margaret Bell, and Al, Riley, and
Sophie for hosting GNATT at their place for a day!

Thanks to all of you - especially to Pete for sticking with us for over
half of the tour - Meeting fellow listmembers was, as expected, a very
enjoyable experience.  We will have to do it again (but not too soon!)
:)!

-David

Saturday, May 20th

	Got up early to finish packing up the bus.  Still had laundry to do.
	We were shooting for a noonish departure time, but it looked like we
	wouldn't make it out till at least two, when we got an invite to tour
	a nuclear aircraft carrier that was parked here in San Diego - the
	Constellation (I kept thinking of Star Trek!), which was just too
	cool to pass up.  We (Shelley and I) decided to go and postpone our
	departure a few more hours.  Finally hit the road at 7:45 p.m.
	loaded to the gills.  Mileage 91517.

	Some things I brought along:

	100 ft extention cord, Battery charger, Lantern, Table, Lawn chairs,
	Melodica, 2 x tarp, bucket, rope, large bowl, pot, skillet, electric
	heater (110V), 2 x cylinder head, alternator, distributor, normal
	tools plus compression tester, vacuum gauge, floor jack, valve
	spring compressor, extra valves, ring compressor, extra rings, vise,
	electric drill, jigsaw, soldering iron, grease, oil, solvent,
	sealant, jumper cables, spark plug gapper, extra plugs, wires,
	points, wiper blades, hoses, propane cylinders, condenser.  There
	was more, but that's all I can remember right now.  Oh yeah, we
	also had four batteries - three to power the fridge and inverter,
	and one to start the bus.

	So, we drove out interstate 8, about 3 miles and stopped at a
	supermarket.  Bought $72.19 worth of food.  Mostly drinks and
	canned food (I didn't know why at the time!).  About 2 hours later
	we rolled into El Centro, Calif. which is nothing more than a
	glorified truck stop.  Ate dinner at KFC at 9:30 p.m.. 91618.
	Gassed up at Yuma, AZ at 11 p.m. 91683.  Decided to try to make it
	to Phoenix, or close, before we stopped for the night.  Made it
	about 10 more miles before I got groggy and decided to stop.  
	Pulled off on a dirt road and behind an embankment and slept it
	off.  Outside temp at midnight was 78 degrees.  Bus running a little
	warm, oil pressure 30-35, oil temp 220, at about 60mph.

Sunday, May 21st

	Woke up at 7:30, from the sun shining on the bus.  The interior was
	getting hot, fast!  Fridge interior temp had already risen to 40.1
	degrees due to inadequate ventilation to the cooling fins behind.
	Woofed down some wheaties and hit the road.  It was during the time
	that Shelley and I were straigtening up in the morning that we
	realized we had brought waaaaaay to much stuff.  We had basically
	one cabinet for all of our clothes, and one drawer for toiletries
	and the like.  Not at all adequate.  We were on the road by 8:15.
	Got gas at Phoenix - starting to get really warm outside!  Leaving
	Phoenix, the bus begins to surge at part throttle, and idle poorly
	at stoplights.  "Oh well," I think, "at least we made it out of
	California before our first mechanical problem".  I pull over and
	the bus sounds like cr*p.  Idling real rough.  First thing to
	check is the idle solenoids, but they are both hooked up.  Crap.
	Can't see anything else wrong.  In desparation, I start wiggling
	wires at their connections, and when I wiggle the right idle
	solenoid wire, it smoothes out real nice.  Hmmm... oh well, guess
	I should be happy.  Make a mental note to pull the connector and
	clean it later.  Fridge not getting any cooler - 41.4 degrees, but
	it is 91.8 inside the camper, on the *floor*.  I pull out the 
	drawer over the fridge and feel the air behind it.  It is much
	hotter than the ambient 92 degree air.  Installing the vent fan in
	back was one of the many things I didn't have time to do before
	we left.  Doh.  Next stop was Camp Verde, AZ.  Ate lunch at Taco
	Bell, and while we were eating we notice this store next door.  It
	appears to be a souvenier/used clothes type place.  We go over to
	check it out, and it turns out it  is actually a souvenier/used
	clothes/porno-movie-rental/tool-supply/jewelry/Indian-art type
	place.  Duh.  I was amazed to find that this place had some really
	exotic tools, like winches and torque wrenches.  Bought a hacksaw
	and some drill bits.  Shelley got a really nice denim skirt and
	some sunglasses.  NOW we feel like tourists!  Sorry this is all one
	paragraph, but I'm in kind of a rush.  :)  Stopped at the meteor
	crater, which was about a 5 mile drive from the highway, for a
	looksee.  2 x $7 admission (ouch!) later we are inside.  It's, like,
	a hole in the ground.  A really, really BIG hole in the ground!
	Actually, it was quite a sight to behold.  It is supposedly one of
	the largest, best preserved craters around.  We believed them.
	Bought some postcards and an Arizona patch (Shelley collects
	patches) and got goin.  Gas in Navajo, AZ.  Climbed up to about
	7,000 feet going through Flagstaff - beautiful forested country.
	Still rather high up as we hit the New Mexico border.  We're
	heading for Red Rock State Park, which was supposed to have showers,
	hookups, and $8 admission.  It was all true!  Red Rock State Park
	was just over the border in New Mexico, and looked a lot like the
	one in California - gigantic rock walls all around the campground -
	except this one had a river running through it.  River?  Huh?  Oh
	yeah, that was a movie.  A bad movie.  Now I remember.  Anyway,
	RRSP NM was really nice - highly recommended!  Mileage 92205

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David Schwarze                     '73 VW Safare Custom Camper  (Da Boat)
San Diego, California, USA         '73 Capri GT 2800            (Da Beast)
e-mail: des@teleport.com           '87 Mustang Lx 5.0           (Da Sleeper)
http://www.teleport.com/~des       '93 Weber WG-50              (Da Piano)
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