I'm thinking I'll do an installment of the trip report each=20
Friday.  Hope you all enjoy!

NOTE: These reports my be a little long, so be forewarned!

                          The Big Trip
                    A preface to the story

Finally I can do the trip report for the circum-continental=20
road trip Christa and I took in the first three months of=20
this year.  Maybe I needed a couple of months to reflect on=20
our experiences, or perhaps I am just intrinsically lazy. =20
Let me provide a little background here.

Both Christa and I enjoy travelling immensely.  Christa=20
never had many opportunities to travel when she was younger. =20
My father and I would jump in our =D476 Rabbit and drive from=20
Vancouver to Iowa and back to visit relative most summers. =20
My father is a geographer, and I shared his interests in the=20
environment around us--watching the landscape change as it=20
slid by, figuring distances to places we might visit or=20
stay, and just poring over the road atlas for hours. =20

I think it was on these trips that I first thought, "gee, it=20
would be neat to drive all the way around North America." =20
Too bad I was only 8 or 9 years old, because dad wouldn't=20
let me borrow the car.

Last year found me working in a job I hated, and Christa=20
feeling stagnated in her work.  Both of us were stressed=20
out, and didn't know what to do with this "life" thing. =20
Last summer, Christa and I were driving near Grand Forks,=20
B.C. on the very mountainous Crow's Nest Highway when=20
Christa lost control of our little Korean econobox and sent=20
the two of us through the on-coming lane and off the=20
opposite embankment backwards and upside-down at about 100=20
km/h.  The car rolled, hit and climbed a tree, acquired a=20
highly unusual shape, and landed right way up.  Poor car. =20
Bye, bye car.  We were both OK, and I walked away without a=20
scratch. =20

We were both impressed with how quickly life could end. =20
Epiphany!  We needed a change, so...

We had been admiring VW buses for some time, so I joined the=20
vanagon list, bought a St. Muir book, and we started looking=20
for a westy to welcome into our family.  Christa cashed some=20
of her savings and we bought a slightly neglected, but=20
basically sound mango-coloured 1976 westy for $3,000.  We=20
set our departure date for January 1.  Christa arranged a 3=20
month leave of absence from her work, while I waited until 6=20
weeks before we left, then walked into my boss's office and=20
gave my notice.  I worked until 3 days before our departure,=20
then... free!

PREPARATION

I won't go into mechanical details here, except to say I=20
sent most of my spare time the last two months before we=20
left going over the vehicle.  Major items include:

1) Installation of an Eberspacher BN-4 auxilary gas heater.    =20
   I pulled one out of a junk yard in Chilliwack for $50.00. =20
   I installed it with an electrical on/off switch wired to=20
   the dashboard.  It has no thermostat control.

2) I bondo'd up holes behind the front wheel wells which=20
   were allowing water to soak the interior when driving on=20
   wet roads.

3) Christa and I roamed junk yards and got stuff to repair=20
   all the broken interior fittings.  I replaced the sink=20
   water pump and faucet. We bought a porta-potti, and I=20
   built a box to contain it.  I built another box that fit=20
   between the two front seats, to hold stuff we might want=20
   to access while driving. =20

4) We bought 6 gallon jerry cans for gasoline and water=20
   (separate cans!), and a small (one gallon?) solar shower. =20

5) Christa and I replaced the padding in the front seats,=20
   which were pretty trashed when we bought the van.  We=20
   spent a couple of nice evenings together removing the old=20
   padding, taping the new foam into place, and putting the=20
   upholstery back on.  Very, very comfy seats when we were=20
   through!=20

6) Of course, I did a tune-up and replacement of plugs,=20
   points, distributor cap, rotor, all filters, and bled the=20
   brakes.  I also had new front shocks put on, replaced a=20
   couple of CVs and CV joint boots, and replaced a=20
   rusty/sticking throttle cable. =20

7) We needed new rear tires, but decided to let them ride=20
   until California, where we figured they'd be cheaper.  It=20
   was only 1,000 miles to California, after all, and the=20
   tires weren't all that bad.

TIP: You can fit three manuals (Idiot Guide, Bentley,=20
Haynes) plus other stuff beside the normal under-the-seat=20
storage area.  There is a 5 or 6 inch gap between the body=20
of the car and the wooden side of the under-seat storage bin=20
(on the right side).  Slip your manuals, etc into this gap=20
and they won't get torn/soiled/bent. =20

For creature comforts, we brought lots of cooking stuff=20
(Christa's a professionally trained cook) and stuff to eat=20
with.  We bought a pair of those "itty-bitty book light"=20
things so we could read in bed, and so Christa could read=20
while I drove at night.  We bought a couple of those re-
usable sodium acetate heating pads for cold nights or for=20
injuries.  For serious heating in cold climates, we brought=20
a small electric ceramic heater (110V) for plugging in at=20
camp sites with hook-ups.  This heater could bring the=20
interior of the camper up to normal room temperature even=20
when it was 10 or 15 degrees below freezing.

We also brought a very nice Grundig Yacht Boy 400 Shortwave=20
receiver so we could stay in touch with what was going on=20
back home through Radio Canada International.  We brought a=20
program guide for RCI as well.  The radio was about the size=20
of a medium-sized hard-back book, so we were able to hide it=20
nearly anywhere it the camper.

Christa brought maybe 2 dozen books to read, so I built the=20
porta-potti box with enough shelf space to handle most of=20
these plus the reference books we took with us.  I recommend=20
the following books to anyone travelling to Mexico:

- The people's guide to Mexico, by Carl Franz, John Muir=20
  Publications (JMP).  This is not a "what to see/do guide",=20
  but a "how to live" book.  Absolutely indispensible.

- The people's guide to RV camping in Mexico, by Carl Franz,=20
JMP.  Very good, with specific recommendations for where to=20
stay from town to town, and with general how-to-survive=20
information as well.  Has very little (no?) information on=20
the Gulf Coast north of Veracruz, but otherwise is=20
absolutely terrific.=20

- Mexico: The real guide, by John Fisher, pub. by Prentice=20
Hall.  I don't normally like "guide" books, but this one is=20
for people who don't like "tourist" spots.  I found I often=20
agreed with his assessments of many places, and he pointed=20
out things worth seeing, and things to stay away from even=20
though other people will encourage you to go.  Good maps of=20
many towns as well. =20

- Where there is no doctor: a village health care handbook,=20
by David Werner, published by the Hesperian Foundation POB=20
1692 Palo Alto, CA 94302, ISBN 0-942364-01-3.  (In Spanish,=20
Donde No Hay Doctor).  Written very clearly at a low reading=20
level for people with no medical background.  Deals with=20
tropical diseases/hazards as well, which is something most=20
first world medical handbooks don't address.=20

OK, enough on preparation.  I'll cut to the trip, which I'll=20
send in separate messages over the next few weeks.  I'll=20
send the first part today, though.

Tobin
---------------------------------------------------------------------------=
---
Tobin T. Copley                  Currently              =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D =20
(604) 689-2660                    Occupationally       /_| |__||__| :| putt=
a
tobin@freenet.vancouver.bc.ca      Challenged!        O|             | putt=
a
                                                       '-()-------()-'=20
Circum-continental USA, Mexico, Canada 15,000 miles... '76 VW Camper! (Mang=
o)