Volks -

With February ready to smack me right in the face, I have been thinking
wistfully of summers past and looking forward to summers future.

I guess this came up because I was telling someone at the cast party
last night about the '87 Westy I am buying to replace my '83.5.  He
looked at me a bit oddly, and asked if I do a lot of camping.  I said I
did, but it got me thinking about why I never really thought about
another type of vehicle when I decided to upgrade to one with air
conditioning.

I like to travel.  I hope to be able to do more in the future, and I
have been uncomfortable enough while traveling in the past to know
better now!

A few summers ago we were headed across Southern BC.  Our destination
was WesterCon, a science fiction convention in Vancouver, but we had a
few days to wander, so we had gone north from Idaho, and were dropping
in at hot springs, stopping where we wanted, seeing the sights along the
way.

On the fourth day out we were camped at Marble Canyon, north of
Lillooet.  It was a hot evening. We had put up our sun shade and were
beginning to think about dinner.  The camp sites there were pretty close
together, and a dusty red Toyota pickup pulled in to the one next to
ours.  A travel worn couple climbed out and stretched.

I did a double take, then  got cold two beers out of the fridge and
walked over to say hello to Donna and Jim.  They were on their way back
from Tuktoyaktuk, up on the Arctic Ocean, and had been on the road for a
month.

The cold beer was a hit!  We spent the evening talking about their
travels - sleeping in the back of the pickup, cooking on a camp stove,
trying to keep enough ice in the cooler so food wouldn't spoil.

If I had a couple of months off, I would like to take a trip like that,
too.  But I would do it in my Westy, and that's why I get a big grin
when I think about the trips I will take in summers to come, and now I
will have air conditioning!

Mike Finkbiner

83.5 Westy (for sale in Moscow)
87 Westy (still in Atlanta)

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