Pushing Silver

A Day of Tackiness

Today I hit the road for Madison again to go back and pick up my biking gear.  On the way, I had to make a few stops.  The first was at the Mall of America.  I hate malls, but something this big just has to be visited.  I never intended to go in, but I did want to drive around the parking lot and get a sense of its size...maybe take a picture.  But I never found a good place to do that.  Every entrance seemed to lead me into the encapsulation of a parking garage.  So I just left.  My second stop was at the SPAM Museum.  Not much to say about the museum, but it was tacky and entertaining.

The van is running better in some ways and worse than others.  Tomorrow it'll get dropped off at the local shop to see if I can get it healthy before I hit the road again.  Until then, time to relax!

North Dakota...Twice

I drove through North Dakota in one day.  I had always said that I wanted to go to North Dakota simply because I had never been.  I even disregarded the fact that the train took me through North Dakota only about 2 weeks ago.  But I'm afraid that the little bit I saw from the train really was an authentic look at the entire state.  The only thing that jumped out at me was that this seems to be the home base to the largest concentration of "World's Largest" I've ever seen.  World's Largest Metal Sculpture, Buffalo, Sandhill Crane - what are these people thinking?

And then I camped in Minnesota in a very quiet campground on a lake.  It was a great spot, though the mosquitoes came out in force.  I spent most of the night swatting the little buggers and closing up to reduce their entrances.  Twice I woke up because I'd sucked one up my nose.  I really didn't sleep much.

Then in the morning, the van didn't want to run.  I tried limping it to the gas station, but ended up walking the last 3/4 mile.  I did all I could do.  2 guys stopped to help me tinker.  Eventually, we all gave up and I called AAA.  Now if a cat has 9 lives, then a Westy has 4.  That's the number of times AAA will tow you in a year before you start paying out of pocket.  I've had my van for one week, and she's used up 2 of her lives.

I got towed back to the Fargo, ND area.  That's the closest place I could find someone who would work on a VW van.  I sat here all weekend in the motel room, watching bad movies on TV and trying to avoid going out into the heat.  The van is ready now - diagnosis = spark plug wires, but they only had one and I should go buy a set.  Oh, and it still sputters like it's missing and my oil light is still flickering...but we're all positive that it's got oil.  This van may have a For Sale sign on it soon...

Big Sky Country

Montana is big.  That shouldn't be a news flash to anyone, but I honestly didn't realize just how big it is until today.  I covered about 600 miles today, and all I did was get out of Montana.  It's that big!

While passing through, I got to take in some great scenery; including plumes of smoke from wild fires, and a spectacular lightning show right after sunset.  The storm is moving east into North Dakota, but I'm calling it a night.  I'm tired, and I'm not entirely happy with the alignment of my headlights.  No point in pushing it and taking out a deer or something.

Montana is apparently also the victim of a Crystal Meth problem.  There are signs everywhere - they look like "dead end" signs, and you can probably guess how they tie that in with the Meth theme.  Even the grocery stores have stickers on each register that states they're part of the "Meth Watch Program."

The van is still doing her normal thing.  I've gone through a bottle of gas treatment (to remove water), and I'm on my second treatment of fuel injector cleaner.  She runs, but seems to sputter out and lose power sometimes.  I'm still clinging to the dirty gas and/or dirty fuel injection system theory...I'd hate to have a repair bill in the near future (I mean, a full set of tires is enough for now!).

2 last tidbits before I conk out for the night.  First, I stopped at a rest stop off of I-94 today and the exit was Bad Route Road.  I love funky street names and really wish that there was a safe spot to take a picture of that sign.  Second, you know how your inner ear gets confused during certain things like being on a boat or running a jackhammer?  Well, these vans get tossed in the wind quite a bit, and between the wind and the sputtering engine, I've got that weird shaky feeling.  Everything is all jibblie-jibblie like I'm sitting on a running clothes dryer...

Slowly working east

Well, another day on the road in my "new" VW is behind.  She's running a little rough occasionally.  Either it sat too long before I bought it and the fuel injectors are a little gummy, or I picked up some dud gas along the way.  I dumped in a bottle of fuel injector cleaner yesterday and that seemed to help immensely.  But there's definitely something nasty in the tank that needs to get burned off and blown out.  Oh well, a few more tanks should do it.  My temperature light hasn't given me any more trouble, and I was finally able to pick up a 4th tire today.  I've also topped off the propane tank just to know it's full (the stove cut out on me while trying to cook my first meal, so I think it had just run dry).

Last night I stayed in a motel right across from the Coulee Dam in Washington.  At night they have a laser light show on the face of the dam, using the rushing water to create a white backdrop.  It's an interesting concept, but not worth going out of the way for.  Today I stopped at a brothel museum which turned out to be more of an antique store than anything else.  And I stumbled on the Big Sky Brewery, makers of Moose Drool.  So of course I stopped in for a tasting, and to bring back some treats for a few people.

The Past Few Days

I always prefer the posts that have a bit of a theme to them, but this one just isn't going to flow.  But I promise to keep it short.

Day 2 on the road with the Westy took me by Evergreen Aviation Museum where I got to see the Spruce Goose.  There just aren't really words that could convey the massive size of this thing.  I took a few pictures for you, but you just have to stand next to it to really absorb the whole thing.

Then I hit the road to go visit Alex outside of Bellingham, WA.  Alex and I met on the train on the way out and he's a cool guy to hang out with.  I just had to go see his cabin.  Again, the view is so spectacular, you just have to be there.  He's towards the top of a mountain, so the view at night includes city lights from Canada.  It's a great spot, and we were able to work in a local concert when I arrived.

But on the way, the van got named.  In the morning, the idiot light for the temperature gauge kept flashing.  The coolant level was good and I trusted the needle more than I trusted the idiot light, but it still made me leery.  So I stopped at a VW dealership and consulted with a mechanic who assured me that as long as I kept an eye on it, it was probably just a stuck sensor.  As soon as I got back in the van, the problem was gone.  Then, later in the day, I blew a tire.  Not just a simple flat, but a complete blowout.  So now I'm rolling around on 2 new tires (had trouble finding all 4, so I'll have to stop at tire shops periodically to see if I can complete the set), and the van I've concluded is testing me.  I've named her Christine.  If you don't get it, read the Stephen King novel or go catch the movie.  I'm telling you, this van is testing me to see if I'm going to take care of her.

When the towtruck arrived, I found out just how lucky I was to get picked up at all.  My wait was only about an hour, but the driver showed me the call sheet - 11 different towing companies rejected the call before I got picked up.  Everyone was just that busy!!

And that's about it.  Yesterday was a day of rest and relaxation, and today I got a really late start and found a nice park to camp in for the night.  Tomorrow I'll get up early and put in a real day of driving, but for now I'm enjoying the cool mountain air and the spectacular views.

Just like riding a bike

You never forget how to drive a Westy.  Sounds stupid, I know, but a Westy is just a different vehicle.  I haven't owned a car in over a year.  I haven't driven since December (and that was only for a few blocks).  I wasn't worried that I had forgotten how to drive, but I was a little apprehensive about getting behind the wheel of a Westy.  Partially because nobody wants to do something stupid in traffic right after purchasing a vehicle, but party because a Westy handles more like a truck.

I remember a moment on a rafting trip a few years ago in my old Westy.  There were 9 of us in the van, with two deflated rafts, and we were zipping around the mountains.  Well, zipping downhill...barely going walking speed uphill.  In between people offering to get out and walk, I remember my buddy Nick saying that driving a Westy is definitely an art (at least in the mountains), and I had mastered the art.  Today's trip took me through Grant's pass, which varies from 60 mph down to 25 mph.  It's twisty and hilly and I had a BLAST driving through it.

The other fun thing about driving a Westy is that everywhere I go, I find other enthusiasts.  These vehicles are everywhere, but for some reason most people don't notice them.  As we spot each other in traffic, horns are honked, lights are flashed, and peace signs are displayed.  I've never been waved at so much in my life.  Oh, and day one on the road - I've already had somebody offer to buy it from me on the spot :P

I covered about 400 miles today and went to see Crescent City, CA.  On March 27, 1964 an earthquake in Anchorage, AK caused a tsunami.  In the grand scheme of things, it wasn't all that bad.  But due to the location of Crescent City, they got hit hard.  The waves knocked out about a third of the town, killing a few people and demolishing property.  It's the worst tsunami to hit US soil in known history.  I just had to go by and take a look.  I'll upload pictures soon, but there's not much to see unless you're really interested.  I only found one sign that displayed the water's height - and that was posted at a shopping center called "Tsunami Landing."  There isn't a memorial in town (according to the visitor's center), but there are a few random items and photos if you look hard enough.  But it seems like the event has largely been forgotten.  There is a book (not on my reading list because I thought it was too long and too tedious) by some lawyer guy if you're interested in more info.  Book is called The Raging Sea.

Ok, Distance Learning is going back into effect.  On the highway (Highway 5) in Oregon (think it was by Eugene) I passed a headquarters for Royal Carribean Cruise lines.  WHY? Oregon is beautiful, but not royalty.  Nor is it carribean.  And Eugene is about 3 hours from the coast.  It makes absolutely no sense!!  Is that just a training facility that's on cheap land?  What's the deal there?

Tomorrow morning (I didn't make it in time today) I'll visit the Evergreen Aviation Museum where Howard Hughes' Hurcules (AKA The Spruce Goose) is on display.  And I'll end in Bellingham, WA at a buddy's house.

My Feet Itch

It's something I've heard a lot of travelers say.  Figuratively, of course.  What we mean is that hear the call of the road.  We sense the time to move on, and look forward to embarking on the next leg of our journey.

For most people in the US, today is the 4th of July...a holiday.  It's a time to get together and have a BBQ with friends.  The fireworks have most likely passed over the weekend, but some will hold their own shows in back yards - which may or may not be legal where you live.  Time seems to pass differently for me on the road.  For me, it's just another day, but this day in particular has no agenda...I'm simply killing time.  I walked down to the movie theater yesterday, and my motel room has HBO, so I've been watching a lot of movies.  Field of Dreams was on this morning, and I had to laugh.  It's been a while since I've seen it, but I noticed this time around that the first time the VW Bus is shown in motion, it's in the slow lane...being passed by a much more powerful vehicle.  My Westy will be the same way.  It doesn't seem to matter how fast you're going - if you're in a VW van, people will pass you.  I long for that part of my trip to begin.  To drive across the country, seeing the things I've missed by bike and visiting people.  Out in public on the road, but seeing things through different eyes.  Taking my time, and watching the hurried ones step on the gas and fly pass.  Their journey simply takes them to their destination.  Air conditioning and windows up, nothing but interstates, rushing all the way and usually complaining about the drive at some point or another.

There was a Westy in the motel parking lot yesterday - an older air cooled Bus, but a Westy none the less.  It had a sticker in the back window "Not all who wander are lost."  And I say thumbs up to that!  I'll be wandering again on Thursday.  Tomorrow we sign the title over and we're going to try to squeeze in some time to change the transmission fluid, just for good measure.  You never know where I'll turn up, but you can be certain that the adventure will continue.  Continue to take me to interesting places, to give me opportunities to do things I'd never think to do on my own (like going out lobstering and wrestling goats).  And I'll continue to have moments where I disprove stereotypes - finding that the paranoid people are the ones who invite me in; that the huge muscular guys with loads of tattoos - the ones who scare me - are actually the nicest people in the world.  To learn more about other cultures, even though they're on my home soil.

I'm sure there are people out there who think I'm crazy.  Some voice that opinion, and some keep it to themselves.  But those are the folks who see the world with blinders on, the ones who live in fear and follow patterns.  It's funny how all that works - we tend to avoid each other entirely, making it seem that I'm almost in my own universe.  They'll be on the highways, and I'll be on the biways, and we won't even wave to each other.  And this weekend, I'll have the windows down, the radio up, and those like me will be the only ones who can hear the call of the road.  See you out there!

Buses and Pseudo Buses

Today's post covers two calendar days.  Yesterday, I got up early and made my way to the bus station on time.  Shooting the breeze with others going my way, I found out that we had different transfer spots.  For a while, I thought my route was a little more efficient, so when we stopped in Oakland, CA I waved goodbye to my fellow travelers and we joked about seeing each other soon.  I couldn't wait to get to San Fransisco for the transfer since the guy next to me had a habit of trying to fall asleep on my shoulder.  I was reading a book, so every time I saw him start to doze off, I'd turn pages just right so that I elbowed him in the side and woke him up.  That continued in 20 minute intervals all the way.  When I got on the next bus, I was amazed to find that we were going right back to Oakland...to pick up the people I had been around earlier.  What odd routing Greyhound has.

If you've never traveled by bus, you're missing out on the more colorful personalities in society.  Not that I'm saying only the freaks ride the bus - I'm pretty sure the crazy people are only about 20% of the bus riding population.  But they're also the most vocal, so they're the only ones you see...and they sure do stand out.  That last leg of the trip was a little annoying.  We waited in Oakland for a connecting bus that was running late - holiday spirit for the weekend and all.  Not many people got on from that connecting bus, but the young couple was unforgettable.  They had to be the most objectionable people I've encountered in a long time.  I use quite a bit of profanity, but I'm really not sure how they were managing to string sentences together.  No nouns.  No verbs.  Just a string of loud swearing.  They wanted to sit together, but the bus was full and they were pretty much the last ones on, so they started demanding that the singles move around and create 2 seats next to each other.  Nobody was willing to help.  It went on almost the whole time they were on the bus.  Multiple people of all age groups asked them to keep it down and clean up their language, but each time they'd just mouth off more.  At one point, during boarding after a stretch break, the guy got bumped by someone in the aisle and tried to start a fight.  Oh good...a fisticuff on the bus.  Just what we all need.  I think Weird Al Yankovic said it best in his song, Another One Rides the Bus (parody of Queen's Another One Bites the Dust):

Ridin on the bus down the boulevard and the place was really packed
couldn't find a seat so I had to stand with the perverts in the back
it was smellin' like a locker room, there was junk all over the floor
we're already packed in like sardines, but we're stoppin' to pick up more

Another one rides the bus
And another comes on and another comes on
another one rides the bus
hey - he's gonna sit by you
another one rides the bus

The window doesn't open and the fan is broke and my face is turnin' blue
I haven't been in a crowd like this since I went to see the Who
I should have got off a couple miles ago, but I couldn't get to the door
we're already packed in like sardines, yet we're stoppin' to pick up more...

My destination was Eureka, but I was told by the locals that the bus station had closed down.  My ticket was going to take me to Arcata, only about 6 miles past Eureka.  But towards the end of the trip, I found out that we were in fact stopping in Eureka, so I called to make different arrangements.

For those of you that don't know, I'm out here to buy a vehicle.  The seller has been very accommodating and offered to pick me up at the bus stop in Arcata.  By the time I realized that we were running about 40 minutes late, and that I could get off in Eureka and save him the trip, he was already waiting in Arcata.  I thanked him for his efforts and told him to go home and get some sleep - I'd just find a motel in town.

There's one over there.  And another one next door.  Yet another across the street.  All different sizes, price ranges and qualities.  All of them full.  I walked all over town, asking, then begging.  But all to no avail.  The last place I tried reported that everything from Ukiah, CA to Brookings, OR.  As the crow flies, that's a 200 mile stretch!  I couldn't bring myself to bother the seller of the vehicle after midnight - especially since I had already told him I'd handle myself, AND he's got a young baby in the house.  So I did the only thing I could think of.  I went to Denny's (open all night) and ordered some food, and drank copious amounts of coffee.

Denny's was slow, and as the staff came off their shifts I got to know a few of them.  Someone broke out a chess board.  I spent the whole night playing chess, talking to another one of my bus mates who was stranded as well, and also talking to one of the local nut jobs.  He hadn't come from the bus, but he would have fit right in.  Entertaining all around.

Around 8am, I was crosseyed with exhaustion and twitchy with caffeine.  I decided it was time to call the seller and check out the van.  Most people that have or are interested in VW campers are pretty mellow down to earth people.  When I told him how I had spent the night, his first suggestion was that I delay the test drive and try on the sleeping accommodations, and I gratefully accepted and fell into a nice nap.

And now I'm just going to let this post trail off because I'm running on about 4 hours of sleep in the last 2 days.  The van is good and it's going to be mine as soon as the banks open up and we can shift some funds around.  Time zone differences and the holiday are going to make it a little screwy, so I probably won't leave town until Thursday.  I won't be riding a bus, and I won't make the mistake of claiming to drive a bus away (it's not an authentic microbus, it's a vanagon).