I think Indy had a close call with death. The last time we went camping, she had trouble running uphills. I know -- really had trouble, not just normal VW trouble. We finally took her into the shop. I was hoping fuel pump. There guess - cyclinder head. She's running on 3 cylinders...
$1200 later and a new left cylinder head... she runs like a puppy.
The likely problem: heat. Lots of it. Over an extended time. Say ... a trip to Cabo? I suspect the oil leak we had on that trip led to this problem. We noticed a brief performance issue near Encinatas on the way back. But really noticed it on the way back from the desert on her next big trip.
No need to give you a new per mile estimate. However, even with this repair, the trip to Cabo should still be considered a success.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Sunday, April 01, 2007
Mileage check: ?46,507
The insurance company asks us periodically to validate that we don't drive Indy over 7500 miles per year. When we got her, she was at 39155 miles. Today, she is at 46,507. The first digit is unknown. That means we have driven almost 7500 miles (in 2 years.) I think we qualify. Or perhaps we've driven her 107,000 miles.
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Distractions and inspiration
The google keyword search for "vw bus worsening uphill power" didn't come up with anything useful. But lots of distractions...
Love My Bus has a bunch of videos and other stuff.
What a road trip describes the ending to the roadtrip in a VW called Grimold from MyKin.US. Warning: sad bus ending.
Love My Bus has a bunch of videos and other stuff.
What a road trip describes the ending to the roadtrip in a VW called Grimold from MyKin.US. Warning: sad bus ending.
Camping: Borrego Springs
Sophia had a geography conference in Borrego Springs Saturday. So we decided to go camping!
The camping reservation involved some confusion. The camphost thought we were at Tamarisk Grove. Nope. We wanted (and Sophia claims to have reserved) Borrego Palm Canyon. In the end, we found a site. #75 is good. Sophia really like #70 though.
Friday was really hot -- 99deg. This broke the record from 1934. And Saturday was partly cloudy but STILL hot. The 99 deg broke the 1972 record. The worst part was it got windy in the afternoon. Really windy. And did I mention hot?
There was a helicopter rescue in the canyon. A family of five needed to be rescued when the mother became dehydrated and couldn't walk out. Given the heat and the number of people who attempted the hike, it was to be expected. Be prepared folks!
Eric and I walked up the canyon in the morning before it got hot. He hadn't been there since the mud flood 3 years ago. It certainly has changed the landscape. After the 3+ mile hike, we went for ice cream.
Due to the winds getting even stronger after sunset, we only stayed one night. No need to suffer. We left around 6:45 and made it home by 9pm.
Poor Indy doesn't have any power going up hills. Expect to see a repair note soon.
The camping reservation involved some confusion. The camphost thought we were at Tamarisk Grove. Nope. We wanted (and Sophia claims to have reserved) Borrego Palm Canyon. In the end, we found a site. #75 is good. Sophia really like #70 though.
Friday was really hot -- 99deg. This broke the record from 1934. And Saturday was partly cloudy but STILL hot. The 99 deg broke the 1972 record. The worst part was it got windy in the afternoon. Really windy. And did I mention hot?
There was a helicopter rescue in the canyon. A family of five needed to be rescued when the mother became dehydrated and couldn't walk out. Given the heat and the number of people who attempted the hike, it was to be expected. Be prepared folks!
Eric and I walked up the canyon in the morning before it got hot. He hadn't been there since the mud flood 3 years ago. It certainly has changed the landscape. After the 3+ mile hike, we went for ice cream.
Due to the winds getting even stronger after sunset, we only stayed one night. No need to suffer. We left around 6:45 and made it home by 9pm.
Poor Indy doesn't have any power going up hills. Expect to see a repair note soon.
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Camping: Palomar
Here are the sites we like at Palomar.
- #22 Isolated and flat
- #30 near bathroom
- #19, #20 ok
- #11, #12 up the hill
- #9, #10 close together
Monday, January 01, 2007
Camping: Baja
Two week Baja Road Trip
We spent the Christmas holidays on a 13-day road trip in Baja. We went from San Diego to San Jose del Cabo and back. Overall, the trip was smooth. We did the journey in our 76 VW Westfalia van, and it fared well. We were a bit nervous about gas, as the van has a pretty short range. The tough stretch was between El Rosario and Villa Jesus Maria, but there was guys selling gas at Catavina and the junction to Bahia Los Angeles (the Pemex in Catavina was closed). We also carried 3 gallons on top. We exchanged dollars for pesos in San Ysidro before we crossed the border.
The trip was mostly camping. We used the LP Baja Book and also the Foghorn Outdoors Baja Camping book. The LP book was right on the mark, but the Baja Camping book was a little outdated in some respects. We got our tourist permits ahead of time through Discover Baja Club. Here is where we camped:
Ensenada: Estero Beach Resort $28, basic RV lot with grassy landscaping right on the estuary. Pool, laudry, hot showers and really clean bathrooms. This is part of the Estero Beach Resort, which has a variety of spa amenities, as well as a good restaurant. (I’ve never paid that much to camp in the US!) We thought we would make it to San Quintin, but we got a late start out of San Diego and had a bit of an adventure getting our tourist cards stamped.
Catavina: Santa Inez Ranch. $6. Essentially a big parking lot. Flush toilets.
Mulege: Hotel Serenidada RV area. $16. Just a portion of the gravel lot that doubles as the hotel parking lot. Rather disappointing. We definatley should have pushed on a little further to camp on one of the beach south of Mulege. Hot showers and flush toilets. Zero view. I was at the hotel Serenidad in 2001 for a friend’s wedding. In the past 5 years, the hotel has gotten pretty tired.
Playas Santispac: $7. Toilets. Lots of RVers here for the long haul, but still a nice spot. It was pretty crowded when we were there, but we grabbed a spot off the main stretch. Water was nice for swimming. Ana’s Cantina at Santispac makes a STRONG margarita. Ray’s Place, which is a pretty popular restaurant at Santispac, burned down between Christmas and New Year. Apparently Santispac is going to be developed with a hotel/resort in the next year or so (??).
La Paz. Aquamarina RV Park, $19. Hot showers and flush toilets. Lots of trees, location near the water. Good restaurant (Parilla No.3 on Mabasola) near the RV park.
San Jose Del Cabo: We spent three days at the in-laws time share. We did have thai food at a thai place in San Jose (Baan Thai) That was novel. Good food, but expensive … more that what we would pay in the US. Nice ambience and friendly service.
Ciudad Insurgentes: Manfreds RV Park, $12. This place was very empty and there were a lot of flies, as it’s close to an open field with horse. Hot showers, flush toilet, friendly proprieters. It was getting dark so we decided to stop.
Playa la Perla. $7. Loved it! Small beach with 10 palapas. Friendly crowd when we were there. Calm waters for swimming, snorkeling and floating. Pit toilets.
San Quintin: Rancho Celito Linda: $10. Hot showers and flush toilets. Basic palapa, not very private. A better option may have been Gypsys Beach camp. Short walk to dunes/water. The restaurant at Celito Linda has a yummy cracked crab dinner. One order is enough for two to share.
Next time we plan to do more informal camping (fewer RV parks) or more longer-term beach camping. Now that I know how great the locations are on the beaches south of Mulege, we’ll do it different next time! This was our first trip down, so we may have been a bit more “cautious” than necessary. Overall a great time with friendly and helpful people wherever we met. Can't wait to go back!!
We spent the Christmas holidays on a 13-day road trip in Baja. We went from San Diego to San Jose del Cabo and back. Overall, the trip was smooth. We did the journey in our 76 VW Westfalia van, and it fared well. We were a bit nervous about gas, as the van has a pretty short range. The tough stretch was between El Rosario and Villa Jesus Maria, but there was guys selling gas at Catavina and the junction to Bahia Los Angeles (the Pemex in Catavina was closed). We also carried 3 gallons on top. We exchanged dollars for pesos in San Ysidro before we crossed the border.
The trip was mostly camping. We used the LP Baja Book and also the Foghorn Outdoors Baja Camping book. The LP book was right on the mark, but the Baja Camping book was a little outdated in some respects. We got our tourist permits ahead of time through Discover Baja Club. Here is where we camped:
Ensenada: Estero Beach Resort $28, basic RV lot with grassy landscaping right on the estuary. Pool, laudry, hot showers and really clean bathrooms. This is part of the Estero Beach Resort, which has a variety of spa amenities, as well as a good restaurant. (I’ve never paid that much to camp in the US!) We thought we would make it to San Quintin, but we got a late start out of San Diego and had a bit of an adventure getting our tourist cards stamped.
Catavina: Santa Inez Ranch. $6. Essentially a big parking lot. Flush toilets.
Mulege: Hotel Serenidada RV area. $16. Just a portion of the gravel lot that doubles as the hotel parking lot. Rather disappointing. We definatley should have pushed on a little further to camp on one of the beach south of Mulege. Hot showers and flush toilets. Zero view. I was at the hotel Serenidad in 2001 for a friend’s wedding. In the past 5 years, the hotel has gotten pretty tired.
Playas Santispac: $7. Toilets. Lots of RVers here for the long haul, but still a nice spot. It was pretty crowded when we were there, but we grabbed a spot off the main stretch. Water was nice for swimming. Ana’s Cantina at Santispac makes a STRONG margarita. Ray’s Place, which is a pretty popular restaurant at Santispac, burned down between Christmas and New Year. Apparently Santispac is going to be developed with a hotel/resort in the next year or so (??).
La Paz. Aquamarina RV Park, $19. Hot showers and flush toilets. Lots of trees, location near the water. Good restaurant (Parilla No.3 on Mabasola) near the RV park.
San Jose Del Cabo: We spent three days at the in-laws time share. We did have thai food at a thai place in San Jose (Baan Thai) That was novel. Good food, but expensive … more that what we would pay in the US. Nice ambience and friendly service.
Ciudad Insurgentes: Manfreds RV Park, $12. This place was very empty and there were a lot of flies, as it’s close to an open field with horse. Hot showers, flush toilet, friendly proprieters. It was getting dark so we decided to stop.
Playa la Perla. $7. Loved it! Small beach with 10 palapas. Friendly crowd when we were there. Calm waters for swimming, snorkeling and floating. Pit toilets.
San Quintin: Rancho Celito Linda: $10. Hot showers and flush toilets. Basic palapa, not very private. A better option may have been Gypsys Beach camp. Short walk to dunes/water. The restaurant at Celito Linda has a yummy cracked crab dinner. One order is enough for two to share.
Next time we plan to do more informal camping (fewer RV parks) or more longer-term beach camping. Now that I know how great the locations are on the beaches south of Mulege, we’ll do it different next time! This was our first trip down, so we may have been a bit more “cautious” than necessary. Overall a great time with friendly and helpful people wherever we met. Can't wait to go back!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
