Preparing for my two day local camping trip I plug my 120v into the
receptacle.
Set a coffee can full of ice cubes in the fridge, turn on fridge and my
tiny computer fan in the fridge.
I round up two cans of Wolf Brand chili, two cans of Ranch Style beans, a
pound of bacon, five slices of cheese, � jar of mayo, and two Irish
potatoes.
I unplug the 120v power, get in the van and note the wonderful all tin
sound that the door makes as I close it briskly, noting that the window
dropped a half inch when I closed the door.
On the way out to the trip I crank my engine and it burst into the great
throbbing 67 hp that I�ve grown to accept.
I roll down the driver�s window, noting that the window crank still
scrapes on the large speaker grill in my door.
I turn on the radio noting that its moved out �� from the desired
position in the dash, I give it a little push back into place and turn it
on. I plug in my favorite traveling music starting with Cat Steven�s;
Morning has Broken, knowing the next song will be the Who singing Going
Mobile.
I turn the fresh air blower on and put the tranny in reverse, I watch
carefully for joggers and their dogs coming up behind me. I take a quick
look at the driveway to see if I�ve developed and oil leak.
I get backed out and headed to the local Albertson�s store passing a
Splittie en route.
Ah Yes! The blower finally started.
I lean over and push the radio back in again.
I overbuy on deli meats at Albertson�s as always.
As part of my trip I scoot through the drive through ATM and punch the
Quick Cask $100.00 button ���. Where does all that money keep coming
from? I�ve been thinking about getting my own ATM card.
I navigate the hard U turn to get out of the ATM lane engineered by New
Your Architects.
I move into the traffic and reach over giving each of my VDO gauges a
little thump with my spring loaded middle finger. The all remain the same
(except when the faces fall off).
Lets see: Cylinder head temp 300, Oil temp 60, Oil Pressure 5+ Bar, Volts
14, yes all ok.
I reach the freeway ramp that leads me to an Interstate nonstop trip of
120 miles to get to Possum Kingdom Lake.
I bury the accelerator pedal testing fate by pulling out in front of a
Ford Ranger going warp three. I get the Westy up to near sixty before he
makes his standard snap lane change to show me how important this lane
has been to him.
I�m now cruising at close to seventy and I�m checking out the direction
the wind is blowing so I can decide if I�m going East or West and
possibly changing destinations to accommodate a tail wind. No matter,
Caddo lake to the East is just as good as Kingdom Possum is to the West.
I watch the flags at Auto dealerships to calculate the wind direction and
velocity and find that I can go on to Possum Kingdom Lake.
The next two hours is just 65-75 mph Interstate driving with one or two
changes of the traveling tapes, I�ve graduated on to Sarah Brightman
singing that popular song from Cats, Knowing that the next song is
Charlotte Church singing Amazing Grace.
By this time I�ve thumped the VDO gauges a few times and I�m seeing;
Cylinder Head temp 360, Oil pressure 4 bar, Oil temperature 100 (c),
Volts 14.
As I approach the lake I�ve several long inclines that are severe enough
that they chose to provide passing lanes. I enjoy these now that I have
my new engine, reminds me of my years in Colorado when I had an 560 cid
Eldorado Cadillac and when I put it to the floor I expected the hood to
be sucked right down the carburetor.
I reach the nearest country grocery to the lake and ice down some soft
drinks, the deli meats and other necessary items. I fill the fridge with
frozen water bottles I�ve brought from home. I know my fridge has a good
thermal boost by now.
It�s just six more miles over lots of hills and through valleys before I
get to the lake.
I arrive at the lake and cruise about three Pay-For-A-View parks before I
turn off onto a gravel road with heavy erosion ruts and severe curves on
inclines surrounded by Mesquite bushes. I honk at a small herd of deer
that are possessive as a BMW driver of their road.
Finally reaching my destination high above the Lake I navigate the Westy
to take advantage of the prevailing breezes while still getting it close
to level ground as possible.
I get out and find two good sized iron colored rocks to chock my wheels.
After setting my bicycle out and popping the top, I brew up some hot
water, using half to pour into the sink for a shave and the other half to
make coffee.
Its now time to organize the gear so I can swivel the front seat, set up
one table and burn some breakfast.
I choose to scramble a few eggs and cook a pound of bacon (I don�t like
to clean up so I cook it all at once). Whenever I cook bacon I know full
well that I�m going to be driving around salivating for ten days smelling
the odors that permeate every crevice of the Westy.
That�s it guys; the rest is bike riding, fishing, napping and once in a
while I check my oil.

Stan Wilder
83 Air Cooled Westfalia