Joel:

   Jo & I have returned to sultry Atlanta.  Driving through  Kansas
 wasn't quite as bad as  I'd been led to believe, but the past two
 days between St Louis and here were a tad nerve-wracking...I'm
 really beginning to dislike urban driving environments in my dotage,
 but then I was also pretty road weary by the time I hit St. Louis,
 Nashville and Chattanooga.

   Colorado was gorgeous and the van handled the high altitudes
 quite well, although it, like the two of us was a bit down on power.
 <G>  We managed to cross the Continental Divide four times this
 trip, and enjoyed three shortline rail trips and two whitewater rafting
 rides  On the second whitewater trip, I managed a nice fishes' eye
 view of the bottom before being hauled bodily back into the raft by
 the guy seated behind me.

   Following is a quote from the owner's manual:  "When the engine
 is working hard and in stop-and-go traffic or in hot weather, the
 needle can show a very high temperature, but this is not serious as
 long as the warning light does not flash."

    When that 2nd stage fan  started up at highway speed, it scared
 the heck out of me.  The  temp gage was reading more than 3/4     scale,
 but I managed to bring it  down without having to resort to
 engaging  the heaters, thank you  very much.  It was bloody hot that 
day, I tell  you... high 90's, anyway.  Running without  AC  ain't my
 idea of a  wonderful time, but it helped until  things got under control
 again.   Wonder what he'd do in Phoenix  this time of year? You   can
bet that  I'll never attempt to find that out for myself, it's hot enough
right here in Atlanta.

George
'89 Westy, "Wernher"
108K miles & counting