We returned home to PA yesterday after our run out to Buses by the
Arch, so I thought I'd give an Easterner's version of the campout.

The trip
--------

Our round trip mileage was just about 2100 miles.  We got second
place in the Vanagon category of "longest drive," although we felt
that the first place winner had a somewhat bogus win (he moved from
CA to St. Louis recently and considered the drive as the mileage,
whereas we drove out specifically for the trip).  We had no
mechanical problems and were getting 18-21 MPG (65-75 MPH).

We did get rear-ended by a stupid lady in a minivan in St. Louis
traffic.  We pulled over to assess the damage (besides our food bin,
which got catapulted across the back of the van) and it turned out
that our tow hook gouged her molded bumper (prolly $$$ to replace),
but we sustained no apparent damage.  Not even the plastic bumper
guards appeared to be dislodged.  Chalk up another one for the
structural integrity of these vans.

The event
---------

We arrived Thursday afternoon and were told that the only rule was
that there were no rules.  Thus, we drove around and sought out a
spot with electricity and semi-decent shade.  We ended up near the
group from San Antonio, who were extremely nice and fun as well.
Besides letting us use their AC power outlet, the Texans offered us
Shiner beer, shade, rice and beans on Saturday, VW and philosophical
discussion with Mark and Steve for some time.  The campground's
pool, although small, offered welcome relief from the heat.

We didn't interact with the Wisconsin crowd much except for
witnessing the "wedding," but by the sounds of things, they were
having a good time.  There was a band playing until midnight on
Saturday.

The caravan Saturday was a 100 mile drive including two ferries, a
farmer's bake shop, a picnic in the shade, and a scenic jog along the
Mississippi River.  We got many waves, honks, thumbs ups, etc. from
passers-by.  The group was split into two groups to make the ferry
crossing more manageable and the second group took the reverse route
of the first group.  We met for the picnic in the middle.

The "awards ceremony" was a lot of fun with prizes such as the "hard
luck" story (stories of breaking down and other bus bummers on the
way to BBTA); best splittie, loaf, toaster, and EV; furthest distance
traveled; and door prizes.

Darrell Boehler was there with his Digijet and Digifant tools and
had several for sale.  As he already reported, he and Bill Dummitt
used it to diagnose rich running on someone's van that had baffeled
even the VW mechs.  I finally hooked mine up and used it for the trip
back.  Very cool.  I verified that I had actually fixed my throttle
switch, but the coil LED on the tool went out halfway through our
trip back.  The van still ran, so I can only assume that the circuit
to the LED opened up.

The Texans had designed a bracket for the driver's side window to
house a window unit air conditioner to be used while camping.  Gotta
get one of those.  Not recommended for use while driving.  :-)

We left Sunday to meet up with some friends in the area, so I'm not
sure how the rest of the event went.

In summary, despite the lack of rigid organization found at
Transporters by the Tunnel, it was a good time.  Now we have to get
ready for Buses by the Trail (trust me, we won't be organized
either).  http://www.enter.net/~bloss/vw/bbtt

-Karl

Karl F. Bloss - blosskf@apci.com or bloss@enter.net
'87 Vanagon GL Weekender "Beverley"; Trexlertown, PA
http://www.enter.net/~bloss/vw/
Busses by the Trail: http://www.enter.net/~bloss/vw/bbtt/