Trip planning ~ May 2025

[trihartsfield]

The Oregon Coast is beautiful.

If you make into SW Montana let me know. I have plenty of room for you to hang out either in the campers and I also have extra rooms.

View from my back porch:

View from my side porch:

If you are interested PM me for specifics.

Chris
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1971 Transporter-SOLD
1982 Westy Will grow up into a TDI

[poppiejag]

For Vancouver to Banff I would also recommend Rte 3 in the south. (I've driven and camped a lot of the roads in the region). It will be longer than Rt 1, but IMHO worth it. There are lots of little towns. I'll mention a few.
Osoyos has a wonderful campsite on a peninsula in the middle of the lake.
I usually take the detour through Nelson - nice small historic city, with amazing beach, Kokanee provincial park - camping on the lake. best view from the sites to the north east, Balfour, then cross Kotenay lake by ferry (free), and drive to Creston. This route has lots of lakeside driving, and beaches, parks to stop at. Also nice historic small towns on the lakes are Kaslo, New Denver, Nakusp, Slocan. Personally I prefer Ainsworth hotsprings over the others.
From Creston towards Cranbrook, then Fort Steele - a provincial historic town ($10 or so entrance) is nice. Take the scenic route through Kotenay National park - impressive mountains along the road ald lots of hiking opportunities and campgrounds, then to Banff.

Like others mentioned don't miss Lake Louise. Hike up to the lakeshore, then the trail along the north shore. Worthwhile to go anywhere from a few hundred meters to several km.

I'll be backcountry skiing near LkLouise this weekend, and might try a 2nd trip in early Apr if there's snow.

In May it's usually snow-free on and near the road, but still patchwise snow on backcountry trails.
Weather is usually nice and sunny, 10-20C, but a storm can bring 0C and snow.

There is much to do and see in the mountain parks Banff and Jasper - WHO listed Natural Heritage sites. The Icefields parkway is the premier drive in western Canada. Can go all the way to Jasper, or turn left midway to Rte 12 along Abraham lake. There's camping along the icefields pkwy - like to get a bit north of Banff to the wilderness campgrounds. The camping at Waterfowl lakes is nice. There's also random camping along the shore of lake Abraham.

In Alberta I prefer to take the smaller roads instead of the Edmonton-Calgary hwy Rte 2. For example rte 22 in the foothills is much nicer, or the praire 2-lanes to the east of the highway.

In AB there's Rocky mountain house - an old native-whites trading post, writing on stone prov park, buffalo jump prov park, Dinosaur prov park - yes with dinousaur bone beds, some ghost towns like Rowley (free camping)

Watertown/Glacier NP is nice. In Watertown you can take a 100year old historic steamer across the lake from Canada to the US and back ( unless you hike out to a road in GlacierNP) You can cross the border on the road by Buffalo mountain in the park.

Martin '82 1.9TD Westy

[Kdj]

Probably pass through states for you on your way to Colorado. But I always liked the two lane roads through Kansas and Nebraska. Allows you to realize how big the plains really are. Flint hills area is really beautiful couple of good state parks and recreation areas to camp for a night. Or if you venture into Nebraska the sand hills and the Nebraska state forest. Its the largest Man made forest in the world. Enjoy the small things on your trip hopefully it will help you get whole again.

[djkeev]

Fleshing out this journey, overnight stops need to be figured out but the route is materializing.

I cannot see my kitchen table through the piles of open paper maps!
Yes, I'm old, I like paper maps, even ordered some more.

Really liking the

"DeLORME Atlas and Gazetteer"

One volume for each State but pricy!
Only the States with the anticipated highest interest and time spent therein get one of these highly detailed maps!

Excuse my State or County road identification mistakes, please feel free to correct or offer helpful suggestions!

From Colorado Springs:

US 24 W

Co 1 S to fossil beds

Co 12 joins south of the fossil beds

Stay on Co 1S until
Co 11 splits,

Take Co 11 S
Past Wrights Reservoir

Co 11 to Co 9

Co 9 S to towards Parkdale.

US 50 W
To Salida

US 50 over Monarch Pass 11,312’

US 50w to Gunnison

US 550 S to Montrose

US 550W to Ouray
On to Silverton

US 550 S to Durango

US 160 W to Meas Verde

US 160W joins with US 491 S? E? At Cortez
Stay on US 160 W to Four Corners

US 160 W into Arizona.

**********

To Page AZ

From 4 corners

US 160 W to Tuba City AZ

US 89 N to Page

To Sherry’s Sons home arrive on 17th

********

To Bluff Utah
Sherry and I Depart Page AZ on May 18th

Rt 98 out of Page

US 160 E back to four corners, Sherry has family history there, wants to see it.

US 160 E into Colorado

Pick up Rt 41 W into Utah.
Road changes to UT 162 to Montezuma Creek
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[djkeev]

Now working on a route from Bluff to Great Basin NP in Nevada.

It has been suggested that avoid Arches and Canyonlands due to their high visitor volume.
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[dobryan]

[clamay]

I am not sure about the Shafer Trail but I would definitely go to Arches if you/she have never been. It is spectacular. Yes, there will be people but you can get a reservation and once you get into the park the crowds are not that bad.
_________________
91 Carat, automatic, GW 2.2, GW EFI, Peloquin TBD

When you come to a fork in the road, take it. --Yogi Berra

[sanchius]

[Ahwahnee]

X2 on Arches if you can get a campground reservation. There is really no other place like it on earth.

The timed entries are where the delays are though they also limit visitation. But if you're camping you dodge that and can get to the prime areas early enough to beat the crowd. There are also several hikes you can do from the campground including the marquee trail into the Devil's Garden.

[GoEverywhere]

Dont skip Arches and Canyonlands. Yes they get a lot of visitors, but they're two of the coolest parks in the nation. Even if you just drive the scenic highway its amazing... And I've been to Canyonlands 4 times and its never been that busy. Arches and Zion however can become zoos. Still worth it. But MAN that was a lot of people.

[kamzcab86]

[dodger tom]

ditto lake louise. the burgess shale is near there. read gould’s book before you get there to appreciate the wonder.

jasper is worth the trip north.

DO NOT miss “going-to-the-sun road” on your way to great falls.

sheridan in the ruby valley is nice, and can get you to yellowstone. the brewery is small but has some good beers. if you go, stop at woodson’s ranch (the ruby habitat foundation) to see a sustainable working ranch. say hi to dave, and visit the visitor’s center. if you fish, call in advance and try to get a day on the river. when in lauren check out the church. on the way to yellowstone is the grizzly bar in roscoe.
_________________
1978 Champaign Edition 2 Westfalia
Would never find the time to keep up another classic air-cooled.

[Schuylersister]

Heartfelt Condolences! Sounds like an amazing trip! So much will happen on the road. I'm gonna follow your thread here.

[coqcitywesty]

My condolences for your loss - hoping the trip will be therapeutic for you.

If you travel to Vancouver Island and ferry back to the mainland via Horseshoe Bay, Whistler is only about 75 minutes north of Horseshoe Bay. Whistler should be on any BC visitors bucket list in that it gives you a reason to take the Sea to Sky highway which is a spectacular piece of ‘must drive’ roadway. There are a few campgrounds near the village including Riverside https://www.parkbridge.com/en/resort/resort-detail/riverside which is very well appointed. I have driveway space available in Coquitlam, which is 30 minutes west of Vancouver if you’re stuck. Best of luck.
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1991 Westfalia EJ251, 1972 Volvo 1800 ES

[dabaron]

safe travels Dave.
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1991 Vanagon GL Camper
i had no idea i wanted to be a mechanic

[djkeev]

Well,
I am SO PAST DUE for an update!!


I’ve photos that I will add but many are in my other phone.
I am carrying two phones, my phone on Consumer cellular and my deceased Wife’s phone on Verizon.
From experience traveling I am well aware that some services work, where others do not.

I am currently at the Goodman State fishing lake in Kansas for the night.
Absolutely beautiful weather, A gorgeous sunset, As the sun is setting in the west I could simultaneously see the full moon rising in the east!
The full moon has lit up the flat Prairie in a most magnificent and beautiful way.

My dog Beau and I are lying in the back of the van with the curtains wide open, we are admiring the starry night, the full moon and the silvery landscape!

But let me back up….

My plan was to leave on May 5, Monday ….. Cinco de Mayo, which sadly because of transmission rebuilding issues and late part delivery I did not get the van running until Saturday morning, May 3.
I drove a few small trips on Saturday after I got it running and then Sunday morning the 4th I took off for a quick trip to the Poconos as a long distance test drive. I needed to pick up camping supplies and trip supplies from the person I’m picking up in Page Arizona on the 17th.
It was also their last day of work retiring Sunday afternoon.

I did not return home until the early afternoon of Monday the 5th and I began packing.
It became quickly obvious that there is no way I was leaving on Monday!


I readjusted my schedule and made a goal of leaving on Tuesday at 10:00 am.
Sadly, with all the trip prep I had to do …. that time came and went, I readjusted to leave at noon. I readjusted to leave at 1….. and as 3 o’clock rolled around I was ready to go!


It was suggested that I not go and spend another night at home, get up early Wednesday and leave, but I was so frustrated.
I just decided to take off.
So at 3 o’clock the dog and I pointed the Van West and headed towards Hershey and Harrisburg ….. really not knowing how far we would travel or where we were going to spend the night.
Leaving at 3 o’clock, I hit school bus hour. There was an accident on the road, causing a traffic jam. Then people got off of work and quite honestly getting through Hershey. Pennsylvania was the worst portion of this trip thus far! Harrisburg wasn’t even as bad as Hershey!

I spent that Tuesday night at a state park just to the west of Harrisburg.
I had a wonderful campsite. I backed the Van up to the creek and was able to listen to the gurgle of the creek all night long.
There were very few other people in the campground.
It was very quiet and I got a good night sleep.

The next morning Wednesday I got up and purposely planned a route avoiding all interstates and limited access highways…. I struck a path West.

I crossed the Appalachians on gorgeous roads. There was fresh spring greenery with little to no traffic.

just an absolutely delightful drive.

Then I crossed into West Virginia. I believe it was on route 21 south of Wheeling.
I pretty much drove directly across the state and crossed into Ohio that same day.
West Virginia may win the curviest road award!

My first destination was my Wife’s Sister in Greenville, Indiana.
I have been part of my wife’s family for 55 years.
The sister I went to see is her youngest sister who does not remember life without me in it!
Greenfield is just east of Indianapolis, but I could not make it in one day.

I had set as a goal for the night an Ohio State Park.
But while I was still a good hour or so from my destination, the skies opened up, the thunder roared and The lightning flashed!
Then torrential quantities of rain came down late Wednesday afternoon turning daylight to darkness.

While driving in the intense rain, I cease out of the corner of my eye a state park sign pointing to the right and said camping 2 miles, I jammed on my brakes, cut the wheel hard and then headed down the road.

Turns out I had found Jesse Owens State Park in Ohio and the place was far from full.
As I pulled in during the rain, I noticed that every camper in the place was parked on the grass which I initially thought was odd …. and against my better wisdom and better judgment, I pulled off of the road onto the grass.
I promptly sunk up to the wheel rims in mud!


I was stuck! Absolutely stuck!
At least I was level and could wait until morning to figure out how to get out of the mud.
I wasn’t going to go anywhere without somebody pulling me out of the mud.
It was still raining hard. I didn’t either bother getting out of the van. I just climbed into the back, poured myself a bowl of cereal and lay down on the bed to do some reading and some writing.
After a short period of time, I noticed a glimmer of sunshine shining into the van. I peeked out the windows and saw that the clouds were parting and the sun had come to brighten up the late afternoon and early evening.

I also noticed that there was a group of guys in the campground sitting around a roaring bonfire!
I also noticed that for each guy seemed to be a four-wheel-drive pick up truck!

I put Beau on his leash and we went visiting.
I introduced myself admitted my stupidity that I had pulled off the gravel roadway, and that I was horribly stuck.
I asked if any of them had a tow strap and would be willing to help me get out of my predicament. One by one the men around the fire made a comment that they usually carry a tow strap, but didn’t bring it on this trip or no they didn’t carry a tow strap ever., and finally one of them shouted over to a gentleman, not in the circle asking if he had a tow strap to which answer was yes he did!
When informed of my situation he said “well I haven’t had that many beers. I think I can still drive! Sure, I’d be happy to pull you out.”
He graciously came over, hooked up the strap, and with hardly any effort at all, pulled my van up the mud.
I offered him beer money to which he refused and said he enjoyed helping me and that he’s been helped so many times in the past the least he could do is to help me!

I thanked him profusely and decided to take a walk towards the office to see if I could locate any cellular service because no one knew where I was and I carried my phone and my deceased wife’s phone which we’re both on different networks both sadly had no service!
I did find service and I let my daughter know where I was, and other people know where I was.
I did walk the dog for a bit and went back to my van.

As I approached my Van, I noticed the guys still sitting around the campfire and by this time it had grown dark, and I decided to thank them all once again for their help. Their response was for me to pull up a chair. We got lots of beers visit for a while.
I spent the next two hours talking to them hearing their stories how they come here every year for the past 35 years to fish together.
When was all said and done and I was saying my good nights they invited me back next year to go fishing with them.

So, what could’ve been an absolutely horrible situation turned out to be when the most enjoyable nights I’ve had for quite a while!
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[jimf909]

Best news of the month. Safe travels!
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- Jim

[Abscate]

Safe travels ,Dave , and enjoy your trip.
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[djkeev]

The journey thus far has been amazing!
I’ve purposed to avoid freeways and I only succumbed but once to their draw.
As US 40 weaves its way alongside I 70 in Ohio, I thought, the Van is running well, how bad can the interstate really be?
So West of Springfield Ohio I left the calm and beauty of US40 and slid down that enticing entry ramp to the hell of interstate travel!
The road was worn, patched and bumpy!
Trucks! OMG the trucks!!!
Bumper to bumper, cars whizzing by at terrifying speeds!
Within a few miles I saw an exit sign and boy did I take it!!!

I meandered a few miles south, found my calm and mostly empty US 40 and continued West!
No traffic, few trucks and beautiful scenery!
I am now almost 1700 miles in, and have traveled just one exit of limited access highway!
Missouri’s roads have been excellent and lightly used, the same with Kansas though the speed limits jumped up to 65 in many places and surprisingly the traffic is heavier!
I’m doing 55-60 mph purposely, I find it to be a good speed for the Van and I find it comfortable to maintain.
Am I a road impediment?
I’m sure I am!
But I keep an eye behind me and pull over as necessary to let folk by.
They honk, flash lights and wave in appreciation as they zoom off into the horizon!

I’ve already received the astonished glances and comments……. Folk look at my Plate and exclaim “you drove here in THAT from Pennsylvania!?!?!

Stories then follow on how they had one, their parents had one or some buddy had one……

They smile as they reminisce and then wish me safe travels as they climb into their expensive go fast machine.
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[djkeev]

Troubles you wonder?
1700 miles on a largely untested machine.
I did indeed take it to see Duncan in Vermont before he passed.
I had running problems, a severe oil leak and l left my gas cap at a gas station in Vermont if you recall.

All of those items have been repaired before taking this journey.

My differential oil leak has been repaired!
My weak reverse problem has been repaired!

Both were ….. I freely admit, results of poor mechanical practices on my part.
Damage to rubber parts on assembly.

The engine and transaxle are now bone dry!!!!
Zero coolant loss or leaks!

The heat works well….. as does the Air Conditioner!

I did develop a high speed miss, above 3000 rpm.
As I drove along I remembered my years of thesamba post reading……
I mulled over in my brain the possibilities.
One time I stopped for a break and to walk Beau.
I lingered for an hour or better after a severe bout of high speed missing.
I noticed as I again set out and headed West… no engine miss!
I could wind that puppy up to 4000 and smooth as silk!
Until
It warmed back up….. ignition coil is heat sunk! My brain shouted at me!
The next morning I dug out my new Busch coil I carry and temporarily hung it off the Air Conditioner pipes.
I went the entire day with no missing!
First guess on the cause and nailed it!!!
As a bonus?
My fuel mileage jumped up significantly and I have more power!

The other tragedy is my window crank handle broke!!!
These aren’t available on every street corner!
Anyone meeting up around Durango have a spare?
Please throw it in your van before you come!
I’m kicking myself!
I knew it was sloppy and I have new ones at home but I forgot about it.
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