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Cold Steel
Samba Member
Joined: March 11, 2010
Posts: 587
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 Posted: Sat Jul 31, 2010 4:28 pm Post subject: |
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THIS THREAD HAS TO BE THE BEST THREAD OF ALL TIME!
I remember when my gas tank was out my project was a mess. This would send me right back out to work on it!
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91 Syncro
I am a samba thread just waiting to happen!
"Advanced Syncroist" |
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singler3360
Samba Member
Joined: February 25, 2009
Posts: 1191
Location: Corvallis, Oregon
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| Posted: Sat Jul 31, 2010 5:20 pm Post subject: |
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Coming down the east side of the Canadian Rockies, big horn sheep ewes licking salt off the road. More like the wilderness came to our Westy!
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OllieG
Samba Member
Joined: March 29, 2010
Posts: 1
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| Posted: Mon Aug 02, 2010 6:18 pm Post subject: |
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Wrights Lake, Desolation Wilderness
Mendocino, CA Camping
Mendocino Headlands
Sherman Island, CA Kiteboarding/Camping
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ASIsyncro
Samba Member
Joined: August 01, 2010
Posts: 62
Location: Western Slope, Colorado
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| Posted: Mon Aug 02, 2010 7:57 pm Post subject: Our Syncro Pics |
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Here are a few pics of our Syncro on some trips into the mountains around the Western Slope of Colorado...
These two above were taken on the Flat Tops...
These three above were taken on the Roan Plateau...
The above two were taken on a trail to an old coal mine...
This was taken next to Beaver Creek (not the well known Beaver Creek) and is the only camping spot on the entire mountain...nice and private  |
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whynotvw
Samba Member
Joined: May 04, 2004
Posts: 1322
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| Posted: Tue Aug 03, 2010 8:54 pm Post subject: |
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one day trip in temescual canyons in corona ca. having some fun.
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syncrodoka
Samba Member
Joined: December 27, 2005
Posts: 12417
Location: Santa Cruz, CA
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| Posted: Tue Aug 03, 2010 10:55 pm Post subject: |
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I spent the last 2 weeks putting 1500 miles on the truck roaming the coast between Bodega Bay and Klamath and hitting many swimming holes on several rivers with the kids. A very nice guy in Orick gave me a bentley(mine is missing both covers and is well worn). Thank you random stranger!
Wright's beach on the sonoma coast. The beach is right behind the bushes and the kids set up hammocks to the right and left side of the campsite. 
Swimming with the kids on the eel river.
The Lost Coast.
The Lost Coast.
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syncroserge
Samba Member
Joined: November 26, 2005
Posts: 571
Location: Okotos, Alberta, Canada
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| Posted: Wed Aug 04, 2010 11:05 am Post subject: |
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Great thread to get ideas of new places to go by the way...
I've had a syncro westy since 1989 so been lots of places but it took those
21 years to find what to me is the most amazing campsite.
I tried google maps to give you all an idea of where but I just ain't good
enough with the net  just google Bella Coola, British Columbia.
Bella Coola lies at the end of a 340 miles dead end road. In the 50's the
locals got fed up with the government not finishing the road and grabbed
the dozers and the dynamite and went at it! They were great people
no doubt but no road engineers  it drops like a rock down that
mountain like a hiking trail...
"The Hill" 12 to 18 % for 12 miles...
From town is a small dirt road passable to a 2wd under the best conditions
but I would recommend a syncro or 2wd with lift and limited slip.
The road goes straight up I guesstimate 2000ft. up the side of the mountains
then back down maybe 500ft to a lake hanging nearly at the edge of a cliff
over the South Bentinck Arm.
My daughter is blown away by the beauty of the place as you can see 
Behind the van is the cliff then maybe 60-70 miles of snow capped mountains to the ocean. Anybody who gets tempted don't hesitate to
contact me for more info.
North Bentinck Arm
...and the perfect way to relax before leaving this paradise...
http://www.bellacoolamusic.org/ |
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Steelhead
Samba Member
Joined: February 25, 2007
Posts: 1791
Location: Kentfield, CA
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| Posted: Wed Aug 04, 2010 11:41 am Post subject: |
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Just another shot of the Tetons Mtns, Wyoming
Turpin Meadows, Wyoming
Campsite on the Buffalo Fork River, WY
Sunset in the Nevada Desert, ~70mph
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'77 Bay Window / '89 Caratsburg (aka. the Stormtrooper) |
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SpudlyHotPotato
Samba Member
Joined: April 27, 2010
Posts: 150
Location: Phoenix, AZ
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| Posted: Thu Aug 05, 2010 12:46 am Post subject: |
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The Lost Coast.
The Lost Coast.
[/quote]
This site is one of the best there! We didn't camp in that spot, but the night we arrived, we took a short walk and met a couple in a camper and they invited us to dinner with them. We stood around the fire all night with them drinking beers after dinner. They said they saw sea otters and learned that in the rocks, what they'd thought at first was litter turned out to be clamshells.
This is my favorite campsite ever, so far. I only learned about it thanks to the Samba! I wish it wasn't a 3-day drive from me ...
_________________
Rebuilt 2.1 in a 1985 manual Camper
"Those things are over kill and I want a set" - Jedi
"All my work explores the human desire or obsession for utopias, and the structure of all my works is the search for utopias lost and rediscovered." - Marguerite Young
www.bewilderknits.com |
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westynova
Samba Member
Joined: December 14, 2008
Posts: 209
Location: Nova Scotia, Canada
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| Posted: Thu Aug 05, 2010 4:17 pm Post subject: |
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Big Sky in PEI
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84 Westy
2010 VW Golf TDI Wagon
2009 Jeep Rubicon Unlimited, Lifted and Locked |
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sanchius 
Samba Member
Joined: May 03, 2007
Posts: 1594
Location: IN
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| Posted: Mon Aug 09, 2010 5:56 pm Post subject: |
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Caribou Flats, Aug 2010: Roughing it by a warm fire after a fine dinner at the Wild Mountain Barbeque & Microbrewery in Nederland, Colorado. Later that moonless night, when it was _really_ dark, we walked down to the abandoned miners graveyard further down the road. As we approached the graveyard, we were spooked by wild, unearthly, howling that was way too close for comfort and staged a Scooby-dooesque high-speed strategic retreat ( i.e. Ruh-Roh, Shaggy, let's get the h*ll out of here!!! ) back to the safety of the Westy.
The next morning it was a bright and sunny day. Note on the far slope, more beetle kill starting to show up east of the Continental Divide (ref: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=3258926&highlight=#3258926 )
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crank71
Samba Member
Joined: June 15, 2008
Posts: 27
Location: Edmonton
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| Posted: Mon Aug 09, 2010 8:38 pm Post subject: Camping in Whistler |
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Outside friends place near Whistler last week.
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sanchius
Samba Member
Joined: May 03, 2007
Posts: 1594
Location: IN
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| Posted: Tue Aug 10, 2010 8:28 am Post subject: |
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| In the thread 'favorites', debbiej wrote: |
I love the vanagons in the wilderness thread. when you can't get away to go yourself, it helps.
between aging parents and parents in law and owning a small business, and mechanical issues just when we were going to get to take the ole girl on a trip........
I've missed traveling, camping and exploring in my van.
my son went to the Grand Canyon last year. he wrote me that he was parked next to a guy in a westfalia. he said every picture he took was of the westy, with the grand canyon as a back drop. he said he was reminded of me. the only people who photograph their vehicles as members of their family.
well, maybe this fall/winter. the first trips we took in her were between Christmas and New Years.... time to go again!
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Thanks for the kind words. Also, check out the similar threads in the splitty and Bay forums, they're fun too.
I've learned that writing about our trips lets me live three times: having the original experience, reliving it again when I compose the story, and once again when I reread it years later.
As far as making it so that we can get away often, some strategies that work for me are:
- Simply make it a priority to get my vanagon mechanically sound to where I trust it for weekend trips. Then drive it regularly to shake out the bugs. Right now I'm using my Syncro Westy as my daily driver and I'm amazed how well it is doing at >250K miles. While it may not be as off-road capable on the extreme places as our old solid-axle Land Cruiser, after flying down one of our favorite forest trails at 40mph, it is _way_ more comfortable and we can sleep in it too. But, the fun I'm having this summer was paid for last winter when I pulled the engine and rebuilt the top-end. No Van = No Fun.
From http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=303228:
- Make it easy to make the decision to go camping. Find a couple places within 45 minutes driving that don't require reservations to camp. For us, it is some mountain-top mining property where I bring my own wood to burn, stay off the wildflowers and pack an extra steak & beer for the care taker if he stops by. If I notice that it's been a month or two since our last outing, I set a date soon to go camping and stick to it.
- Have everything needed to simply leave work and go camping already in the van: go-bag with clothes, trail-runners, coats and toiletries, sleeping bag, blankets, camp chairs, battery-powered lantern, etc. You'll find that these will come in handy at other times, as well. Grab a couple of gallon water jugs and some snacks from the grocery store on the day you leave and you are good to go.
- For some, camp cooking is the essence of camping, for others, not. Sometimes I'm the former, sometimes the latter. If you are the latter, don't let that stop you. Do some easy no-cook overnighters; eat dinner out along the way, bring donuts, juice and coffee in a thermos for the next morning.
- Fortunately I have a spouse who loves to go camping. But, when she has other things going on, the kids and I go anyway. Sometimes she joins us for part of the trip, other times she enjoys some quiet time to herself.
- Don't forget the camera.
- If I was musical and could play an instrument, that would complete the picture. But, since I'm not, I put in a stereo that I'm happy with and wired it with a switch that lets me run it off the spare battery when the ignition is off.
Above all, just get out and have fun! Then post your amazing pictures & stories here...
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Alaric.H
Samba Member
Joined: March 28, 2009
Posts: 2529
Location: Sandy Springs GA
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| Posted: Tue Aug 10, 2010 12:29 pm Post subject: |
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Not my usual Vanagons in the wilderness post but a great ride none the less SF to Seattle Highway 1 & 101.My arms still hurt.
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edgood1
Samba Member
Joined: September 30, 2004
Posts: 2153
Location: Plymouth, MA
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Carver Dude
Samba Member
Joined: August 17, 2009
Posts: 210
Location: Buena Vista, CO
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| Posted: Sat Aug 14, 2010 1:09 pm Post subject: |
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Decided to pack up the family for a quick overnight up Guanella Pass yesterday. My sons first time camping and he LOVED it!!
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83 Vanagon
69 Tin Top Camper
86 Vanagon
71 Westy
76 Tin Top Westy
70 Camper |
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Bruce Wayne
Samba Member
Joined: May 15, 2007
Posts: 1210
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| Posted: Sat Aug 14, 2010 9:35 pm Post subject: |
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near Yuba Reservoir in Utah.on our road trip to see Rush at Red Rocks on the 18th of August.
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IrideWheelies
Samba Member
Joined: July 09, 2009
Posts: 386
Location: Olympia, WA
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| Posted: Sun Aug 15, 2010 7:47 pm Post subject: |
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We took a short trip up to the Gifford Pinchot NF last week. Camped at Walupt Lake campground.
Here's my van, my co-pilot, my dog and Mt Adams.
This waterfall was seriously cold and the water was delicious, the best we had on the trip. No, we don't drink it straight from the stream, but we don't use a filter either. We use one of these: http://www.steripen.com/adventurer , one of the best camping accessories ever.
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89' Dove Blue Syncro Hightop |
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Saguache
Samba Member
Joined: December 28, 2009
Posts: 360
Location: Gunnison, CO
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| Posted: Sun Aug 15, 2010 9:46 pm Post subject: |
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(Not sure why BBCode img tags aren't working for me today, but) (Fixed it) here's a photo of Zeno up on the mesa north of town. We went to see the meteor shower last Thursday and had a ball.
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Matt Thyer
http://zenoswagen.wordpress.com/
Last edited by Saguache on Mon Aug 16, 2010 9:43 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Sir Sam
Samba Member
Joined: July 19, 2009
Posts: 1724
Location: Fort Collins Colorado!
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| Posted: Sun Aug 15, 2010 10:32 pm Post subject: |
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Some camping:
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'91 Carat Westy
87' Syncro + '87 Westy conversion coming soon |
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