One 1965 Bus, One Bus Driver, 6,440 miles in 60 days

[tasb]

When I was a high school kid in northern Michigan I came up with a plan to drive an old pick up across far northern Canada. I was adventurous in my youth including a solo trek across Michigan when I was nineteen. I also spent two and half years hitch hiking across the mid-west. I never made the Canadian truck journey. I retired from teaching three years ago and acquired a 1953 Studebaker 3/4 ton truck . It's spent more than a year at the engine builders and so being Covid impatient, I concluded to drive the 1965 Bus that I have owned for more than thirty years on a slightly different route.

My starting point was Running Springs, California, a small town between Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear. I had a co-pilot, Les for the first leg to Salt Lake City as we left on the 21st of September.

The first leg took us through 100 degree plus heat through Las Vegas to St. George., Utah. The route along interstate 15 takes you across the northwest corner of Arizona. My copilot sprung for a hopefully Covid free motel room. That was a good thing because the extra mileage made for a really long day at 364 miles averaging 55 miles an hour and 24 miles per gallon of fuel.

Up early and with no tent to un pitch we headed for Layton which is a few miles north of Salt Lake City. The drive is scenic along the western edge of the Rockies still on the interstate. We arrived in Layton at Les' brother in laws house, 324 miles. We spent the next day and a half visiting with Les' oldest son.

On the morning of the 24th of September I headed solo, east over the Rockies into Evanston, Wyoming where I got gas. I am still amazed at how easily the climb was compared to the run "up the hill" from San Bernardino to Running Springs. I was born in Evanston but it was in Illinois rather than Wyoming. My mileage across western Wyoming dropped to 18 miles per gallon. My goal before dark was to camp near Independence Rock in eastern Wyoming. I began to wish for an atlas which is more reliable than my phone navigation. my final destination was Seminoe State Park north of Rawlins, 320 miles. After arriving at the park I learned that the road to Independence Rock was more than 100 miles of dirt. It was quiet enough for me to play my Navajo flute this evening, 320 miles today.

Day five was my lost day. sure wish I had a road atlas, I'd been looking for one at every stop. I drove back south to Rawlins in order to catch the road going back north to Independence Rock. arrived at around the noon hour and spent a pleasant hour or more walking around "The Rock". When I was last here in 1991 it was a deserted desolate location. Today it's pretty built up but you can still climb the monolith and view names and dates that are over 150 years old from travelers along the Oregon Trail. I had to continue traveling north even though I really wanted to go east in this desolate country, eventually passing through Casper and reluctantly back onto an interstate. Stopping for gas in Casper, I headed the wrong way on the interstate since the sun was blinding my ability to read the road signs. Eight frustrating miles back west I was able to turn back around. My destination for the night was Glendo State Park. I drove around for twenty miles without actually finding the park entrance, eventually getting back onto the I 25 before heading to Lusk. My new goal was to be camped for the night in my tent before dark but by the time I reached a campground on the west side of Lusk, Wyoming it was already dark, 425 too long miles. I played the flute again tonight with cattle being my audience and lulled to sleep by the whistle of nearby freight trains.

It wasn't long before I crossed the Wyoming Nebraska state line on US 20. the route was torn down to gravel for many miles. I've been on this road several times and some day I hope to stop and actually stay at Fort Robinson.

I stopped for gas in the little crossroads town of Gordon, Nebraska. I was just opening my gas cap when up pulls another 1965 Bus with a camper kit in it. Imagine same highway, same town, same gas station same time going in opposite directions! Samba member Adam was from the Mississippi River Valley area in Iowa. He was headed to the Black Hills in South Dakota and needed gas at the same time that I did.

This was one of the very few times I encountered an older vehicle of any make actually running down the road under it's own power on the entire journey. We stopped briefly to chat and congratulate each other on our luck before heading on our way. I made Cody village park where I camped for the night in the town "too tough to die", only 182 miles today. .

I passed through Valentine, Nebraska around mid day. This town too holds some fond memories of thirty years ago. On a hot afternoon break from driving across country in the same Bus I took a walk in a residential neighborhood and came upon about a dozen boys and girls playing cowboys and Indians. I had no idea kids still did that. Then in the evening I watched as the older kids cruised the main street of town, up and down and back again with the local constabulary keeping watch. I should have joined them, it looked like real fun. Today I just passed on through. Late afternoon I passed through Sioux City and in the process the southeastern tip of South Dakota. My destination was Early, Iowa, 337 miles.

The little farm town of Early has special significance to me. A little known song was written about the town that I used to sing to my boys to put them to sleep at night. I spent my first night in the Bus outside of town at a bird hunting sanctuary , the ground being too marshy for my tent. sure glad a good friend had told me about the Allstays app. Comes in handy to find out of the way places to rest for the night.

From Early I passed through Iowa on US 20 which is really just an interstate with off ramps. I miss the old road that passed through the downtown areas of lots of interesting places. I crossed the Mississippi in Dubuque. It always seems to be raining in this town. Galena, Illinois was next. when I knew this town as a boy it was small and quaint. Now it has been gentrified by all appearances. When I stopped for gas in Stockton, Illinois I finally found my road atlas! My final destination for the day was Lowden State Park in Oregon, Illinois. Oregon is on the banks of the Rock River. I earned my Masters in Education at the field campus of Northern Illinois University, Taft Field Campus adjacent to the park. when I paid my $10 dry camping fee I discovered that the hostess was the former secretary of the field campus while I was studying there. We had several nice chats about the "old days". I traveled 331 miles on day eight. . The statue of Chief Blackhawk at Lowden State Park.

The next day took me into Chicago before striking out north for the suburb of Morton Grove where I have a close friend from college. I few missed turns but I finally arrived in enough time to have a good visit before they put me up for the night in a motel, only 108 miles traveled today.

About mid afternoon Istarted out northbound for Wisconsin on local highways avoiding the super speedy toll road. I have a brother I have not seen in quite a few years, living in Port Washington, north of Milwaukee. I arrived in Port Washington early evening to a light lake shore rain. It was the 1st of October and I had traveled 2,229 miles. I spent three days in Port Washington with my brother. We rode bikes on Green Bay Road just like we did when we were kids. We went for walks and reminisced , the town is a great place for that. I did an oil change and checked my valve tappets. On the fourth day of my visit we headed for Door County spending the night in Bailey's Harbor with some friends of my brother. Local grilled whitefish was a treat. I covered about 50 miles in and around Port Washington and 143 miles of travel to Bailey's Harbor for day 15.

From Bailey's Harbor I passed through Green Bay. I worked on a relatives dairy farm south and west of Green Bay near Clintonville in my youth. I enjoyed it so much that I wanted to have a dairy of my own but recognized that the only way I could afford one was to inherit which was not going to happen. the deep northwoods with it's amply displayed fall colors finally made it's appearance as I passed from Wisconsin to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I camped on Indian Lake near Manistique, Michigan, 238 miles today. My gas consumption had improved to 26 miles per gallon.

From Manistique I continued east crossing the Mackinac Bridge close to mid day. I consider the bridge to be my turn around point since it was the furthest north and east that I would travel. I now headed south for the first time on the journey. I tried out as a carpenters apprentice in Traverse City in my youth. I helped build some of the senior living condo's that now filled the town to what seemed like overflowing. Driving through town is no longer a pleasant experience. I arrived at my days destination of Sleeping Bear Dunes by late afternoon, 247 miles. I stayed for five days "haunting old haunts" as I took to saying.

Besides picturesque and isolated beaches Sleeping Bear is known for 100+ year old, now abandoned farmsteads. The National Park Service has done a magnificent job preserving the houses and barns in arrested decay. The lavish fall colors caught up with me and were intermittently on full sun display during my stay. I spent the 1981 school year working at a camp on Pyramid Point as an interpretive naturalist. The strength of that experience has led me to call the area my home. Pyramid Point used to be an isolated location that only Port Onieda locals knew about. The place gave off an energy that was palpable. I had told my family that I wanted my ashes left there. Today it's one of five places that the visitors center suggests people visit if they are on a limited time schedule. That energy that I once felt is now muddied.

Watching the sun set over Lake Michigan at the park in Empire, Michigan is a real treat. On the evening I was there I met a man playing a hand held drum, a perfect opportunity to play my flute. I didn't learn until later that he had an Irish drum and played in that style having to slow it down incredibly to match the Navajo flavor of my playing.

I left Sleeping Bear on the 18th of October at 3,266 miles traveled a few miles past what would be the half way point in miles traveled. I'd driven along the Lake Michigan shore so many times in the past that I chose to go inland as I headed south on Michigan route 37. I grew up in summer camp first as a camper then a junior counselor then counselor, unit leader and later off season caretaker. The camp no longer exists having lake front acreage it was sold years ago. At the age of 16 I'd saved enough money for the down payment on ten acres of forest land in northern Muskegon County. Very little of these years still remains in the area reminding me that forty years is a long time in human lifespan. I traveled only 193 miles on this day. but I did quite a bit of hiking and general stomping around.

When I awoke in the forest this morning there was snow on the tent snd ground and as I headed south and a bit east for Grand Rapids there was ice and snow on the roads in shady places. I have friends and former neighbors that live in Grand Rapids. I stayed on their couch for three nights waiting for the weather to warm a bit, which it did not. Eventually I departed and took a short run down to Samba member "Beanie Brian". I'd stayed at Brian's a few years earlier preferring to sleep in his storage barn and shop tucked in amongst four barndoor Buses. We checked my dwell which was off just a bit and the timing which was spot on and discovered why I wasn't getting much cabin heat. The right side fan to heater box hose had come off and was found opposite the battery tray. Brian left me with a small pile of Split Bus parts since all he has are Barndoors!

[Big Bill]

I am buckled in for the remainder of the trip. Good stuff.

[tasb]

On day thirty-three I left Michigan heading south through a number of small farm towns entering Indiana my tenth state near Elkhart where my parents were born and are buried. my destination today was Turkey Run State Park. When I was in high school I acted as chaperone for some younger classmates who went camping with their dates at this state park. At night on their way into town to buy snacks they were hit by a drunk driver. We all piled into one car on the trip home and I got into trouble because I was just eighteen at the time and their parents thought an adult was accompanying the kids, 264 miles traveled on day 33.

Since I'd left Chicago and headed north the scenery was pretty nice. Now as I crossed from Indiana back into Illinois the fallow farm fields took over. The land was still green but the colorful trees were much less common. My destination was New Salem, Illinois, where President Abraham Lincoln first practiced law. 196 miles traveled. I stayed on the "Rez" dry camping and was the only one at the campground in Rood(red)house, Illinois. No one in town seemed to know why it was called The Rez but once their I realized that a small dam created a reservoir probably for municipal water supply.

I made a wrong turn out of the campground that took me ten miles out of my way but it was a pretty rural drive. Google took me to New Salem instead of "Lincolns New Salem a detour back east of 71 miles. Lincoln's New Salem was one of my parents favorite places to visit. When I pulled into the parking lot I didn't recognize the place at first. All the concessions were closed- it was the end of October during Covid 19. Once past the concessions I instantly recognized the buildings, even the pavilion across the road where the grist mill still stood though it is now in ruins. We used to picnic here. todays journey just 102 miles camped at the Lincoln's New Salem State Park.

As I headed west and across the Mississippi River at Quincy, Illinois it was a light rain just like in Dubuque. I didn't find the scenery of central Missouri to be particularly alluring. There was very little foliage color, mostly turning brown or bare farm fields. I landed early afternoon in Pershing State Park near Meadville, it was almost 80 degrees but by morning the temperature was in the 20's. 207 miles traveled on day thirty-seven.

Today I left the hills behind and entered flat open country. My destination was Kansas City. Google sent me to an address in Missouri but I was
looking for Kansas. Yes, people actually do live in Kansas City, Kansas. I hadn't seen my childhood friend Rick since I got married thirty years ago. We visited, took his dogs for a walk and played music together. I shared some Kansas City barbeque before I left two days later. Travel distance from Meadville to Kansas City Kansas was 106 miles adding about 25 miles for trips around town.

It was quite chilly when I headed across Kansas on day forty. The wind changed from across to head on as I reached Belleville. A winter storm had already started so I decided to get a room instead of weathering it out in a tent. I drove into town for supplies and a laundromat. nearly every small town has one of these. They are great for cleaning clothes of course, but also useful for the traveler because they are warm, usually have a toilet room, always have electrical outlets to charge your phone or whatever. The storm left about three inches on the open prairie so I stayed an additional day so the roads would be clear. The driving distance from KC to Belleville is 201 miles and the Bus and I had traveled a total distance of 4,488 at this point.

The open prairie lands are interesting to drive in my opinion. The trick is you need to travel the smaller roads where you pass near farmsteads and actually go through the main streets of towns. I traveled through interesting little burgs like Scandia, Montrose and Mankato. Just north of the town of Lebanon off US route 36 you can pause at the geographic center of the United States.

At the gas station in the little town of Phillipsburg, Kansas I met two interesting characters. Both are fellow Samba members. The first was returning from Denver to his home in northern Kansas. He wasn't driving a vintage VW but he often does. He shared a story about another Samba member who by pure chance came upon his homestead of old adobe just after dark. He was looking for a place to camp for the night. Another customer Mark, was driving a large American truck. He asked me if I had ever been to the VW Bus show in Lake Havasu, AZ. I shared that I had only missed a couple because of the birth of my sons. I'm also a "brother" to one of the half dozen London Bridge Bullies who puts on the show every January, except this one. That's a lot of connecting for a little Kansas town. I was told twice to top up on gas in St Francis, Kansas because after that there would be no gas until I was on the outskirts of Denver if I stayed on US 36. That was accurate advice.

Google told me that there were two motels in the little town of Idalia, Colorado. It was frigid cold with snow blowing onto the highway all day long. Route 36 turns into a pretty small road when it enters Colorado. There are only five tiny 'towns" between the Kansas line and Strasburg on the outskirts of Denver. When I arrived in Idalia I found one motel, pretty run down. The office and cafe were closed and the folks in the parking lot ignored me , giving me the clue that the tourist season was over. the second motel was thirty miles back east. Use Google but, Don't trust Google. I continued west unhappily. The last half hour the sun was fiercely obstructing my vision, eventually arriving in Byers, Colorado for the night. I was only about forty miles away from my friends who live in Aurora, Colorado but I was done! A whopping 364 miles traveled today, that's a lot for a 55 year old stock VW averaging 55 miles per hour.

On day forty-five I entered the environs of Denver. I'd been doing my best to avoid big cities staying on smaller highways as much as possible. Entering aurora left little choice as it's firmly within the urban sprawl. i've known Dave and Claire for as long as I have none my wife Ann. I hired them as teaching naturalists when I was the curriculum specialist at an outdoor science school. at that time Claire drove a 1968 or 69 orange Bay Window Bus. Covid was a concern as neither one of them could afford time away from work and Dave was scheduled to visit his mom who is currently in a nursing home. I stayed four days making some interesting side trips. We visited a world class butterfly garden, spent a day at "Garden of the God's", took a bike ride that nigh onto killed me since I'd lost my elevation advantage while road tripping. Finally a day was spent in the antiques district of Denver. My friends were indulgent hosts and I was losing my road trip hardening by the time I'd left. I have some other friends in the Denver area, in Morrison closer to the footthills of the Rockies. My second day in Morrison was the 3rd of November, election day. I departed Morrison on the 4th. Byers to Aurora 33 miles, Aurora to Morrison 31 miles.

I backtracked to Aurora which was a good thing since I'd left my hat there and then headed south. I had no choice but to use the interstate 25 as I traveled south. A few miles past Colorado Springs a traffic jam was present. At the first road construction sign announcing the closure of the right lane everyone moved over to the left lane causing the jam. From the right lane looking ahead I could see no signs of the road actually being closed so I sped ahead at least two miles. At the last sign where I could see that the lane was ending I tried to move over in zipper fashion. The first two motorists were so angry at me that one pounded on their steering wheel and the other laid on their horn for at least 20 seconds. I gotta wonder where these people learned to drive.

I reached Trinidad Colorado for lunch. My friend in Grand Rapids grew up here. He doesn't have too many nice things to say about the place but I had no ill effects from my short stay. I made it to a small campground in the small town of Cimmaron, New Mexico by mid afternoon. Driving distance was a comfortable 257 miles. Total driving 5,204 miles.

I had heard good things about Taos and the pueblo that has been continuously inhabited for many hundreds of years. The drive from Cimmaron to Taos is very pleasant. When I arrived in Taos I quickly learned that the pueblo was closed to the public and that more than 300 people were in the local hospital with Covid and five had died on this day. I decided not to do any shopping and headed for a BLM campground south of town. 73 miles traveled on day 46.

I stayed two days in the campground because I was the only one there. With the exception of Sleeping Bear the Rio Grande Gorge south of Taos was my favorite place to camp. I did some hiking and flute playing in the canyon and drove up to the tenth tallest suspension bridge in the world west of Taos. At the bridge there is a rest area where local artisans display and sell their wares. I had some nice conversations with these indigenous peoples. Gifts were purchased for my family members. in and around the gorge I traveled 44 miles.

I took interesting local roads south avoiding both Santa Fe and Albuquerque. a good long leg stretch was made at Quaral Pueblo and Mission near Mountainair, New Mexico. In Socorro I headed west through Magdalena past the radio telescope site to Datil, New Mexico and a BLM campground, 284 miles. I changed oil in the campground and checked dwell which was fine. I also verified that my valve tappets were still in spec. When I tried to reinstall the distributor it kept popping out of it's seat so being a distributor guy I replaced the distributor with my spare. I received some appreciated help from the other camper in the campground, James. I did a fair amount of needed hiking in the campground and visited the gas station and general store in nearby Datil. 284 miles.

From east central New Mexico I headed west on US route 60, pretty and desolate country reaching Show Low, Arizona a bit after noon. It had been snowing for a little over an hour and the roads were starting to turn white. after gassing up I was headed down hill about five miles west of town when the rear of the Bus started to slide! I ended up doing a 270 degree spin at about 30 miles an hour. I ended up in oncoming lanes without out anyone oncoming but I sure scared the people in the vehicles that were behind me. I quickly decided to turn around and shack up in town. At the intersection I had just gassed up at there was a four car pileup with Sheriff's cars already present and a paramedic on the way. Datil to Show Low is 137 miles.

Rick and Susan have known each other for as long as I have been married. I hired Ranger Rick as a teaching naturalist at the same center that I hired Dave and Claire. I had visited them back in May and had vowed to return to help them clear out their storage sheds. They live in Tonto Basin south of Payson, Arizona. besides visiting eating good home cooked food and cleaning out two sheds I paraded the Bus in Punkin Center for Memorial Day. It is 121 miles from Show Low to Tonto Basin.

I started having ignition switch problems when I was back in Morrison, Colorado. After switching the key to off the ignition would stay on intermittently. I even disconnected the negative battery post at one point and the Bus kept running. My departure from Tonto Basin was delayed by more than an hour because after the parade I forgot to disconnect the battery and it was now drained. When I drove through Phoenix in May I promised myself that I'd never do that again. Somewhere heading into Phoenix I lost my navigation and missed the turn north of the city and ended up driving through the city again. It wasn't as bad this time. My destination this day was Parker, Arizona. A little hard to believe during Covid lockdowns but there was a VW car show there the following day at a city park. I arrived just as it was going dark, met my Morrison friends who have a home up in Havasu for dinner. Mileage today 241 miles.

I was up early, too early being the first to arrive. The day was beautifukl staying in the 70's most of the day. It was nice to do something that resembled normal after ten months of bad news. The distance between Park er and Havasu Arizona is 40 miles.

I spent the next three nights with my friends in Havasu. Bob and I had determined that my gas tank had a leak though we weren't sure where on the tank as it was intermittent. We pulled the the engine and tank. The leak was just below where the filler neck and the tank join. There is a hard rubber donut that holds the filler neck still and mine had long ago hardened and fallen apart. We drove up to Kingman for the tank and parts along with a new old ignition switch. The new tank required extra modifications which resulted in another day before the tank would line up correctly. The battery got the correct sized terminals and I discovered that the switch was still good. The 32 fuse had come out of it's holder and had contacted the top of the #1 fuse giving the impression that the switch was going bad. At least I now had a spare switch for the travel kit.

I left Havasu on the morning of the 60th day of my journey covering the 250 miles back to Running Springs by midafternoon with the Bus in better shape than when I had left. My total mileage was 6,440 miles. That works out to an average of 117 miles per day with my gas mileage averaging 24 miles per gallon. I'm planning my next journey across the southern states to the Smokey Mountains in my head at least. Maybe next time driving the single cab.

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Roads Scholar &
1957 Kombi low mileage 36 hp governor equipped M 178 Slow Drag Winner 2014, 2015, 2018

1965 hardtop Deluxe Microbus owned since 1990 M 620 factory 12 v 1500cc

1961 (October)Single Cab- Road Trip Workhorse

[airschooled]

I’m really enjoying reading this! There haven’t been a ton of travel threads this year, and it’s nice to know there are other VWs out there just doing their things.
Robbie
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[Big Bill]

Thanks for adding the photos, adds a lot to the story. Now load that bus up and get another road trip going.

[Hobug]

Nice trip! Thanks for posting. Travel threads are always my favorite.
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73 Thing (Typ481)
76 Westy
69 Squareback auto
72 Super
63 Bug

[supercub]

Sounds like it was a great trip.

[Blue Baron]

I love vagabond stories. We can live vicariously through you!
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We are striving for perfection, to make our cars run forever, if possible.

Heinz Nordhoff

[Shonandb]

Nice read. Sounds like a great trip!

A buddy and I did Canon Beach Oregon to Halifax Nova Scotia in a 1973 VW Panel Bus, stopping only for gas and to switch drivers back in the early 90s. It took us about 54 hours but I don't remember much of the trip other than getting pulled over for speeding in New York State.
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76 Westy with a 2.5L Subaru SOHC + Vanagon (010) Automatic Transaxle
Build & Trip Thread: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=758760
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