Conclusion

So this is it. We are now home. Back to the craziness of everyday life. Although it is always nice to be home after any trip, I find myself several times throughout a day longing to be back there. I can only speak for myself, but this trip has changed both of us for the better. What have we learned?

1. Enjoy the simple things in life. The smell of a campfire, the silence of the outdoors, the appreciation of a good shower-these are just a few of my favorite things!

2. We will be Westy owners for life! No explanation is necessary.

3. Never count on everything working out as planned. Instead, embrace the unexpected.

4. We can get through anything when we are together. No matter what it is, together as a team we succeed.

5. Give back to others whenever you can. Whatever you give comes back to you ten fold. Thank you to all those who helped us and made us feel welcome along the way. We will never forget you all!!!

Our trip was magnificent! So many adventures and encounters that cannot even come close to being explained in words. Therefore, we are not discouraged. We will go on. This is not an end to our blog by any means. It is a continuation-til next summer. To be continued on our honeymoon; when we conquer the rest of the Pacific Coast that we left off on!!!

Game Over

So what have we been doing all this time? Basically looking into different options and deciding which one would be best for us. We love being a Westy owner. Our heart lies with Amber. What other vehicle can be your daily driver and also a home for a month, a summer, or even a year? None in which you have a bed, a stove, a fridge, a sink AND still get 30 miles per gallon if conditions are right. So our decision is to rent a U-haul truck with a car caddy and take her back to Shorewood, WI. Our route will be Oregon to Wyoming to Idaho to Montana to North Dakota to Minnesota to Wisconsin. It has been a good ride. Stay tuned for our final entry...

Engine Catastrophe

All of Mike's hard work has ended in game over! A small part of the pre-combustion chamber broke loose and ruined a valve and a piston. Basically a small explosion occurred in the engine and now the whole engine is seized up and of no use anymore. Mike will have to start all over when we return in fall. The mechanics who looked it over determined that the head was a bad part. Mike did everything right when putting the engine in to begin with, there was nothing he could do to prevent it. So now we are off to renting a u-haul and returning home. It will be a while (a couple weeks until we return) and another adventure in itself. We will continue to keep you posted.

Thanks Everyone

Thank you everyone for your suggestions and help. We are figuring out our situation and options and will be letting everyone know what is going on ASAP. All of you have been so helpful and kind I know it sounds king of corny but I must say this: I now have a more positive outlook on humanity.

Oh crap!

Today is a somber day. Amber pooped out on us. She was idling violently, puffing out white smoke, and then nothing. She just quit. Mike had to bike to where we could get cell phone reception and then call AAA. They towed us to Florence where a place called ACR Automotive will look at her tomorrow. We checked into a motel across from there called Silver Sand's Motel. They had the best shag carpet ever!!! Keith (the nice man from yesterday) called us to check out how we were doing. He also recommended places we should check out here while we wait. Another awesome person that has crossed our paths throughout this trip. I do beleive (more than ever before) that there are way more good people in this world than bad. We have experienced this first hand throughout our whole adventure. I am optimistic about our situation. Just a minor set back on our trip. We have money and time still so we will hope for the best. The verdict will be in tomorrow.

August 3, 2009

Today we continued on through Oregon. We stopped at Devil's punchbowl to view the scenery and pay a visit to the Winery. We walked along the shoreline and enjoyed the gentle breeze. Life is good. Next we continued on and stopped at a seafood market in Waldport. We bought fresh local crab-live. I would have been cool with the ones already cooked, but Mike wanted the freshest ones possible. As we drove further, Amber's engine began idoling funny. We pulled over to check it out, and an extremely nice man named Keith stopped to help. He was driving a Westaflia Syncro. There is some kind of special bond with all these Westfalia owners that I am still trying to figure out. It is actually very cool and I am proud to now be part of this. Keith and Mike checked out the engine a bit, but they were unable to pinpoint what it could be. We chose to drive back three miles to Tahkenitch Forest Park and find a spot so Mike could continue with his diagnosis. No luck. We decided to call it a night by feasting on our crabs and Devil's Punchbowl Pinot Blanc.

August 2, 2009

Onto Oregon we go! It is a beautiful state. There are many hills, cliffs, rock outcroppings, and sand dunes along Hwy 101. We traveled for a bit and then stopped at Tillamook Cheese Factory. Everyone knows how I love cheese and this is truly what I would view heaven as. It is the largest cheese place I have ever seen. After I bought five chunks of various cheeses and two bags of curds we were on our way again. This should last me a few days or so. Then we stopped at Rocky Bend Forestry Service Campground. It lies along the Nestucca River. It was a nice place to spend the night, and best of all it was FREE! We made Scooby sandwiches with corn on the cob and had a campfire. This is the life.

August 1, 2009

Since county parks seem to be the way to go, we decided to stay one more day in this beautiful spot along the ocean shoreline. I read, while Mike worked on Amber. He changed her oil, fixed her brake light, changed her air filter, and fixed the bubble in the injection pump. During the afternoon, we rode our bikes for a while, and Mike misunderstood the RV dump station sign (see picture above). That is totally his sense of humor! Then we went clamming on the shores of the Pacific Ocean. After catching 23 clams, we headed back. Mike and I feasted on salmon and clam alfredo accompanied by white wine tonight. Our night ended with Mike going to do his business in the porta potty, but instead Mike deposited his new book on accident. He was very sad to say goodbye to "One Man's Wilderness" as it went down, down, down.

July 30, 2009

Woke up today and I took an ICE cold shower. I guess a cold one is better than none. Mike was not as brave. He decided to stay smelly for a while longer. We spent a great deal of time blogging to catch up and then headed on our way. We got an excellent spot just outside of South Bend, Washington at Bruce Port County Campground. We also met another friend today. His name was Roman and he spent the winter biking through Russia. Now he is on his way from Canada to Ecuador for a year. Another hard core traveler. We chatted with him and shared a little bit of Wisconsin-Johnsonville brats and beer.

July 29, 2009

Today was seafood fishing day. Mike and I walked down to the coast and tried our best to fish the Washington shores (with no gear of course). As we got to the pier, we saw a beautiful jellyfish swimming in the water. Then we went fishing with our hands. Mike and I caught lots of mini crabs, 2 clams, and 2 oysters. Only one of the oysters were big enough to keep. We shucked it and took it back to the van. Since neither of us are fond of raw oysters, we sauteed it with butter and seasoning salt. It was delicious! Next we loaded Amber and headed out onto 101 again. On our way we stopped at a winery. As Mike said, "I want to keep my Kelly happy". Wine does make me happy-hee, hee. Then we did a nice sized grocery shopping at Walmart and finally found a site at Bogachiel State Park. To end our night we had cheese and crackers, steaks, corn, potatoes and red wine :-)

July 28, 2008

Washington is having record high temperatures right now. It is 100 degrees today. Mike and I drove to Seattle so he could pick up his new check card and credit cards. We now know what it is to experience culture shock. Although we live in a big city, we have not been around it for six weeks now. Traffic, impatient drivers, hurried people, parking regulations, etc. seem like a distant past to us. As we were sweating our butts off in the sweltering heat trying to figure out the new parking meters, frustration brewed to a boiling point for both of us. Just as I was praying for God to please take me back to Alaska, Saint Blair came to our rescue. Blair was a true angel. He offered us quarters for the meters, walked us to a pub and grill, and spent two hours with us showing us the route we needed to take to get to the Pacific Coast Highway 101. Blair also guided us to the expressway so we could get out of the hustle and bustle of city life. Just when we thought the people we met couldn't get any nicer we met Blair. Thank you Blair, you are a true Good Samaritan. We proceeded to take the Edmonds-Kingston Ferry and then we stayed at Sequim State Park for the night. As soon as we got closer to the coast, it cooled down and watched another amazing sunset. Then we did our usual routine: Stop, Pop, Shuffle, and Drop (stop at a site, pop the top, shuffle our things, and drop the bed). We were exhausted!

July 27, 2009

Wo woke up this morning and were visited by a very nice couple from Oregon. They were traveling in a cream colored Westy and returning from Alaska too. We shared stories before they headed out for the day. Again it is a scorching afternoon. We traveled for about 250 miles and then needed to stop again to take a swim. Mike and I chose Kelly Lake for our dip. It was a beautiful torquiose blue and very refreshing. After a nice lunch we continued on. We drove through Cache Creek which is known as Canada's Arizona. It was blazing hot. Mike and I got blizzards from Dairy Queen and continued on. We watched a beautiful sunset as we kept on truckin'. Finally we got to US customs. We passed through with no problems again. Right after the border we stayed at a very run-down RV campground, but we did not care. It was 10:00 pm and we toasted a beer thankful to be back in America again.

July 26, 2009

What is this? Two days in a row with showers? Mike and I are going to become high maintenance. Our new motto is "shower when you got them". We truly appreciate the simple things in life now. One of our luxuries this afternoon was buying fresh tomatoes for our sandwiches. It was an extremely hot day today. As we started our first few miles on our way, an identical Amber passed us on the highway-it was even diesel! The one difference was that it was very stinky and passing puffs of smoke onto us. It reminded me of when Mike first got our Westy. Now with the new engine, she hums along. We only made it 250 miles today. We could not go any further due to the weather. We stopped to camp at 10 mile lake. We immediately biked to the beach and took an excellent swim. We then retired after eating BBQ chicken and rice. Just before bed Mike asked me, "Are you getting sick of living like this?" My response was, "No way, I could go on forever!" Each day is truly a new adventure.

July 25, 2009

Woke up today and had a fabulous shower! We said our goodbyes to Alex and Ryan and wished them well. Then we packed up with a hoard of 500 biting flies, and back on the road again. As we drove on, we passed our friends on the bikes and took a great action shot of them. Just a ways further we watched a black bear scurry across the road and disappear into the brush. A great way to start the day. Also, I don't think I mentioned this before, but the ravens out here in Canada and Alaska are the size of chickens. Check out the picture-remember to click on it to get full size. A little further on our way, we pulled up to a scene that looked like it could be an accident. Instead, it was a checkpoint. We were stopped by the fish and wildlife police. They were checking vehicles to see if any fish or game were being transported. Crazy! Since we are not, they flagged us through, and we carried on. Mike and I have stopped listing the Westy's that we pass now, they are plentiful in this area. It is great to watch Mike get so excited and lean his hand way out of the window to wave at our fellow Vanagon owners. We decided to stop early today at Shady Rest RV park just outside of Houston, BC. I had to blog and Mike had to tend to Amber. Only 750 more miles to Seattle!

July 24, 2009

We started our day off seeing two huge moose as roadkill-not a great site. We were grateful that we stopped driving last night when we did because that could have been us hitting those magnificent creatures. Counting our blessings, we continued driving on to the Cassier Highway in British Columbia. As we were driving through the gravel sections of road under construction, we heard a horrifying noise. It sounded like a large clunking and scraping sound. It was so loud that the car behind us stopped to see if we needed help. Thankfully, we realized that Amber's spare tire had just fallen off underneath the van. Mike quickly fixed the situation and we rolled on. We stopped at the Dease River to have lunch. We met a nice couple traveling the same route as us but starting off in New York (and we thought we had quite a drive). As we continued on our journey, a bee smacked Mike in the neck and then proceeded to go down his shirt and sting him two or three times while he was driving. Being the amazing person he is, he said "I would much rather it be me than you Kelly. I took one for the team." If anyone knows me, I am allergic to bee stings! In our last stretch before stopping we saw a calf moose and a black bear. Finally we stopped at Bell 2 Lodge in the Skeeny Mountains. We got a tent site and then soaked our smelly bodies in the hot tub. It was fantastic! To end the night we had a couple beers with the guys (Alex and Ryan) next to us. They were traveling by bicycle from Anchorage to Panama City all by themselves. That is hard core! Wow, is all we can say. Their blog site is http://www.pedalingforpeople.org/

July 23, 2009

We woke up early today in order to prepare for customs. We listed everything we needed to claim on a piece of paper, I made breakfast and sandwiches for the trip, and Mike "Canadianized" the van again. We had absolutely no problems this time. It was a good feeling because we just want to make mileage today. We had to retrace our beginning steps which meant 300 miles of pot holes and frost heaves again. Mike drove for 12 hours and accomplished 500 miles. He sure is a trooper! After it got pretty dark (which is 2:00 am) we decided to pull over to a rest area and sleep a bit. We definitely did not need Amber hitting a bear or moose, especially since we have half a trip more to go!

July 22, 2009

To Anchorage we go! Amber had an appointment at 9:00 am at Estey's Auto to get her valves checked. We arrived there on time and Bob (owner of Estey's) was an excellent man. He advised us that it did not have to be done until we reach California. He was an honest mechanic, which is hard to find nowadays. We then headed to Walmart and REI for the essentials. Then we kept on truckin'. Amber was doing awesome-she reached 74 mph today! We ate at Freeze in Glen Allen and kept on going. A cow moose crossed the road right in front of us as we completed this last stretch. We retired at Deadman's Lake about an hour away from the border. This was the very first spot we stopped at on our way into Alaska (and it is free). We watched an awesome pink sunset and enjoyed our last Alaskan beer. (This picture is for you Josh Kieck!) It was a somber night because we did not want to leave Alaska, even though we know we will be back to our new favorite state again. However, we are only half way done with our trip-onward West Coast!

July 21, 2009

Mike and I said goodbye to Steve and his family today and headed to a campsite closer to Anchorage. Amber has an appointment at 9:00 am tomorrow so we decided to spend the night at Bird Creek State Park (30 minutes from the city). It was a quaint site with lots of mushrooms that Mike quoted, "Wow, a smurf could live under there!". Wood was hard to find so Mike climbed a tree and cut off some dead limbs. Yes, sometimes my fiance thinks he is Bear Grylls. It was a rainy day so we had a fire most of the day, set up a tarp to dry our laundry, and grilled pork chops and corn on the cob. It was a pleasant evening, Alaska has done us well.

July 20, 2009

Today is wallet day. We head back to Cooper's Landing in search of Mike's wallet. Gas station-no, Chugach state forest-no, Visitor Center-no. Instead we decide to bike up the trail 5 miles to check the places we stopped at along the way before Mike realized it was gone. I said that we had done true mountain biking before. I was wrong. We Alpine biked for 5 miles, the way back was a breeze-5 miles downhill. When we returned, Mike canceled all his cards. We did laundry and then met up with Steve. We stopped at the bar with Steve. Then he introduced us to Alaskan fishing. I caught my first pink salmon and it was exhilarating. Thank you Steve for being such a great friend to us. We will miss you!

July 19, 2009

Only 7 miles to our van in Hope today! We are exhausted, smelly, and hungry. We have done 39 miles in 3 1/2 days in the mountains. We hike on, and on, and on. All we want to see is Palmer creek because that means only two more miles. And on and on we go! Still no creek. But what is that around the corner? Amber? Yes it is!!! We hiked all the way to the van who was waiting for us with a cold beer. What a wonderful welcome! We drove to town, checked into a motel, and then went for pizza. The most amazing "Freak" pizza ever. As we retire to bed, we are literally old man and old woman walking. Ouch! Our calves are killing us.