Monday, October 22, 2007

Sparkle




Spending a weekend in Yosemite has always been an exciting idea for me, and when it worked out that John, Lobo and I could be here on my birthday weekend it seemed just perfect in itself. John was also really exited to make sure that we hiked up to the top of Half Dome that he had done a few years earlier. Friday night (my birthday) we had a lot of fun packing bags, making sandwiches and opening birthday presents! On Saturday morning John and I headed up the trail to Half Dome around 7am. We could have started earlier since John didn’t seem to be sleeping and I kept waking up all night to hear him moving things around the van, taking apart the fan, and whatever else. So finally we just decided to forgo our granola and yogurt to cook up a big breakfast and get going! Bags packed, we hit the trail – 8.5 miles with a 4,800ft gain to the top of one of the most impressive geologic features in the US. We charged through the mist, past Vernon and Nevada falls and before too long the weather cleared and we were zooming up the trail to the base of the famous “cable climb”. If the last 800ft of the trail to Half Dome are crazy steep, the very last 400ft are ridiculous; granite slabs at almost 60 degrees with several steel cables bolted in for those who forgot they are hikers and not climbers and don’t have ropes with them. The curve of the rock is pretty extreme in some places so while your shoes are gripping pretty well, you can still see the 4,800+drop in your peripheral vision. Still, this is what we do, so up we went.

At the top we had the most spectacular view of what Yosemite has to offer all to ourselves. The deep Yosemite valley, Merced river, expansive meadows and glacier carved cliffs were dazzling our eyes with color and contrasts. John suggested we sit on the edge of Half Dome and dangle our feet over for a look. Sure, no problem. What a spectacular place “We should do something memorable” he said and told a simple story of a man in New Jersey in 1939 who fell in love with a woman Susanne Suitch and when he knew he didn’t want to live his life without her he gave her something special: his name was Fredrick John Hartley Jr. (John’s Grandfather), and this is what he gave her. And then MY John (Fredrick John Hartley IV) gave me the same beautiful antique ring, 68 years later. I giggled, and apparently it was hard for me to stay focused, and who knows what I said, but in there somewhere it was pretty clear that I feel the same way he does and I said yes! What a wonderful weekend in Yosemite!

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Fresno Fix-Up






Notes from the trail: Oregon has some great things to offer. Rain forest, to dry desert, and Crater Lake. Definitely worth the stop even if it was freezing.

As we made our way south through Orgeon we were just waiting for the California border with hopes of sunshine and NO MORE RAIN! Our first look of Mt Shasta sounded something like this “Is that it? The huge mound with a fat cloud sitting on it? Wow, I don’t know..but it’s the bottom of something HUGE!” We stayed the night with John’s aunt Susu in Shasta and in the morning while walking Lobo I got a great glimpse of the giant. A perfect volcano shaped mountain coming out of nowhere.

On our way to Truckee we ran into a mechanical problem that ended up being a complicated low voltage output from our battery. It was replaced quickly due to some crafty internet searching right from the vehicle and we were on our way the next day. Jeremy (from the winning “Boondockin’ Daddy’s” rally team) was a gracious host and showed us around Truckee on bikes in the rain and snow, and walking up around Donner pass. He and John spent many hours “hooting” over each other’s SMB, motorcycles and garage ideas.

One of the things that we have come to “miss” about a home is having some work space. That is, workspace equipped with drills, saws, and other heavy equipment for doing repairs or fix-ups on the vehicle. Most of the time John is amazing with what he can accomplish with a screwdriver and a socket wrench set, but there are just times it would be nice to be doing repairs out of the rain, mud or side of the road. Fortunately, this stage of the trip had the aim of getting some work done at the big Sportsmobile shop in Fresno. We also lucked into finding our friend Chris Snideman at home in South Tahoe and in return for delivering his sportsmobile to Fresno he let us use it for a night while Tonto was in the shop! He also had a galley box and air compressor that were gladly traded and installed on our van! (more below)


What we had done:
Solar: Not to be outdone by our good friends the Reynen’s (who have one of the finest solar arrays in New Jersey), Tonto is now solar powered, well the electrical part of it is. We chose a Kyocera 135W panel and mounted it on the front of our top. It sends current thru a Blue Sky controller which tells us how many amps are being produced and what the charge on the house battery is (the one that runs the accessories in the living space of the van). Prior to the solar addition, we had to find a way to plug the van in every few days to charge the battery – no longer necessary!

Water: The onboard water tank was increased in size from 10gal to 16.5gal. Coupled with the 7gal can we carry on the back, we should be able to go up to 2wks in extreme backcountry situations.

Air: Onboard “Extreme Air Max” compressor and 2gal tank. In many offroad situations it’s preferable to run lower air pressure to improve traction and ride quality – sometimes it’s mandatory (deep sand, for instance). The problem is that when you leave the trail and return to pavement, low tire pressure can cause lots of problems. The only real solution is to have a method to refill your tires remotely. We considered many options but decided on the air compressor. Though variable by altitude, we’re finding it takes about 2min to increase our 35in tires by 10lbs (per tire, that is). We’ve already used it twice – In Death Valley and the Mojave Desert.

Alarm: We didn’t have one – now we do…

New Furniture: Not quite, but we had the foam, stuffing - whatever you call it – replaced in the sofa. The old stuff had the resilience of a tired kitchen sponge. Much better for movie nights…And back in Calgary John did some crazy carpentry and took out the microwave and made a nice BIG drawer for all the cookware and plates.

Torque Arms: The Sportsmobile guys noticed was a crack in one of our torque arms (there are 4 of them – they stabilize our front axle/differential). Upon closer inspection, 3 of the 4 were severely cracked! Apparently there had been a service bulletin about these but we hadn’t seen it… Luckily they had the parts on hand to replace all four for us.

House Battery: It’s the size of 4 regular batteries – a deep cycle marine model. Had it replaced to be on the safe side for our travels south.

Galley Box; In an effort to move weight off our top, we had a lockable aluminum box installed on the back of the van. It replaced the open tray/box that we had previously. We’re now able to store, and lock, our grill, motorcycle helmet, and snorkel gear back there instead of inside the van.

Rocket Box: Through a combination of moving the gear to the new galley box and shipping two big boxes of gear/clothes home, we were able to get rid of the rocket box from the roof. This has resulted in a much lighter top weight and makes it much easier to raise and lower the top. Now we can “pop our top” with much less hassle. Thanks to Jeremy for storing the box in his beautiful Truckee home.


While all this was done, we did a little exploring of Kings Canyon, Sequoia National park. When we got the van back the Fresno area Walmart parking lots became our area to explode the van and figure out how to mount or remount bikes and panels. We also spent some time in REI, a variety of hardware stores, the FED-EX shop, the USPS, and autozone.

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Tonto Troubles!!!




It has happened. Tonto has hit the shop for some unexpected repairs. We had been noticing a little stutter in the engine while driving south through California, then it didn't start right up as usual after a lunch stop, and then during an internet poaching stop it just didn't start at all. We had pulled off the highway to get a minute of internet service and check on our progress ordering a solar panel (ended up buying one from RV solar electric in Arizona) in a small neighborhood of Redding, CA. And then the engine didn't start. We replaced our Cam Positioning Sensor that is a general remedy of diesel engines, and nothing happened. So John called for "a wrecker". That made me a little worried that Tonto was really in trouble, but then it was explained that its just another name for your average "tow truck". Only what showed up wasn't your average tow truck. IT WAS HUGE!!! Somehow the agency that sent the truck didn't believe our RV could be so small and yet weigh so much. Tonto was towed to the local Ford dealership and they have been working on identifying the problem; weak battery output, exhaust leak (but not where the new PIPE is!)...we'll see. Lobo and I are holed up in the La Quinta hotel. Such is life on the road. Glad it happened close to civilization. We should be on our way to SMB and other mechanics in Fresno before too long.

Sunday, October 7, 2007

Oregon North to South






NEW TIRES! With a little bodywork done in Calgary to trim back the wheel wells and fenders our new 35” Mud Terrains look and work great! Little did we know we would also find “Carl” in Vancouver, WA to do a great alignment job, replace some bushings on the front end, and just next door John finally got something he has been hankering for. A new exhaust system! Known as “the pipe” this is the largest, shiniest exhaust pipe I have ever seen. But now Tonto runs and sounds great! Just over the hum of the new tire tread you can really hear the turbo wind up, and then with increased air flow from “the pipe” we can keep the engine temperature down and really get up those pesky mountain passes on the freeway! Can’t wait to see what it will climb off-road. Thanks to Pat and Michelle for putting up with us, Lobo and some serious car-talk for two days!

After a too-quick stopover in Portland to see friend Sadie Carney, and cousin Meredith Theis, we headed to the outdoor sportsmen-uh, persons mecca- Hood River. After finding a beautiful spot at Bitteroot Farm with John and Marcie Helleburg, we went for a sunset hike up ‘Sincline Trail’. This is a special memory for the people we were with, but also because it really felt like the first time we had seen anything but rain since a few hours up on the Olympic peninsula! After some world-class mountain biking, and arts fair, some shopping, and food we headed south again. We soon discovered that traveling north to south in Oregon can be entirely done on National Forest land. Our favorite for views (See the video of Tonto spinning-up the new 35’s in the snow at Mt Hood!!) and boondocking!

As always, we look at the map and pick a place. Anything that says hot springs is worth a look. Unfortunately last night’s boondock required a swim across a river…it didn’t happen. Lucky for us, John and Marcie tipped us onto biking the Mackenzie River Trail, and it “ends” at a great hot springs resort! We’ve enjoyed a FULL 6hr day of shredding up and down a smooth running trail along the river, through lava fields and shrouded with the super green northwest rainforest and rewarded ourselves with a night here to plug in the van, eat ice cream, and soak in the hot pools!


Monday, October 1, 2007

Northwest Passage







As we worked our way towards Salmon Arm we were still in awe of the green, lush, woods that touched the wide and deep glacial lakes all around. Tonto found its way to Paul and Jill Dixon’s driveway and after only two nights, a bike ride, a hike in the rainy woods, a stroll down main street, and a game called “Battle of the Sexes” (the girls won both games!) we felt right at home in Salmon Arm.

Then we followed Paul and Rachael through the dry hills of Kamloops and on south to the famous Allison Lake. The family history on this lake is incredible from both sides. The Dixons and the Stouts have looked under hoods, built roofs over their heads and dreamed by wood-burning stoves here for over 40 years. Susan’s grandparents ran a dude ranch at the end of the lake and though the original ranch is gone, many family members have a piece of the land with cottages fashioned after the original buildings. Their cottage has been in Mark’s family for over 40 years, and here with the whole Dixon clan we got to live close to the land; picking vegetables from the garden, cutting firewood from high in the forest, shaping wooden kayak paddles with our hands in the workshop, fixing stuff on the truck by committee. I was so looking forward to seeing the place where Claire had grown up and Kees had so recently enjoyed and it didn’t disappoint. Paul had been telling me he would take me barefooting and within minutes of arriving, and the sky clearing of rain, I donned the dry suit and went at it. At times I felt like I had an ice cream headache (due to the 45F temp and constant spray in the face), at times I thought my eyelids were going to rip off in a crash, but it was a pure rush. After another biking adventure and a sad farewell Tonto hit the road toward Vancouver.

On the way we spent one night boondock-camped high on a remote mountain dirt road. In Vancouver we caught up with my cousins Thomas, Francesca and Nick. It was a very different kind of campsite than we have had before – a back alley in a very hip part of a big city. We spent a couple days catching up with friends and family and stretching our legs for runs, and more board games!

One of the best things about traveling in Tonto, is that at the start of a day we may have only a general idea of direction but really no idea of where we are going until something on the map catches our interest. We knew we had to head south to escape the cold weather that was coming down the west coast, to find our new tires (more later) and to meet up with more friends! But first with a few days to kill we decided to head out to the Olympic peninsula and it didn’t disappoint. After a short stop in a surf shop we headed for the coast. In fact it was Cape Flattery – the most northwest point in the lower 48!! So now we can say that Tonto has really been east, south, north and west!

The main goal we have these days is to get new tires for Tonto, and since we won a set of free tires in the sportsmobile rally in July actually getting the tires has been some sort of goose chase. John has been really tough about getting on the phone with people and hunting down the supply chain so that FINALLY we will be getting our tires in Portland, Oregon. We have opted for the 35” BF Goodrich Mud Terrains – hopefully to keep the dust down when we are traveling through the desert climates and since they run with lower tire pressure we might be able to make it across beaches easier and have a smoother ride. And they look great.