Our Volksvegan Adventure

After holidays and visiting friends one last time in Moscow and Boise, we are ready at last to embark on our greatest adventure yet: the big move.

We are leaving in just a couple of days to move to Fort Bragg, California. While we’re very excited to finally settle somewhere we love, the journey there will be a bit scary. It’s January, not a good time to move. We are planning to make the shorter trek through Nevada instead of the longer way we’re used to down the Oregon and California coasts. The coast is very wet, often flooded, and prone to mudslides, so road closures are very common this time of year. Instead, we’ll face the wrath of Donner Pass, a big snowy mountain pass over the Sierra Nevadas. I’ll be driving the volksvegan while Sen drives the Uhaul towing our little car. We’re prepared with good tires and chains if need be (except for the Uhaul, since Uhaul is lame and won’t rent them to us, so we may have to buy them if they are required). But despite knowing quite well how to drive in the snow, there’s something about Donner Pass that scares me silly.

So here’s hoping for a safe trip with no delays or major weather issues (forecast looks pretty good). Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers during our travels – we’ll need all the good vibes we can get!

Since we’ll be settling down, my posts here will probably be less frequent, but don’t worry, there are still many adventures ahead in our volksvegan. I will continue to post about any grease-powered trips we take in the bus, as well as our efforts in collecting grease in a place where we know next to nobody, the restoration and repair of our ol’ VW, and much more. So stay tuned, one epic journey may be coming to an end, but there are many more miles of fun ahead!

Here’s wishing everyone who has been following our adventures a Happy Holiday season! I procrastinated on my annual Holiday e-card, as usual, but of course I had to use a photo from our trip. The tree is a giant sequoia called General Grant, which was named “The Nation’s Christmas Tree” by President Coolidge. General Grant is the second largest tree (by mass) in the world, and is simply breathtaking. It’s obviously too big to hang lights on or even take a picture of in one frame!

We also visited the world’s largest tree nearby, General Sherman. These and many other giant sequoias only grow on the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevadas – you can see them in Yosemite, King’s Canyon, and Sequoia National Parks, all of which we visited this year. They are truly amazing trees, able to withstand year after year of fires as long as some portion of them from top to bottom is left intact. As a result, many are hollowed out inside or have huge tunnels through them, making them a lot of fun to explore!

Seneca and I are on separate sides of the country this holiday season (our first time apart since we started our adventure in June), but we’ll be back together for New Year’s Eve, just in time to pack up and move down to California. Here’s hoping that mudslide season can wait a few more days until after our big move!

To all our family and friends who have made this trip possible: thank you for giving us a place to park or stay on our journey, letting us use your showers and kitchens (and even your beds), praying for our safe travels, and in some cases storing our stuff for six months while we were on the road. We are so grateful to have so many wonderful people in our lives all over the place! Now once we’re settled in a new place, we’ll be ready to return the favor and give our friends and family a place to stay while we play tour guide in our new home town. You’re all invited (just not all at once)!

Happy Holidays!

We spent a wonderful week or so in the gorgeous Mendocino and Anderson Valley areas. It rained on our way in, but every day after that was mild and sunny. In addition to looking for rentals in the newspaper and at rental agencies, we got to watch sunsets on the Mendocino Headlands and drive along the winding coastal roads and through majestic redwood forests. We hung out with friends in Mendocino and Boonville and even got a little disc golf and beer sippin’ in at Anderson Valley Brewing in Boonville.

The Mendocino coast is an amazing place, and we are happy to report that we will be moving to the area in January! We found a place to rent outside of Fort Bragg, a town north of Mendocino Village. It is on over two acres of redwood forest (shared with the land owner) with two bedrooms and a big open living room/kitchen. It will definitely be a step up from our bus! We hope to start collecting grease and processing it there, since we’ve discovered that it’s much easier to use waste veg oil if you have a place to store it, settle it, and filter it.

The climate and ecology of the area will certainly be a change for us Idahoans. The California coast is moist and foggy, although the sunshine seems more prevalent than in the more Northern Pacific coastline. Since we’re only a few miles from the ocean, we’ll have a milder climate and probably no snow during the winter, which is rainy instead. We’ll miss the snow, but we can always head east to the Tahoe area to snowboard or hike in the Sierra Nevadas. Change is good, and we’re ready to be settled somewhere that’s a little more laid back, conscious, and organic. Mendocino county recently banned GMOs (genetically modified organisms), which means most food is local and organic. We hope to eventually buy land in a place we can live a bit closer to the earth: grow our organic food, set up sustainable energy, and work from home. So moving to NorCal will put us a step closer to that direction, especially because there are many intentional and sustainable communities in the area that we hope to check out.

We will be moving everything from Idaho to Fort Bragg in early January. So while this will be the end of the epic volksvegan adventure of 2007, there will be many more journeys ahead, and there’s still much work to be done to our veg-powered VW.

We finally arrived in California after way too many days traveling. We made the mistake of going the long way, through Portland, and on our first day we were stuck in LaGrande, Oregon, due to a blizzard that closed the freeway. We left for Portland the next day and arrived at my cousin’s house in the late afternoon. We visited Roots Brewery, Portland’s organic brewery, with my sister, and left for California the next day. After stopping in Eugene for some Cozmic Pizza, we arrived in the Golden State, heading deeper into the coastal fog. The fog was so thick that we decided to camp at Patrick’s Point, and stopped in Arcata the next day.

In Arcata we discovered to our dismay that the bus’s temperature was rising, and found a leak in another coolant hose (those things are getting old, after all). We went back into town to replace the hose, and after Sen the grease monkey fixed ‘er up, we were on our way again. Once again stopping at one of our favorite spots from this summer, we had lunch and a beer at Lost Coast Brewery in Eureka. Then we were on the fast track to the Mendocino area, where we hoped to start looking for a place.

Last night we arrived at our friends’ house to a big veggie dinner (yay for cool friends!) and slept in the bus. We picked up the newspapers and scoured them last night, so we’ve been calling around, looking for rentals, and visiting them. Hopefully we can find one soon, although we’ve heard it can take a while to find a place down here. I guess we’re hoping for a miracle, and we’re prepared to do a lot of hard work to get it. Keep your fingers crossed for us and think happy thoughts!

We made it to Boise just in time for Thanksgiving, although we had to rent a car because the volksvegan was still in the shop. We made tofurky and delicious morel mushroom gravy to add to the feast that Sen’s mom prepared. We stayed in Boise waiting for word from the VW shop in SLC before continuing our journey.

Today, after being assured that the bus would be finished, we headed to SLC to pick ‘er up. We got a call on the way saying that after installing the new head, they had found that the alternator wasn’t charging! They ordered an alternator but when we arrived, they said it broke on the mechanic when he went to install it. As if we could use any more bad luck. Since we replaced the alternator in July, we were able to get a new one under our warranty, and dropped it off at the shop. It should be done early in the morning.

While in Boise we did some research and thinking, and decided that we will head to Mendocino county, California, to look for our new home. We visited a lot of amazing places on our trip, but we’re definitely drawn to the Golden State! We chose this area for many reasons (the beautiful coastline being one of them), but a main one was the fact that it was the first (and only) county in the US to ban genetically modified organisms (GMOs). So most of the food in the area is local and organic, just the way we like it! We will be checking out the area and hopefully finding a place to rent in the next couple of weeks. Keep your fingers crossed for our house search!

Despite the fact that our beloved VW is still in the shop in SLC, we have an awful lot to be grateful for this Thanksgiving. We have been to some amazing and beautiful places, hiked hundreds of miles in gorgeous wilderness, spent time with good friends and family, and learned a lot in the process. I am so thankful to everyone who has made this trip possible, especially to my parents for not thinking I’m totally insane (just a little bit) and for storing a lot of our stuff and taking good care of our kitty for nearly six months now!

Our time in Moab went quickly and was over way too soon. We got to ride the famous Slickrock bike trail, a crazy rollercoaster of sandstone that was incredibly challenging and quite a workout. I ended up walking about half of it, but I suppose that’s to be expected for a novice mountain biker’s first trip to Slickrock. After our ride we were exhausted, and stayed at the Lazy Lizard Hostel to get some rest and much-needed showers.

On our last day in Moab, I was still too sore and tired to get on a bike again, but Seneca was determined to have one last ride. I dropped him off at another popular (but very difficult) trail called Porcupine Rim, parts of which consisted of a singletrack right on a cliff edge overlooking the Colorado River. I’m way too much of a chicken for that, but daredevil Seneca loved it. After I met him at the end of the trail, we decided to do one more hike in Arches National Park, because our previous hike to the famous Delicate Arch was so late in the day that we missed the prime views at sunset. This time we made the hike just in time to watch the sunset cover the arch and surrounding slickrock in a beautiful orange glow, and of course the pictures came out much better this time!

The next day we got up at the crack of dawn so we could make it back to SLC in time to drop off the rental truck. We got there way earlier than we expected, so we had time to look up veggie restaurants on Happy Cow and found an awesome place called One World, Everybody Eats. When we entered we were greeted by smiling people who explained how the cafe worked: they had a buffet of different dishes prepared, all organic and many vegan. We could choose whatever we wanted in whatever amount we could eat, and afterwards we could simply pay what we thought it was worth. The cafe was dedicated to reducing hunger (they offered a couple of staple dishes for free) and sustainable sustenance. We were surprised and delighted to find such a conscious restaurant, and we sampled everything we could. It was yummy and satisfying.

After our lunch we headed to the VW shop to hear the news on the bus. The mechanics had our engine taken apart and said we’d need to replace the head (the one we just replaced a few months ago – argh!) but that the pistons were fine (thank goodness). They hoped to check a few other things out and gave us an estimate that wasn’t nearly as bad as we had anticipated. The best news was that it should be done by next week, so we won’t have to wait long to head down to Cali and end our journey.

We shuffled rental cars (we had to rent a smaller car to drop off in Boise) and loaded up for the trip to Boise for Thanksgiving. I’ll be making a Tofurky to eat with Seneca’s family, and we’re excited to actually spend a holiday together for once. Unfortunately since we need to return the rental car and get a bunch of stuff done when we arrive in Boise, I won’t be able to make it to Portland with my parents for the Pru Crew Thanksgiving dinner. At least we have a lot to be thankful for this year, and more adventures ahead…

Well, at least our hellish SLC experience is now a distant memory… it took us three times (and three tows) to find a shop in Salt Lake that could work on our rare breed of van. After dropping off our beloved bus with a VW mechanic that said it would be at least a couple weeks, we rented a truck and headed to Moab. After days of expensive hotels, camping out in parking lots, and riding bikes around in a very not bike friendly area (I was even hit by a car on my bike – luckily the dickweed only hit my back axel slightly and there was no damage, except for his bumper), we were ready for a vacation.

We made it to Moab at night and found a random camping spot on the way to Canyonlands National Park. We soon realized just how much we missed the bus when we nearly froze our buns off sleeping in the bed of the truck. The next day we went to Canyonlands and toured through the north part of the park. This area is unlike anything we’d ever seen, where the earth is red and orange, strange spires and arches fill the landscape, and canyons zig zag across the land as far as the eye can see. We took in the beautiful views and enjoyed the desert sun (it’s PERFECT down here in November) and since we rented a 4×4 truck, we even got to experience a bit of off-roading! We got a unique view on our way into Moab, enjoying the interesting geology, an arch called Jug Handle Arch, and some petroglyphs written on canyon walls.

Moab is a mecca for mountain biking (as well as climbing and 4x4ing), so that’s what we planned to do! Our first Moab mountain biking experience was on a trail called Klondike Bluffs. It was a pretty smooth ride through sand and slickrock that ended at the border of Arches National Park, where we hiked up onto the Klondike Bluffs and peered into the unique landscape that defines this area. Juneau ran alongside us as we rode, and we had a blast playing on the trail and slickrock. We found a good camp site and were more prepared for the cold with extra layers this time.

The next day we rode Bartlett Wash, a mountain biking playground full of slickrock formations. My tire went flat, so I ended up hiking most of it, taking pictures as Seneca played around on the slickrock. He even got some war wounds from dropping into a bowl in the rock – his pedal and tire scraped his legs up but he wore the wounds proudly. After making lunch we went to Arches National Park and hiked to some arches called The Windows as well as a double arch that was simply amazing. As the sun set in the park, the red sandstone formations glowed with extra color, it was beautiful! We were in dire need of a shower after all our mountain biking and hiking, so we found a cool little hostel called the Lazy Lizard and got a cheap cabin for the night.

Today was spent entirely in Arches National Park, playing in the Fiery Furnace, Devil’s Garden, the Klondike Bluffs, and hiking to the famous Delicate Arch (and hiking back in the dark). We got a lot of miles of hiking in and saw some pretty amazing things – among them many natural arches. The geology of this area is really interesting – apparently an ancient ocean used to cover this area, and the salt deposits left behind under the sediment are responsible for a lot of the formations. Our favorite arches were the park’s largest, Landscape Arch, which is about as wide as a football field, and Tower Arch, a remote and beautiful arch we hiked to near Klondike Bluffs.

We’re heading back to Salt Lake Tuesday to drop off the rental truck, and hopefully we’ll hear what’s up with the bus. Depending on her status, we’ll try to make it to Boise for Thanksgiving and may be able to pick up our other car there so we can head to Cali and find us a place to live. Hopefully the bus doesn’t take forever… traveling is just not the same without her!

Pictures of our adventures are on the way, once I get a chance to upload the overload of pictures I’ve been taking in this desert wonderland… thank you to all our friends and family who have been sending good vibes our way. Hopefully we get good news when we get back to Salt Lake.

It was hard to leave our friends in Moscow, but we decided to have one last hurrah before wrapping up our travels and finding a place to settle. We had heard a lot about Moab, Utah, and the surrounding area, and had to go visit for some world-class mountain biking. Nearby is Arches, Canyonlands, Bryce Canyon, Glen Canyon, Zion, and Grand Canyon National Parks. Some warm desert weather sounded nice, so after a couple of days in Boise, cleaning up the bus and restocking, we headed south to Moab.

The drive through Southern Idaho and into Utah was pretty flat and uneventful, and we were making good time as we passed Salt Lake, hoping to make it to some National Forest to camp. South of Salt Lake City on the freeway, the bus suddenly popped out of 4th gear on its own and died. Seneca switched lanes and started pulling over, trying to restart it but only hearing a grinding noise like a rock tumbler. We pulled over and couldn’t get the bus to start. ****!

So, after a bit of freaking out we called 411 to find a towing company, and called friends with internet to find a VW mechanic. After calling several towing companies that were closed, we finally found Vern, who towed us to a VW dealership that was amazingly still open after 10 on a Friday night. We stayed in the bus in the parking lot (not nearly as fun as camping) and the dealership’s service center took a look at the bus the next afternoon.

The news from the dealership was worse than we thought. The timing belt (we put in a new one with the new engine in May) apparently slipped and was partially shredded. The dealership mechanics all looked younger than we were, and since they were used to dealing with shiny new VWs, they stopped their detective work and referred us to a VW mechanic who could help. Of course, the mechanic isn’t open until Monday, so it’s Sunday and the nice weather we had yesterday ended with a rainy cold day, we are cooped up in a Super 8, waiting until tomorrow to find out the damage and see what we can do.

With all the time and money, preventative maintenance, and trouble-free miles we have put into this bus, it’s still a persnickity old VW. We’re not sure how the new timing belt could have possibly gotten loose, but it could have caused untold damage to the heads we replaced in August. We can only cross our fingers and hope for the best. Think good thoughts for us, and hopefully we’ll be rolling again soon… I guess it wouldn’t be an adventure without a few bumps in the road.

We have been having too much fun in Moscow to leave just yet. After the barter faire, we decided to stay until Halloween so we could go to the Modest Mouse concert in Spokane with some friends. So we prepared some fun costumes: Seneca went as Jesus (he already has the perfect hair and beard, so his costume was easy) and I went as an angel.

The Modest Mouse show was awesome and it was a great performance. We hung out in Spokane for the night before heading back to Moscow. We have been catching up with all our friends, playing disc golf, and visiting our old favorite places while we’ve been here, and time has flown by. We’re now contemplating our next steps, not wanting to end our adventure just yet but facing the fact that eventually we’ll have to settle down.

Seneca and I want to live somewhere that fits us, somewhere that is environmentally conscious, naturally beautiful, and full of inspiring people and things to do. We have now narrowed our search, deciding to live in Northern California, somewhere near the Mendocino coast we fell in love with during our journey. We’ve started researching real estate possibilities and looking for places to rent until we can save up enough to buy some land and build a sustainable home. And we’ll be heading that way shortly, after stopping in Boise and possibly making a detour through the desert and the Southwest. It’s getting cold up here, so we’re hoping to hit the road in the next couple of days.

We have really learned a lot on this trip, and although I really didn’t know what to expect, it has certainly turned out to be the road trip of a lifetime. It’s been an interesting process and a project, as well as a learning experience.

We have learned a lot about sustainable travel and grease in particular. It has been difficult to find good grease sources on the road, although biodiesel is becoming more and more popular. We’ve decided that grease is actually easier when you have a home base (and a garage) with a regular source of waste veggie oil that has time and room to settle before filtering and processing. Settling allows the hydrogenated fats to separate from the usable vegetable oil, and is an important part in the process that quick on-the-road fill ups skip. So we’re hoping to improve our knowledge and continue to expand our use of WVO when we settle down and get serious about it.

For now, the journey continues. We’ll see what’s around the bend!

We made our way through Oregon and stopped in Boise for a few days to visit family. Then we came up to Moscow and picked up our friend Crystal to head to the Okanogan Family Faire. We attend the barter faire every year so we couldn’t miss it. Unfortunately dogs were banned this year, so we had to leave Juneau with friends in Moscow.

We got up to the faire Thursday afternoon, driving through rain that eventually faded into sunshine by the time we got in and set up our camp and booth. We got a good spot near the drum circle and were excited to finally have the bus at the barter faire. It was a cold weekend but we had a blast. We made some great trades and had some excellent food at the many delicious food booths. It was cold at night so we spent a lot of time around the fire sharing some homemade barter faire wine. On Saturday night we climbed up the hill near the barter faire and saw a glowing figure up on the cliffs. Curious, we climbed up to discover a guy wearing a glowing costume and spinning color changing glowing orbs. “Glow Man” became our night’s entertainment as he handed us some 3D glasses to fully experience his “show.” It was certainly like nothing we’d ever seen before.

We had a great time at the faire and got to see a lot of friends we hadn’t seen in a while, but as usual the weekend went by way too fast. Sunday morning brought rain and we made some last rounds around the faire before packing up and heading back to Moscow. We hope to stay in Moscow for a while and decide where to go from here. We’re hoping to start seriously looking for a place to settle down in coming weeks. Stay tuned!