Our Volksvegan Adventure

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!