Westfalia– category –

There was some time over Christmas break to fix some stuff on the van and our sliding door demanded attention, because a couple of months ago one of the bolts flew out when I opened the door. See that bolt up top?  That was not connected...

A couple of days before we reached Pittsburgh, a leak in our A/C developed.  After 10 or 15 minutes of driving, water would leak down onto whatever was in the back, which usually meant clothes or pillows.  Thankfully, the next couple of ...

After The Badlands we faced a long, long week of driving.  With the mountains behind us and America's breadbasket lying between us and DC, we had to put some serious miles on the odomoter.  But before we went too far, a stop in Mitchell,...

Leaving The Black Hills behind, we drove East towards The Badlands.  For years I'd been waiting to see these hills after reading about them in our US map.  Something about the picture - just the one picture - spoke to me.  I had to go. I...

After Devil's Tower, we spent a couple of days in Rapid City, where we took in one of the best-supported downtown districts that we've ever visited.  Like all cities, the box stores live on the outskirts of town by the freeway exits, but...

After the majesty of Castle Gardens, we prepared for the long drive East across a lot of Wymoing with not a lot there.  Well, not a lot there in terms of attractions, but we did pass through the wonderful Bighorn National Forest, a drive...

After Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons, we needed some time to relax, rest, and clean ourselves of the good camping filth (perk of high-elevation camping, dirt but no funk).  With its public hot springs and proximity, Thermopolis, Wyomin...

We woke to snow in June at our Yellowstone campground.  Laughing to ourselves, we took breakfast, packed up the Westy and drove South through the snow.  As we stayed at Norris Campground for four days, we figured that we should probably ...

Our second day focused on geysers, so dedicated the third day to the grand nature and wildlife Yellowstone offers in abundance.  Word says that Lamar Valley is the place to go for wildlife and as we saw a bear the day before, my mission ...

Bozeman was our last stop until Yellowstone, so this week was filled with preparations.  We took everything out of the van for deep-cleaning and organizing, plus I took the van into the shop the check on a leak and have the alignment set...

Before leaving Seattle I purchased bug nets for the side and back doors on the Westy.  With summer coming, I needed to install them before it was too late.  The bug nets are made to fit Vanagon doors and come with snaps sewn into the net...

As we approach Yellowstone, we needed to test one vital thing: how well Fin (and therefor we) sleeps in the Westy.  We tried camping with him when he was about 6 months old and he did not sleep well.  He woke up in the middle of the nigh...

With the cabinet modified to fit the fridge, it was time to reinstall the cabinet, connect the power, and have a beautiful new fridge.  But first things first, cleaning! The wall panels behind the van had probably not been cleaned s...

This is part 2 of the fridge upgrade; you can read part 1 here. With the cabinet out, it was time to take the whole thing apart and move the central divider over the 1" that would allow clearance for the new fridge.  The whole thing is h...

Like any Westy owners, the list of things that we'd like to improve is lengthy.  Before we head out on this trip, however, we need a new (and properly functional) refrigerator.  The stock fridge only cools to 40 below ambient and we need...