Our Trusty Westy

I've said several times 'There are 4 of us making this journey: Mike and I; Chettie (our 6-year old Chesapeake Bay Retriever), and The Farf'.

The Farf is a 1986 VW Vanagon Westfalia Syncro. She goes by many different names, including The Burly Beast (because of how well she does in off-road situations) and The Beagle (think Darwin's ship). But 'The Farf 'has kind of stuck.

Never mind that 'Farf' is a complete corruption of the term Fahrvergnügen, which someone politely pointed out is a verb, not a noun; and that the spelling is waaaay off, we like it. And we love her.

We bought her in Aspen in June and she quickly became the object of our affection. Initially thinking we'd do just some minor repairs and eventually deciding that if she was to take us where we intend to go that she may need some more extensive work, Mike has spent quite a bit of time getting her road-ready. We joke that he knows the underside of her better than the inside. Perhaps that investment of his time and labor will pay off down the road.

He's replaced springs and shocks, CV joints and drive axles, brakes, the viscous coupling (which makes her a Syncro: all wheel drive), the clutch, had the transmission and differential rebuilt and replaced all of her hoses and radiator. New tires all around and  new bumpers so that we can carry a second spare tire and fuel can.  We have an awning for shade and rain protection and will have the canvas pop-top tent replaced for better ventilation and bug proofing.  A new solar panel and aux. batteries will be installed in California to power up the refrigerator.

Of course, here we have to give a shout out to all the guys on the Samba--the online community of VW enthusiasts on which we lurk often and post infrequently. We've learned almost as much as we've laughed.

In a week we get to put the new systems to the test. Our plans call for driving through Colorado to Utah, heading south through Utah with a stop in Zion NP. Continue south to the Grand Canyon and then west to SoCal for the solar installation. Then, south into Baja for 3 weeks or so of beach and desert exploration. Three purchases are planned for Baja: a surfboard for Trish, Hammocks for Mike and Trish and window tinting for the Farf.

If all four traveling companions are still on board, we'll head through mainland Mexico and on to Central America.

Despite all the preparations on the vehicle, let me take some of the suspense out of it right now: we fully expect to run into some mechanical problems along the way. The Farf is, after all, a 23 year old vehicle. We take this on as part of the experience.

Likewise, we know traveling with our dog will present some challenges. But leaving her behind was too hard to fathom. So the four of us will set off to see what adventures await.

More (lots more) on the Chetster in subsequent posts.

Trish