My wife and I have been married for just over 4 years, and (including the “honeymoon”) we still really haven’t had a vacation to ourselves. I had quite a bit of leave time saved up, and about 20 days to take leave “guilt free” (i.e. without leaving my platoon sergeant to deal with my workload). So we decided to take a trip.
Where to? We thought about Argentina or New Zealand briefly, but decided we’d save that and take my folks along with. Something domestic for this one. So… I’d always wanted to do the Pacific Coast Highway in its entirety. Wife had never been to the Grand Canyon. Neither of us had been to the Pacific Northwest or to Yellowstone National Park. We put together a tentative route based on the handful of things we felt we needed to do/see. Looked like about 5000 miles over the course of 17 days.
Not too bad, that’s around 300 miles per day. That’s doable, but you can’t tour an area very thoroughly at all and still make that kind of mileage, and we decided we were okay with doing a blitz of the American West to scout out places we’d like to go back and devote more time to explore later.
The question of what car took almost no debate. I wanted to take Gertrude, my Subaru-powered ’72 Beetle.
Wife was (surprisingly) game, but on the condition that I get it closer to society’s idea of roadworthy and safe. During the 6 weeks leading up to go-time, I replaced the frame head, floor pans, sound deadening and carpet, converted it to rack and pinion steering, fixed the brakes, built a completely new exhaust system, patched a myriad of rust holes in the body, replaced the back windows with quickly removable lexan, removed the backseat and built a shelf in its place for more storage space, and replaced the seats. Didn’t get everything done that I wanted to before we left, but it was a different car (for the better).
We both wanted to stay kind of flexible in terms of planning, so we didn’t really want to nail down a mile-by-mile plan (honest to goodness, we left on a 5000 mile roadtrip with no more than a half sheet of printer paper with tentative overnight stopping points for the next 14 days). I posted on the forum looking for ideas from GRMers on the Pacific coast, got some good feedback, some of which we integrated into our plan. Beetles, even those with the backseat removed for maximum interior space, don’t have all that much cargo space, so we had to pack light. That was fine with me, that’s kind of the mantra of my job. Also, the car’s new rear windows make it kind of difficult to make really tight (if you wanted, you could pop the back windows out with a pocketknife and steal all the camping gear), so we didn’t want to take much and didn’t want to take anything too nice. We each packed a backpack with a couple of changes of clothes and a pair of hiking boots. I took my issued sleeping bag, and a nice big hygiene kit, wife brought a couple of pillows. We borrowed an old Coleman propane camping stove and an aluminum nesting cooking set from my parents, and took our 48 quart cooler. I topped it off with my old Craftsman toolbox full of roadside service tools. All of that fit behind the front seats and below the bottom edge of the back windows. We had a spare tire and a 12x20 tarp to sleep under in the frunk. And that was it.
Car's all set, bags all packed and loaded. Dropped our dogs off with our parents, sealed up the house, and set off.
South from Colorado Springs on Hwy 87 to Pueblo, CO. Tried a campground at Lake Pueblo State Park, but all booked up for holiday weekend. Take Hwy 50 west. Dinner at Pass Key, sausage sandwiches. Not bad, not stellar, about what we expected. Weather is holding, but there is rain in the mountains west and north of us. 
Decide to stay in a hotel in Penrose, CO. Two thumbs up today.
Gas in Salida, CO. Much better fuel economy, 27mpg. Turn south from Salida on Hwy 285, nice drive to Saguache, CO.
Straight and flat from Saguache to Center. Turn west on Hwy 112 at Center, and west on Hwy 160 a few miles later at Del Norte. Over the Continental Divide in the San Juan National Forest at about noon. Very pretty overlook a few miles after the pass and just before Treasure Falls. 
Stopped in Pagosa Springs at local weekend farmer’s market. Tamales from a shack, very good. Short side track to see if we can get to Chimney Rock, decide we don’t want to wait for a guided car tour, take some pictures, back on the road. 
Turn south at Durango, CO on Hwy 550. Gas in Farmington, NM, 32mpg. Entering Navajo Reservation. Roads go to E36 M3. West on Hwy 64 from Farmington, and south on Hwy 491 at Shiprock, NM. 
Hoped to find a campsite (as listed online) near Shiprock (the rock itself, not the town). No joy. Drove back and forth for almost an hour with no luck. Decide to push on. Continue west on Hwy 64. Side track to Four Corners Monument, a fond childhood memory of mine. Not anymore. Used to be there was no admission fee, and all that was there was a 6 foot diameter metal plaque on the ground. Now its $10 to get in, there’s a great big garden around the plaque and booths all the way around that where the local Native Americans hock cheap Chinese E36 M3 to the tourists, who stand in a 60-deep line to have their picture taken (for a fee) standing on the plaque. berkeley that. Went and stood behind the booths and enjoyed the fresh air and really gorgeous scenery. Rain coming in, smelled great. Man, that pissed me off. Can’t see the forest for the trees. West on Hwy 160. Nice drive, sun peeking through clouds really setting off the scenery. NOTHING out here, no signs of life aside from the occasional traffic. Turn north on Hwy 191 into Utah. Barren desert landscape right up until you drop down into the San Juan River valley, and immediately back up the other side. Desperately green while you’re in it, though. Found a camping ground in the valley just west of Bluff, UT. Gas in Bluff (30mpg), and steaks at the Cottonwood Steakhouse (pretty good, as is their mojito). Storm threatening by the time we’re done with dinner, so back to the campsite, set up the tarp/tent. 
A few minutes of really gorgeous sunset... 
...and then dark. DARK. No manmade lights out here for miles. Rained late, just before midnight.
Paid the $20 to get into Monument Valley Tribal Park. Arrived too early to start the driving tour, so hiked around the base of one of the “mitten” formations. Fog/clouds starting to lift by the time we started the car tour. 
17 miles of minimally maintained dirt roads. In a car with no front suspension and about 4 inches of ground clearance. 
Couldn’t decide if the tourists were more excited about the rocks or about us. People took lots of pictures, got 4 thumbs up. Highly recommend the drive through the valley, there’s an awful lot to see. 
Rain had really greened the fauna up, as the sun came out, the colors were stunning. Car still takes water, suspect the floor pan edges. Oh well. 
Gas in Kayenta, AZ (24mpg), turn west on Hwy 160. Turn south on Hwy 89 west of Tuba City, and west on Hwy 64 at Cameron. Into Grand Canyon National Park. Military get in free (SCORE!), did not know that. Stopped and looked at a couple of the overlooks along the drive to the Grand Canyon Village. 
Village is VERY touristy. LOTS of people (whodathunkit, being 4th of July weekend). Didn’t stay too long. I’d been to the North Rim before, remember that being a little quieter and easier to appreciate. Next time. South out of the park on Hwy 180. Gas in Valle, 28mpg. Stopped in Williams, AZ. Rt66-themed historic district. Pretty cheesy. Dinner at some kind of hot-rod diner/brewery, passable food, crummy beer (IMO). Stayed in a hotel. One more thumbs up at the Grand Canyon for a total of 5 today.
Well worth the stop, great seafood with the bonus of geeking out at the F&F reference. 
No open campgrounds along the Malibu coast, so pushed north after dinner via PCH/Hwy 1/Hwy 101. Found an opening (the LAST ONE) at the Carpenteria State Beach. Went swimming. You can always tell the long-range tourists from the comparative locals at the beach… locals don’t swim, it’s “too cold”. Sunset on the beach. 
Canadian motorcyclist couple camping next to us expressed interest in the car, but weren’t interested in trading car for Harley. Oh well. Clear skies, slept under the stars. Three thumbs up today, all from highway construction workers.
Stopped at a tide pool beach sometime today as well, but can’t remember exactly where that fell in our timeline… 
Continued north into Big Sur region. This was a spectacular drive. PCH through the Big Sur is an awesome piece of road. 
I’d have done in back and forth as long as I had daylight if I could have done it without all the traffic. Good mix of drivers, some who want to drive a little briskly, some who are either terrified of the combination of corners and lack of runoff space on the left or are absolutely set on the idea of driving slowly enough to get pictures of everything. SO MANY 2015 Mustang ‘verts. Like 1 in 5 cars, no bullE36 M3. Back down into ag country for awhile, then around the north end of Monterey Bay to Santa Cruz. Met up with my dad’s cousin (I think… maybe second cousin) and his wife at their place on the beach. Crazy old car people, currently have a late-model Fiat 500 and an older Miata, lots of stories about old British and Italian and German cars. They took us to a community poolside barbecue, showed us off as “the weird cousins from Kansas”. Good fun. Drank too much local white wine, stayed up far too late.
(That's Alcatraz Island over the top of that grey Mustang) Started calling around, nobody wants to touch it, largely because it’s an engine that doesn’t belong in the car. Discovered that there’s a VW/Subaru swap specialty shop in Berkeley, BusLab but they’re swamped, and couldn’t look at it for 3 weeks. By this point, I’m thinking a little clearer and start doing more diagnostic work. No water in the oil, no oil in the water, so head gaskets might still be okay… Top off the oil (wife had to walk about 4 miles to find a gas station with oil, bless her heart), top off the water, burp the cooling system, let it run… still getting hot. Fix the fan wiring issue properly (a nick in the heat shrink tubing allowed the wire to short), so now the fan kicks on at the right time, but still getting hot… radiator is stone cold… thermostat must be stuck. What are the odds that the fan would blow out and the thermostat fail closed (it’s a fail-open thermostat). To hell with it, going to drop the thermostat and gut it, regardless of whether its working or not. Gut it, refill and burp the cooling system, let it run… fixed. Only took 4 hours. Wife fetched us a pair of spicy New York-style brats from a food cart somewhere in my mechanical thrashing. At this point, we’re not bothering with touristy E36 M3, we’ve had more than enough of SF and the crazies that call downtown home. South to Lombard Street/Hwy 101, west to the Golden Gate. 
Heavy traffic the whole way, but car stayed cool. The irony of the whole mess didn’t strike me until I saw the sign for 
(photo was taken the following morning, it was PITCH BLACK when we got here) 
Gas in Piercy, 28mpg. Had lunch at Café Waterfront in Eureka. Tasty seafood and stout. Walked around and did some minor shopping. Speedometer started making ugly noises about 10 miles north of Eureka, so I unhooked it. Started raining shortly thereafter. Car leaks like a sieve. Wife was pretty unhappy by the time we got to Klamath. Gas in Klamath, then backtracked across the river and camped on the Klamath River. 
Stopped raining in the evening. Washed clothes at the campsite laundromat, took showers, racked out under the tarp. Other campers think we’re nuts, to the point of avoiding us. Two thumbs up today.
Nice drive north on Hwy 101, although traffic was decidedly heavier, particularly through the afternoon. Stopped at Whaleshead Beach just north of Brookings, OR. Nice little beach, really rough access road though. 
Had lunch at The Crazy Norwegian Fish and Chips in Port Orford, OR. Well worth the stop, really good. The fish and chips deserve the “world famous” moniker. Stopped for gas in Reedsport, OR. Found a campground in Lincoln City, OR, on the banks of the D River (the world’s shortest, I think it was claimed). Walked the beach, made a decidedly mammary-shaped sandcastle that my wife dubbed Titty City. Sat and watched the tide wash it away. Walked to the grocery to get s’more fixings, and came back with about 8 pint bottles of various local beer, hot dogs and buns, and stuff for s’mores. Built a little fire, had dinner and a local hard cider, slept under the tarp. 
Way cool, lots of neat booths, art and food and drinks and music. Wandered around for a couple of hours, then headed to Vancouver to meet with Forum members bgkast and Burrito Enthusiast for lunch. Had burgers at Billygans. Bgk’s $50 Saab is actually that nice, and Burrito has a bitchin’ Scirroco that he apparently hasn’t shared with us on the forum… 
Good dudes, good food. Took I-5 north to Longview (got gas), then went west on Hwy 30 back to the coast, and 101 north. Rained pretty much all afternoon. Bought a tube of graphite speedo cable lube sometime today, and started lubing the exposed end of the speedo cable, hopefully will be able to reconnect soon without further issues. Gas in Raymond, WA. Drove through Humptulips, WA, was entirely too amused. 
The campsites we’d been hoping to stay at were full (of course). Stopped at a REALLY sketchy hostel, decided the manager was a cannibal and politely declined his offer of a room/ancient camper trailer. Found a way-back-in-the-woods campground about 10 miles later, at the far end of about 6 miles of gravel access road. Cottonwood Recreation Area. Highly recommended. Very out of the way, wasn’t crowded at all, within walking distance of the Hoh River, in the temperate rainforest. 
Heated up some Progresso Italian Minestrone soup on the camp stove, slept under the tarp. 
Bought some tea, vinegar, couple of pounds of Rainier cherries. Had lovely seafood at Athenian Seafood Resaurant and Bar. A little pricey, but very good. Hwy 5 north from downtown to Hwy 522 to Hwy 2, then east. Gas in Skykomish, WA. Nice drive from Seattle up over the pass to Leavenworth, WA. Passed a handful of stanced cars of various nationalities (couple of Scoobs, a Mustang, VW Golfs, Civics) on the way into the pass stopped with their hazards on, got some positive feedback from them. Stopped for the night in Leavenworth at a hotel. Wife used to work in Leavenworth, KS, and regularly had folks ask her why Leavenworth, KS didn’t look like what they’d seen on Leavenworth.org. Felt she needed to see what the Washington version was actually like. In truth, it’s a touristy little Bavarian village, very pretty, scenic. Strolled around for a bit, couldn’t find any lederhosen (sad face). Did find a nice little brewery, with a very tasty German chocolate stout called Dark Persuasion. Liked it enough to buy a growler. Back to the hotel fairly early, spent the evening watching Shark Week.
Got gas in Wilbur, WA. Scenery continued as described most of the way to Spokane. Thought we’d miss the opportunity, but the weather obliged us with 
Took a few minutes, but got linked up with Tim and the gang at A-1 Muffler and Auto Repair. They were busy, had a shop full of neat cars, but Tim was glad to help out. I pulled the exhaust at the curb, he welded it up, I gave him $10 and reinstalled it. Awesome. Back on the road in maybe 30 minutes of downtime. Had lunch in Livingston at Gil’s Goods. Stone fire oven pizza, local beer. Pizza was very very good, beer not so much. They also had very tasty ice cream to wash the beer down. Headed south on Hwy 89 into the north end of Yellowstone. Nice drive into the park. We’d heard that this was the quiet side of the park, as it’s a long way from the bigger name tourist attractions. May have been, but it was a ZOO. So many people. So many people who all want to pull over to take umpteen photos of every elk and buffalo and bunny rabbit along the way. Beautiful park. 
Ruined, for us, by the hordes. Another thing: I have no problem with you taking pictures of my car. None. It’s a weird car, I get it. If we’re driving, or if the car’s parked and we’re not around, take all the photos you like. But if we’re stopped, and you’re stopped, please ask first. Kind of the polite thing to do, and it only takes a moment. I appreciate that you like the car, and I appreciate that you aren’t taking candid photos of my wife and I (which is a little odd, no matter how you slice it). We decided that there was no way we were going to do Yellowstone justice even with two days of sightseeing and that spending two days with this many tourists was going to push one or the other or both of us over the edge and into homicidal madness. So we continued south out of the park. As soon as you leave Yellowstone headed south, you enter Grand Teton National Park. Which, as it turned out, was an ENTIRELY different prospect. Getting toward dusk, sun behind the mountains across the lake. 
Turned east on Hwy 287. Got gas in the park, 30mpg. Stayed in Falls Campground in the Shoshone National Forest west of Dubois. 
Had soup with salami and cheese sandwiches on bagels, all cooked over a campfire. Offloaded all of our food and smelly stuff into the strongbox provided to deter bear interference. Slept under the tarp next to the car. 
Rained most of the night. Crossed the Great Divide 3 times today.
I’m a disgusting human being, but I ate the whole thing. Went back to Mike’s for another beer (one of the craft beers we bought in Oregon). Crashed pretty hard. Rained some more overnight.
