Page 6 - FREE Camping along HIGHWAY 395

PROBLEMS

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Ever since we left Crowley Lake about a week ago, the Hollandia had been acting up. In the mornings she just couldn’t get it together. She would cough and wheeze before she finally started and even after she did get it going, her heart was not in it and the problem was getting worse. I asked the ranger at the Mono Lake Visitor Center what repair shops I could expect if I continued our trek north. The answer was not encouraging. His advice was to go back to Mammoth Lakes, the nearest big town.
Because it happened to be a Sunday, I decided to wait for Monday at Big Springs campground which was on our way. The next morning the Hollandia did not budge no matter what I said or did to her. Not being a mechanic myself, I had no choice but to call a tow-truck. Thank heaven for our AAA Roadside Assistance. It would have set us back a pretty penny way up there in the mountains. In town, at the garage, the mechanic told me that the problem was that the "choke was stuck shut" and he "fixed" it temporarily with a piece of bailing wire (would I kid you?) He also said to head back for the barn a.s.a.p. He had no parts to repair the carburetor properly and that "down below" I had a better chance to find the parts that the Hollandia needed. Although we had planned to follow the 395 all the way up to the Oregon border this year, we reluctantly turned around taking our time to enjoy the fresh air and beautiful skies, all the while making plans to continue next summer.

Please stay tuned!

HERE WE ARE ONE YEAR LATER - - ready to finish our trip along the 395. The Hollandia has a new carburetor, had her oil changed and she is feeling great, ready to hit the road. Desert Dog Dutchess has had a haircut and packed enough dog food to last her a month. And as for me .... the pantry is loaded with cans of beans, soup and vegetables. Plenty of bottled water, crackers and even a bottle of red wine or two. The refrigerator is stocked with milk, juices, cheese and yogurt. A shoe-box full of pills. What do you expect of an old man? He has to have his pills! Sometimes, after I have have taken my daily dose of pills I am not hungry for my supper anymore, I'm taking that many. We intend to go to the California / Oregon border this time.

Sunset

There is a campground along Goose Lake where I have camped years ago. I remember the sunsets, they are spectacular! That will be the place we are shooting for. Our plan is to take our time going up, visiting with old friends and making new ones along the way. I also want to check out a couple of places I've heard about like Fossil Falls and Whitmore Hot Springs. These are places I've driven by at least a dozen times but never bothered to leave the hi-way to take a closer look. The slower pace also gives us a chance to enjoy vistas like these:

Vista

JINXED. Almost on the same spot that the Hollandia got sick last year misfortune struck again! Only this time it was I who caused our premature return to the low-land. After we had climbed to an elevation of 8,000 ft I could no longer breathe. What was going on with me? You must know that I have traveled Hi-way 395 many a time. Once even all the way to the Canadian border and never had any trouble with the high altitude. Now it came to the point that I had to sleep in a sitting position.A fellow camper, who claimed to be a retired male nurse, told me that things would get better in a couple of days after my system had had a chance to adjust. When, after three days, "things" were not getting any better I decided to see a doctor and his advice was just like what the mechanic told me last year when the Hollandia was acting up: "GO SOUTH, YOUNG MAN .... GO SOUTH!" That's when this desert rat left the cool air and went back to where the air is hot and dry, leaving the beautiful mountains behind.

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