Maupin Weekend

We had a great time gathering for a VW event in Maupin, Oregon. It's east of Mt. Hood and about a 3 hour drive from us near Portland.

A friend on the message board "The Samba" (Mark) hosted the event at his resort along the Deschutes River called "The Oasis."

Our family caravaned with four other buses over to the camping spot.. ready to lend a hand if one of us broke down. We met near Clackamas Towne Center and caused quite a stir with all of us lined up there.



Then we hit the road.. all in a row.. and caught most of the lights.



It's hard to see Hambone's bumper sticker "Less is More" on this shot.. but we thought it was appropriate we take a picture anyway.



We left the cold, cloudy Portland weather behind, and once we crossed over Mt. Hood it got sunny and warm. Just like we planned.



Well we finally got there, met up with Mark and started to set up our camp.



Seems I had forgotten how to set up my side tent from last year, but luckily Tristessa was there to save the day.. (as he would be for others this trip) and we got 'er up.



The girls, of course, were in heaven. Happy to be on the road again.



They met a friend and soon they were all playing with the hose and getting wet and wild.



And our neighbor in the Vanagon let the girls play bus pilots for a little while.



Soon it was time to hit the sack.. with Mom and youngest (& dog) down below and me with the our 5 year old up top. I took this picture right before we went to sleep. I don't know how kids do it... stay looking so fresh at any hour.



Here's Mom down below.



Because we had a lot of time in the same spot, we were able to relax and take it easy and talk to all the other VW families. The kids got to play together and I got to read my kids some books in the back of the Pickle.



Mark did a good job organizing little events here and there including the valve cover gasket toss. I won 1 dollar of one of the best Milkshakes I've ever tasted in his store.



The set up of the camp was really cool. It was one giant grass field.. with splitties pretty much in one spot.. bays congregated near the river.. and vanagons spread out amongst the rest of us.



I parked straight in, (not fearing a jump start) and had a nice view of the Deschutes out my baywindow.



Occasionally you could see some river rafters float by..



...and my wife even decided to take the plunge taking a quick 3 hour trip. I watched the kids. It wasn't until later we both realized Saturday was our 6th Wedding Anniversary! We couldn't have been happier to spend it all together in this place.

The highlight of Saturday was a catered BBQ with great ribs and burgers. And then Mark and some of this inlaws played some tunes. That's Mark in the tye die on the mandolin.



We had lots of good NW ale and shared stories and Tristessa also installed a working Thermostat into the pickle (while I watched and learned) and he helped my neighbor with an oil leak by putting in a new valve cover gasket.

And then on Sunday morning, my other neighbor's bus wouldn't start. So once again, Tristessa was at it, using my timing light, volt meter and assorted tools finding out what was wrong. I think they narrowed it down to bad points and/or timing.

Oh, and thanks to Jasan who helped me fix my sink pump... (bad ground waaaaay in the back).

We took our time packing up on Sunday morning and were among the last to leave. That's because we were still having so much fun.

On the way back through the Columbia Gorge (a different route this time) we stopped in Hood River at the Full Sail Brewery and I had a Salmon Sandwich and two IPA's and got some nice kisses from my daughters.

It was a great Father's Day Weekend. Let's do it again soon.



Final Trip Stats...

272 miles roundtrip

14 gallons gas

1 quart oil

Issues: Sink Pump Ground