We're looking for the trash fence...

16 June we picked Van Luna our 2022 Ford Transit 350 AWD Cargo Van.

We ordered the van in October 2021. Then the waiting and hoping to get a VIN, which is the golden ticket, letting us know our van would actually be built. In April we recieved the email from Ford with our VIN and then we waited for Chris Reade at Evergreen Ford in Issaquah to let us know when the can arrived.

I won't go into every little decisions we make, but as we do our build becuase there are so many good posts and DIY builds we're copying. I will do write-ups similiar to those we did for s/v Deep Playa when I think there is more to share, or when I feel like writing things down.

Here are some common quetions we get asked though:

q: Why Van Luna?

Dawn named the van. We both love to go stargazing and with her silvery paint she just felt like a Luna.

q: Why a Ford Transit?

1) AWD 1) Because they're less expensive and parts are readily available in smaller rural towns.

q: Why not buy a fully built van or a kit?

We enjoy this stuff. We enjoy the project, the learning that goes into the build, and making our own compromises vs. living with the compromises someone else made.

q: Which Transit did you get?

spec	value
Year	2022
Make & Model	Ford Transit 350
Body Type	LWB Cargo Van
Drive Train	AWD
Engine	3.6L Ecoboost
Color	Silver Ingot

q: How long will the build take?

Forever. :-)

I think we'll always be tweaking it. But the short term plan is to get the van ventilated and insulated so we can use it for rough camping this summer. Then to work on a more permanent bed and heating so we can use it as a ski van this winter.

After that, we'll work on the planned large electrical system and more finished carpentry.

q: What are you going to do with Artie McFarti the Jeep Renegade Trailhawk?

Artie will still be our daily driver and there may be times we plan to go place Luna can't fit or can't get to, that the nimble Jeep Renegade can easily go.

Artie has been amazing and reliable adventure buddy. Dawn and I love seeing his bright Orange glow when we come back to a parking lot after a day in the mountains.

The Jeep Renegade Trailhawk is not a Wrangler Rubicon, or a Sportsmobile. However, for the forest service roads we venture down its a very capable truck for our needs. We've only twice gotten stuck. One was due to poor judgement when I drove into snow that was too soft and high-centered the whole Jeep. The other was with friends and were just trying to see if we could get up a steep hill and up a log. I think if I had gunned it or didn't have so much gear in it at time it could have done it. But this was just a for fun thing. There was actually no reason to go that way, there was a perfectly easy road we could have gone around this section.

The one thing we were struggling with was our camping setup and bringing gear. We never take passengers in our vehicle so we decided that the back seats were really in the way. Lots of other vehicles have after market kits to replace rear seats with flat panel systems and access hatches. A "Rear Seat Delete" package does not exist for for the Jeep Renegade Trailhawk so we made our own.

This is the completed platform. You'll notice we cut the cup holders out of the arm console and made a spot for tissues. These are both easy to access even when driving. The whole thing comes by removing two bolts if needed for repairs or accessing the fuel pump. Before assembly we put down some rattle trap. The foam of the seat absorbed a lot of noise and this helps with that.

The platform has a lot of room underneath which we access from the sides and and it gives a nice large flat rear cargo area for loading in gear.

One thing I would do differently, is not paint the platform with bedliner. We've scratched helmets and goggles on the rough surface. We plan to resurface it with a rubber mat.

We also added Maxtrax to our recovery kit. They would have been great that time in the snow, but they'll be really useful as ramps when we need that extra bit of ground clearance.

Water Tank

When we go camping, we bring 5 grocery store jugs of water. Sometimes we refill existing jugs, sometimes we buy new ones. All of this creates plastic waste and it is not ideal to work with jugs of water instead of pressurized water like we had on the boat. Easy fix, buy a tank, hook up a pump and you have a portable water system. (see pic above.)

iPad Dash Mount

In the RV we used an iPad for navigation. That RV was from the 80's so it didn't have a big screen or navigation, but even the Jeep with its own screen doesn't have good integration with the iPhone and Apps.

The main issue was where to mount the Ram Mount attachment. Again, there is no turnkey solution for the Renegade so I had to design something. I started with the Ram Mount ball on the back of the center console air vent but that placed the screen really high, almost cent of the windshield. The approach I'm currently using is this prototype wedge I fabricated in the shop.

This wedge tilts the ball forward which then enables the iPad to be lower. The main issue is the Ram Mount arm has limited mounting angles. Since I've made this, I've also been thinking about using an piece of 90 degree aluminum so the ball is mounted horizontally. But as-is, I'm going to use two arms and see how that goes on my next trip. Even if we stick the wedge, it will be redone to be the full width of the Ram Mount track and painted black or CNC'd out of black UHMW plastic or Delrin.

1UpUSA Bike Rack

We recently bought gravel bikes and need a way to mount them that would hold up off-road.I won't go super into details, 1UP has a great website. But the rack doesn't wiggle or make any noise at all. So far we love it. I might add a swing-away arm and\or a adapter to raise it up some. We'll see if that is needed after the next trip.

Last night, I updated the version of Pelican I use to generate the site, and fixed A LOT of layout issues with articles that I never cleaned up when we switched from using Wordpress. Still a lot of bit rot links that are gone forever, links to spreadsheets, etc.. But as I did that it was a lot of fun to take a trip down memory lane and remember all the fun things we have been so priviledged and fortunate to be able to do.

Let's get back into that !

Wow, last update was in January 2020 when we went to Winter Park. Well in February of 2020 we went to Zermatt for our 10th Wedding anniversary with friends. It was an amazing trip. Zermatt is so beautiful.

This was right when COVID was starting to become the big news story. And from Zermatt we skied into Northern Italy which was a COVID hot bed at the time. One our friends thinks she got COVID either on this trip or the wayback, but the rest of us faired well.

When we got back to Seattle, Dawn was first asked to work from home because she had been travelling, but the next week the whole company went to work from home.

We still skied during COVID and that was such a stress reliever. We thought about geting kayaks. Couldn't find any. Also it would have been hard for us to store them.

Still did some camping with friends. Socially distanced at the time because no one was vaccinated. Artie has been such a joy to give us a way to get out when the times were more scary. I will do some posts about Artie soon, as we've made some modifications.

Through these times, we've been careful, but not completely shut-ins (well except in the beginning). I had been going to Kraken Games, until they stopped asking (they never enforced) mask wearing. Kraken hockey games have been so much fun.

Both Dawn and I are life long Flyers fan it is a little weird to now have two teams, but going to games is a blast and it helps when your seats are amazing.

I'm not going to rehash two plus years of generally miserables times. But even with that, it was not all bad, and it is good we remember to make great things happen even when the days are dark as night.

Dawn and I have many irons in the fire and planning new and exciting adventures. With that, I plan to get back into the blog as it is a great time capsule and ocassionally its been enjoyable and helpful to others as well.

We spent Christmas Ever through New Year's Eve at Winter Park Resort in Colorado. We chose Winter Park because the ski-able terrain resort looked immense (it is) and it had no blackout days with our Ikon Base Pass.

The whole West was suffering some from lack of snow so I didn't get to ski all the things, especially the side-country areas in Vasquez. So it was a lot of groomers which was fun and good to work the legs into shape. I put in 23K vertical feet one day.

They do a great job grooming the mountain. And because of that every lift has a Green and Blue run and most also have Diamond and Double Diamonds, so from one lift your whole group can ski what they like and then regroup at the bottom. I definitely recommend Winter Park for families and groups where everyone is not the same skill level.

Dawn took a full-day lesson one day and she really loved the instructor and the lesson. The class was focused on improving your parallel skiing. She feels like she got a lot out of it. I can also say, her skiing improved as well. (Solid skills are the foundation of a lifelong love of skiing!) The instructor was soo friendly. I ran into the class on the mountain and he took our picture. He didn't need to do that, it was very nice of him.

Ikon Pass Experience

Winter Park is a fully digital lift experience, which let's you walk up, scan your Ikon Pass trough your parka and use the lift. No need to stop by the ticket booth lines or barcode scanners. In addition, on-mountain you can pay with your Ikon Pass and get discounts on food and other purchases (t-shirts, stickers, gloves, etc.) the Ikon Pass was a great experience at Winter Park.

Travel

We flew Alaska Airlines to Denver and then took Home James Shuttle to the hotel. Flight was great, and Alaska is used to handling Skis so he whole experience was seamless.

You meet Home James Shuttle at the airport and they drop you off at your Hotel. Shuttles are High Roof passenger vans, very comfy. Easy Peasy! On your way back to the airport, the shuttles can get off schedule. I would plan to take the shuttle that is the one before the one you think you need to take. Give yourself extra time. You may think you'll have 1.5 hours when you get to the airport, but you'll end up with 50 minutes and no time to eat or whatever else you need to do. Just pad your schedule, their website will let you cut it too close.

Lodging

We stayed at the Viking Lodge. Its a very affordable lodge which at the time of our visit was also being remolded. This place is very cute and the people are super nice. I am sure once the remodel done prices will go up. Beds were comfy mail-order type memory foam mattresses. I had never slept on one of these, and was worried, but it was comfy. They offer pod-coffee in the lobby where you can also sit on coaches by the gas fireplace and read a book by the Christmas tree. It was a place to relax.

The hotel also has outdoor lockers to hold your skis. They will hold up-to 2 pairs. It was nice to have and right on your way in. I've stayed at other places where you had to go down into the basement to locker your skis which was less preferred.

Overall, I would definitely recommend the Viking to travelers who don't like to spend their whole budget on hotel rooms and when the remodel is done, I think the charm will grow exponentially!

Dining

!! FOOD DESSERT WARNING !!

If you are arriving to Winter Park after 8pm on any day, depending on your dietary needs, you may have limited or NO options to get food. We arrived on Christmas Eve and NOTHING was open. McDonald's was closed. We ate some bars we brought with us and some chips from the vending machine at the Best Western. We could have grabbed some food at the airport before we got on the Shuttle. I wish Home James or the Viking had mentioned this.

On-Mountain and In-Village

Snoasis

This place needs to be remodeled. I guess its the cheap place to eat on the mountain. I thought it was dirty and not up to the standards of the rest of the resort and the food was not interesting or good. I wish we had not gone in.

They were playing a Jazz Station from Denver on the PA outside the DJ was straight outta the Beatnik playbook. Very funny and great music!

Sunspot Mountain Top Lodge & Provisioner

I had the chicken noodle soup, solid soup soo good when its 10F outside. It was PACKED.

We had a drink one afternoon at the bar. They cannot make a Manhattan. Order a beer or something on their cocktail list.

Lunch Rock

OMG the Chicken Confit Pot Pie is soo good. Seriously. Just go and eat it. The Green Chili is also good. But order the pot pie again the next day too. ;-) It was PACKED.

Doc's Roadhouse Food good, the sausage appetizer is 3/4s of a pig I think. So plan accordingly. We sat the bar and the service was horrible, waiting for drinks, waiting to order food. It was not busy and the bartender was chatting up everyone else working instead of waiting on customers. (Bad service is a thing in Winter Park... there were lots of help wanted signs in town.)

Mary Jane Ale House

Solid Beer. Not more to say other than again... crappy service. Sitting at the bar and no they will not ask if you want anything... ever. You have to interrupt the straightening of coasters.

Vertical

Vertical has hands down the best pork chop I have ever eaten. Go there. Eat things. Be Happy. The baked Avocado was also soo good. I'm going to have to try that at home.

We again sat the the bar and it was busy but I thought this bartender did a good job keeping up. the food though was soooo good!

In Town Dining

Deno's

We prebooked (weeks ahead) a reservation for 7pm for Christmas dinner. We were given a crappy table under the stairs. Staff could NOT deal with the traffic at all. What I wanted to order (the special for tonight) was unavailable. Fine, I guess... mind you its 7pm not 10pm. So, I had to then wait 20 minutes for the waiter to come back and take our order. They do have an extensive wine list if you can afford it. I've had 1975 Mouton its not worth $800.

The food we finally did get was good but not great. My thought on Deno's is order a steak. If you don't eat steak don't go to Deno's. It seems to be what they do, it was my fault for thinking I could eat something else. (I don't usually eat steak.)

Paella's

Really good. Great Service. Staff super friendly. Best place we ate in Winter Park.

Casa Mexico

Solid Mexican. I had the Pollo Mole which was great. I'm picky about my mole. The bartender was super friendly and funny.

If you're really nice they'll give you a shot from the hoof!

The Peak Bistro and Brewery

We went on Sunday. Last Day of the Regular Season Sunday. The staff was SLAMMED although the place had just turned over 1/2 the tables (1/2 empty). Sitting at the bar did not yield faster service. I don't blame the staff on this one, clearly they lacked the people to deal with the size of this venue. The bartender was also busing tables.. The staff was nice though and I could tell they were also frustrated. Beer... very good. Food... good quality bar food. Solid. Nothing you've never had, but a solid brew-pub.

Ciao Monte

I had the lasagna, REALLY good. Also order a salad though, its not huge. It is the right serving you should eat. You just might also want a salad.

Dawn had a salad that looked nothing like the photo and it was extremely boring and meh. I think all their photos are from stock photos and not of their actual food. Read the descriptions carefully.

The Perk

Great coffee comfy seating. All you need. They share space with a high-end outdoor retail shop so you can look at that too.

Other Places

Green Spaces Co-Working

We need to put in a day of work so we hit up the Green Spaces co-working. The place is super functional, the guy working the desk was very nice. Everyone was wearing their Everest expedition down jackets because it was cold. The exposed concrete in the couch alcoves and the exposed metals beams were the s ame temperature as outside (it was 6F or maybe 12F that day). I think the place is new, I'm sure they'll fix that.

Otherwise, we were very happy with the network and the coffee. Dawn had phone meetings the phone booths were great. They had these suction cup desks on the window so you could also stand up if you wanted. I liked the space, it just needs a couple tweaks.

The Foundry (Movies and Bowling)

We just walked through here and it was adorable inside. Newly renovated the place is done very well and it was very busy\popular. I wish we had time to bowl, it looked fun!

This pics have been online for a bit. But now that the blog is up and working I wanted to take a second and share them here. My Grandfather William Durward Walters (aka Durwee), I served in the Navy aboard the USS Laffey and did a world tour. In that time the entire family: Rosemond Barnett Walters (Honey) my Grandmother, My father and his brother all visited Hawaii and lived in Guam for 2 years. Also seen in the photos are stops along my Grandfather's tour including Singapore.

This is Artie, Artie McFartie.

This 2016 Jeep Renegade is our new adventure platform. We had a Prius when we moved back to Washington but after the lease was up, we wanted to upgrade to something capable of handling the snow and the US Forest Service roads around the Pacific NW. I've been delinquent in posting for a quite awhile but I'm hoping to be more diligent about that moving forward.

For now, say hi to Artie McFartie!

Since Dawn and I returned from the warmth and sun of the Pacific Ocean both in Mexico and Hawai'i we really wanted to get into some snow and enjoy some seasons other than Endless Summer. January 2015 that was impossible in Washington state since we had zero snow. this winter [snow has been great. We've been renting a lot of different Xcountry gear and going a bunch of different places to see what we like and the best way to get more into Xcountry skiing.

We've already been to Lake Easton, Cabin Creek, Rainier, Methow Valley, and The Nordic Center at Snoqualmie. As always, I'll share our adventures and do geeky write ups on gear from time time because me. Super Bowl weekend we drove up i-90 and visited the Erling Skordal Trails (Crystal Springs) and Salmon la Sac.

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If you've skied the Nordic Center at Snoqualmie, the flat sections of the John Wayne Trail, and are ready for something more challenging, but still well-groomed the Erling Skordahl trail system at Crystal Springs is the next place to go.

The trails have some rolling hills, some loops that go into harder areas (and some that don't) and really I think for the intermediate skier its the place to cut your teeth, especially on how to go up and down hills, feel your edges, etc. I absolutely loved it here.

It is also one of the more used places for those who are into racing so if you're a true beginner I'd go to Lake Easton or the Nordic Center a few more times. I'd suggest checking the Kongsberger Ski Club page to see if there are races going on which might impact the availability of the trails.

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Salmon la Sac is one of the many Sno-Parks in Washington state that have groomed trails for Xcountry, snowshoeing, snowmobiles (skidoos for you Canucks), snow biking, dog sleds, etc. The Sno-Parks all have different rules and uses; Salmon la Sac has Xcountry, snowshoeing and snowmobiling trails.

Trails are reported to be groomed by the State's site and Snowrec.org, but on the day we went, they were not really groomed after the first mile or so and even then they were only packed down with snowmobiles. I'm not sure if that is normal, or if the big snowfalls this year have made it impossible to keep up with the grooming. Definitely not suitable for skate skiing and our traditional skis (no edges narrow for tracks) made it a litlte challenging, but we're ok with that.

After crossing the Cle Elum river the wide open trail quickly narrowed down to a snowshoe trail. With our skis in the snowshoe track and our poles on the unpacked snow, my traditional longer poles were definitely not ideal, Dawn's adjustable poles were great and are now on my wishlist.

While trail conditions were more challenging, we liked the extra workout that comes from that and we saw 2 people while were out. Super Bowl Sunday may had a lot to do with that, but it was still great to have the forest to ourselves.

P.s., I'll do a write up on the software I'm using to do those maps another time.

Since we're not just sailors and currently living on land, I've made some tweaks to the site over the past couple of days. Mostly I changed the theme so the main site and my tech\ham W7PEA subsite look the same and are more inline with our personal tastes.

I've also been working on the Blogroll to include all my friends blogs. If you're a friend, send me your link! I want to keep up with you, work, personal, family, whatever you got. I love to keep up even when we can't be together.

More and bigger changes coming down the road, but this is a nice start.

Since its been a few years since we lived in Seattle I surveyed my friends about their favorite places and things in the city. This is my favorite question we asked and it was the most interesting to me. Witness had 4 votes and I've never heard of it. There was a greater diversity of locations around the city, which I think proves my friends will go great distance for good drinks!

What's your favorite beer, wine or whisky spot?

• Canon (4) | http://www.canonseattle.com/ | "if you can get a table go on an off night"
• Witness (3) | http://witnessbar.com/ | "for any time"
• The Barrel Thief (2) | http://bthief.com/ | "We're friends with the owner, and that place is amazing, so many wines available by the glass!, due to the Coravin system, it's really neat, ask them about it"
• Chuck's CD (2) | http://chuckscd.com/ | "CD"
• Quinn's (2) | http://quinnspubseattle.com/ | "with Kevin MacDonald"
• Sun Liquor Co. (2) | http://www.sunliquor.com/ | "in general", "the one on Summit and E Roy, not Pike/Pine"
• Tavern Law(2) | http://www.mccrackentough.com/tavernlaw/ | "if you can go to the secret upstairs"

The others in alphabetical order:

• Black Raven brewery | http://blackravenbrewing.com/
• Capitol Cider | http://www.capitolcider.com/ | "NIce downstairs on music nights"
• Crescent Lounge | http://thecrescentlounge.com/ | "for amusing karaoke"
• The Beveridge Place Pub | http://www.beveridgeplacepub.com/ | "for beer"
• Brouwer's Cafe | http://brouwerscafe.blogspot.com/ | "for beers"
• Can Can | http://www.thecancan.com/ | "for absinthe"
• King's Hardware | http://kingsballard.com/
• Knee High Stocking Co. | http://www.kneehighstocking.com/ | "for intimate"
• Lava Lounge | http://lavaloungeseattle.com/ | "for five"
• Lenny's  Place | http://www.yelp.com/biz/lenys-place-seattle | [ED: Note. I don't think person has ever been to Lenny's (SIC) since they would have remembered Leny's is so cheap it only has one "N"! :-) ]
• Liberty | http://www.libertybars.com/ | "for cocktails"
• McLeod | http://www.macleodsballard.com/Macleods.html
• Mistral Kitchen | http://mistral-kitchen.com/ | "for Happy Hour"
• Naked City Tap House | https://nakedcitybrewing.com/
• Pink Door | http://thepinkdoor.net/ | Patio in summer
• Poco Wine | http://www.pocowineandspirits.com/ | "Best truffle, mac and cheese!"
• Radiator Whiskey | http://radiatorwhiskey.com/
• Tin Hat | http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-tin-hat-seattle-2
• Tippe & Drague Alehouse | http://www.tippeanddrague.com/

Since its been a few years since we lived in Seattle I surveyed my friends about their favorite places and things in the city.

What is your must see tourist site?

Fremont (3) Fremont and things in Fremont were a clear cut winner, which is funny because I don't think any of my friends live in Fremont.

Fremont Wandering around Fremont The Fremont Troll Theo Chocolate Tour

Underground Tour (2)

A close second was the Underground Tour and apparently they now also have an "adult" version of the tour for the 21+ crowd. When I knew I was moving to Seattle from NJ in Junior High, I did a book report on the Underground Tour. Its a little odd now that I think about it, but there was a narrow and thin book on the Tour in my Middle School library in Mt. Laurel, NJ. I recommend the tour as well.

• The Underground Tour
• The Underground Underworld Tour 21+

Two people suggested complete itineraries: Ferry to Bainbridge, ice cream at Mora, ferry back downtown timed for sunset. Best in summertime obviously. https://www.bainbridgeisland.com/ferry http://moraicecream.com/ While your there also go to Bloedel Reserve from the others list.

Bike to West Seattle, eat all the things, water taxi back across at night

• Plan your Bike Route
• Water Taxi Information

The others in Alphabetical Order:

• Bloedel Reserve on Bainbridge Island
• Discovery Park
• Flying Heritage Collection
• Kayaking So many great options
• Museum of Flight Restoration Center at Paine Field
• Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI)
• Olympic Sculpture Park
• Seattle Great Wheel
• Smith Tower Observation Deck
• Volunteer Park Water Tower
• Woodland Park Zoo I love the Zoo!