The Thing About a VW "Thing"

I hope you are all having a descent post Turkey Day. It's the much anticipated and dreaded by others "Black Friday" which I always lay low during. Never have I really seen the need to go out hard charging into stores fighting mobs for holiday shopping. I've already compiled most of my holiday gifts in previous months, it's not much and it's not big box commercial gifts but it's thoughtful and hits the spot. Now with my due diligence mostly complete well ahead of schedule this lets me plan my "Black Friday" time to do other things today and be more productive in my own projects and not need to go anywhere, avoiding the crowds. Think smarter, not harder.

I should kick today off with a gear head antidote. The other day I went into the big city (Denver) on some official business and I was out getting lunch when I discovered not one but two Volkswagen "Things" parked together. These are relics from a bygone era of laissez-faire free wheeling automobile safety standards. I'm a bit familiar with these boxy automobiles as I had the opportunity to acquire one a few years back. It was near the end of my last year of high school and I was without a car, the one I had at the time, my first car was an old tuna boat and had suffered some catastrophic engine damage and I debated scrapping it in favor of the "Thing". The thing went up for sale by a local farmer and I had the chance to look it over and test drive it. It was a mellow beige/tan or yellow color, had some minor rust and usual wear and tear but at the time was in overall decent condition and seemed to scream at me "I'm the car you want for your college years, I'll get you anywhere, let you go camping, go off road and even take a beating around town!" I must admit I was very interested as I've seen a few others in the area, it was certainly in shape for an oldie- a 1973 VW Thing. One aspect that drew me to this car was the pure utilitarianism of it. It was a vehicle that could morph form. You could have the convertible top up, you could have it down. You have the windshield folded up or down. Heck I even think you could elect to take the doors off if you so chose. If memory serves me right, the seats folded too. It was a car that could become an open flatbed sort of truck or it could be a convertible to cruise around town or dismantle the whole thing for totally open air back country trekking on a warm summer day. The owner cautioned me however of the major drawback or at least one that would be for some but not me at the time. The drawback being that the car would not go much above 65 MPH on the highways making it a real risk on the interstate where traffic is usually 75 MPH (speed limit) and many times in wide open stretches people like to push it in some cases well past 80 MPH making this "Thing" a sitting duck and an impediment to the flow of traffic. This did not bother me too much as I rarely if ever ventured onto the highway back then, the boat I had was already somewhat sluggish and highway speeds were a bigger drain on it's already horrific fuel economy, at the time I knew many back roads and slower roads to avoid the interstate. Seeing that the "Thing" was what I wanted, relatives worried about me climbing behind the wheel of the "Thing" consulted a longtime family friend and car salesman who strongly cautioned me against it, citing mechanical and safety concerns. The need for a car went away when I later found the required components to repair the badly damaged engine on my old tuna boat, it was expensive and required locating a parts donor car but in the end was less money than what it would have been to acquire a VW "Thing".




The pair of VW Things parked at the restaurant sporting some wicked old school style, violet & yellow color schemes.

In retrospect I suppose this was alright, it'd probably would not have been for the better. I also did my research and came to understand it was one of many cars scrutinized in the late 1960's early 1970's during a movement towards "consumer protection" in the United States. The car was deemed "Unsafe" by people influenced by the movement's leader Ralph Nader and inspired by the 1965 book "Unsafe at Any Speed" which led to reform in auto industry safety standards. The VW "Thing" had a very short stint on the US market being only sold for two model years, 1973 and 1974 before being cut out by tightening US safety standards. The "Thing" went by other model names in other countries such as the "The Trekker", "Camat" and "Safari". It had a much longer life outside of the US. If your familiar with military auto history you might recognize this as the descendant of the German army Kubelwagon, a WWII era German counter part to the American Jeep. The VW 181 (Thing) as it's official designation was based on a Beetle platform and like the Beetle had a simple four cylinder rear engine making it simple and easy to maintain, that was one other appeal this "Thing" had to me. Yet at the same time if a car is considered "easy" or "simple" regarding ease of access for maintenance it could also be a double entendre implying that it's a fix or repair daily type of car hence needing to keep it simple and easy for engine access/maintenance. I've heard all too much, the horror stories of engine swaps and constant need for attention to every issue from veteran VW owners who had them back in the day but I've also heard some were very reliable - I suppose it's what you make of it. It's a neat car but it was one that got away from me and perhaps for better as I'm not so sure a 35 year old (at the time) Volkswagen would have kept up with my increasingly mobile lifestyle. I'm glad I never ended up with one, better things (no pun intended) lie down the road but I don't mind when I see one of these Things as it's like any other old car a, welcome sight and reprieve from the all too similar modern automobiles I see driving around. The thing I'll give the "Thing"- it stands out from the crowd. I still like 'em but it's just not for me. They are sort of an ugly but where some might employ the adjective a "cute" car sporting a face that only a mother could love.

Giving Thanks

Today I just wanted to say thanks. It's a day of giving and being thankful to all that is fortunate in one's life. I'm thankful to have some supportive and encouraging people in my life. I'm thankful for those who have helped me along the way. I'm thankful for the privilege I've had to help others in my lifetime. I'm thankful for what I've been able to achieve thus far in life and thankful for the opportunities still ahead of me though I don't know it yet as they may be veiled in the form of challenges but in time produce fruitful rewards. I'm thankful for fair health, and good spirit.

I also owe much gratitude to you, the reader.   

~Thank You~

I hope you all had an excellent Turkey Day.

Happy Place Part 2

Good morning all! This seems like a fine day to crack open some more summer state of mind. It's a bit chilly outside this morning so let me drop some more happy place medicine on your soul. Glacier is the place!

 Time to bolt from Lake McDonald and keep on heading east.

 My first Glacier river rapids. I'm no stranger to rapids but these ones here are big and wide.

 

There's lots of gallons of water gushing past these rocks, yes indeed.

 

 Still in the river bottom areas, soon the Going To The Sun Road will ascend.

 Another glimpse of Heaven's Peak from below.



 Summer time road construction just had to be inevitable. Never the less it can't detract from the surroundings.

 Straight ahead is where I'm going. The road will rap around up there in place where grey alpine karst is greeted by unbelievable lush greenery.

I'll leave you guys here with this parting photo, there's plenty more to come. It's only getting better from here. What lies ahead I can only describe as ascending into a high alpine world that takes on the sort of vivid sights only the minds eye can conjure up as being something like you'd expect to see in the Lord of The Rings. To me there are few places in this world that reality and fiction combine in the perfect marriage however is a match made in heaven in Glacier National Park. 

A Happy Place

I want to if I can today share with you what's one of my number one happy places in the world, Happy Gilmore has his own happy place and so do I. Mine I stumbled across this last summer on a road trip in the northern United States. The place is the spectacular Glacier National Park of Montana and it's northern part of the park across the border in Canada, Waterton Lakes National Park.

I'll start with sharing some of the scenery I saw. Now these were shot in August so I must warn you, if your in a fall/winter state of mind and all set for the holiday season this may break your psyche. (Spoiler Alert!) This may put you back in a summer state of mind. I was reflecting on these this morning pondering the hopeful idea of going back next summer. No doubt this is the cure for the wintertime blues. If you can't tell already, I'm a warmer weather person. I'm not liking the cold in the air and the shortening days. Take me back to my happy place!

The Entrance of the Going To The Sun Road via the west gate of the park.

 I stopped for a break shortly after getting in to admire the scenery as I had been driving that morning from Kalispell and needed to get out and stretch my legs.

 This is the spectacular McDonald Lake. In the background is Heaven's Peak. We'll see more of that later from the other side and I must say it's a sight to see.

 The waters here are very pristine.

 I certainly want to come back someday and camp here, maybe even fish if it's allowed.

 Picturesque trees near the shore.

This is just the tip of the glacier as I captured plenty more that I'll share with you in near future posts. I thought this was just going to be another average old mountains and woods drive when I passed through here that day, it was way more than I ever dreamed it could be. I saw much more scenery than I could imagine and a place that is hard to put words to. Not much would do it justice. Coming up later: waterfalls, soaring peaks, lush high mountain meadows, flowers and mountain goats. Stay tuned!

The Foreward

A prelude.. every good story should have one. This is the beginning of a journey several years in the making with the backing of a couple of decades of life's adventures and stories. The launch of this blog is the result of people around me telling me I should write. These requests have come from those who have read essays and stories of mine. This comes from those who have asked me to write more after my stint of writing in a school newspaper a little over half a decade ago. As of more recent I've been on several road trips, outings, vacations and had the rare opportunity to cover a wildfire in person as I climbed adjacent hillsides into blankets of smoke to capture my own brand of reporting on the event. Readers requested I do something with my writing, they say I have a gift for it. To be totally honest it just comes natural to me but for whatever reason when I've done what comes naturally folks seem to want more, now I shall finally deliver and see if what I do captivates a greater world class audience.

I've wanted to be and do a great many things in life, I'd never have thought blogger would be one of them. When somebody suggested writing I'd jokingly ask "For what newspaper? Who'd be interested in me?" Don't get me wrong, I wanted to but even after testing the waters in journalism related fields in school I knew I'd have to be somebody in bigger circles to do that professionally. Not that I must limit myself to reporting and I won't but there was once a time when writer and photojournalist where on my "To do" list. Here in "Flyover Country" writing is probably not much of a real living and I suppose my options become more limited, but I'm not concerned and I'm just going for it. Then enter me playing the part of the paper boy- Yes, everybody does it at least once don't they: deliver papers at sometime in their life, my stint was in high school and college before moving onto better jobs. In that time I had a front row seat as I watched the local paper fold and addresses drop off the morning route lists like soldiers missing in a head count after each day's battle. There were several reasons for this at the time, the main driver however, is the world was changing and old fashioned papers were becoming obsolete courtesy of the world wide web. After letting this thought ferment in my head for several years and going through the ups and downs in life I've had time to reflect and meditate on this. I still value old fashioned papers, they offered much in their time and some are still around but it's more or less a novelty. This opens up new frontiers, a good friend once told me "Where an old door closes a new one opens." Taking this bit of knowledge to heart I look at this through optimistic lenses. Blogging is decent avenue for writing, perhaps my own form of being liberated from the structured confines of printed publications as grand as they are but sadly a dying breed.

Now after roaming around just being my own free agent doing my thing I came to realize the vast expanse and beauty of the places I tread and know with a blog I can do more than a writer bound to a paper. I'll write about nearly anything which crosses my mind that I think can enrich the life of the reader. I could contribute vibrant images of places I go as I'm somewhat an avid photographer. Then I realized I could bring what I see, to the world. Being that I live in Western North America, it would be a shame not to share some of the modern "Wild West" with the rest of the globe. I'm one who always wants to travel, see and learn new things. This may just be the motivation to write as it could involve some real foot work. It will be more than that however. I'm a bit of a gear head, there could be some cars. I appreciate music, film, and art. There may numerous items I discuss, if I can fathom it then the possibilities are near endless. I'm a observer of history. I like a good laugh and all around humor. I'm a slightly eclectic person so when reading this blog expect as listed and then some. It could get interesting, weird, awkward, humorous.. heck who knows, it's whatever you make of it. If this were I book I reckon I'm about to assume the role of some character, one whose bringing lively perspective to the mind's eye of the reader and placing them in the story of the world I wander.

Without further to do here I present the world as seen from behind my eyes. It's true they are blue, not generally the hue I'd have wished for but it looks like I have to live with them. Blue like the sky and no limitations.

Sincerely Yours,

JG