Blazer Report #1

So to recap: I'm in the middle of an engine rebuild (currently just a tear-down).

I would love to report that it is going well, but during the engine removal a plasma cutter had to be employed. Currently the engine is in as many pieces as it is possible for an engine to be in, and I am slightly panicked.

As it stands, the crank shaft is toast. On the plus side, now I have a crank shaft to make a mailbox stand out of.

Now I'm trying to decide whether to rebuild the engine or..........

Where No Robet Bentley Manual Has Gone Before

(FYI: Robert Bentley publishes the factory repair manuals for my VW's. They are phenomenal.)

In a quick laps of mental consciousness on a Friday morning I purchased a 1975 Chevrolet Blazer. I'll pause while you pick yourself up off the floor........


I'd post a picture of the actual truck, but it is just too ugly. Why have I done such a thing you ask? I'm still not sure. This K5 Blazer comes with the 350 V8, conventional four wheel drive, and a 3 speed manual tranny with a compound low range 1st gear. As a bonus my new Blazer also comes with a fair amount of rust and a prodigious knock from the engine. Within minutes of arriving home I discovered that I own a grand total of 3 standard gauge tools, not to mention the fact that this square behemoth doesn't actually fit in my Volkswagen sized shop. Not an inspiring situation.

With much persuasion from my neighbor and another Chevrolet fan that he knows I was talked into rebuilding the engine. A repair manual came with my purchase, but I find the fact that every paragraph begins with the phrase "remove the rust and dirt from the...." to be disconcerting. As I work on the engine removal I routinely become incensed at the backwards engineering and pot-metal construction and then conversely pleased with the fact that I can climb into the spacious engine compartment with the part I'm working on without having to be a body contortionist.

I don't know what else to say about this. It cost $350 and it has an 8000lb winch, which is honestly what I'm most excited about. I plan on using it to drag other cars out of the parking spot I want.

More later....

What people in Vermont call "The West"

I am slowly and tentatively exploring the eastern side of the United States. So far I've only seen Chicago and now Missouri. Now, I am well aware that any geographer would be quick to point out both of those aforementioned locations are technically considered the Mid-West, but when you are as far West as Nevada most of the country is "technically" East of you. Hopefully, I will also be in Florida this July for the second to last Shuttle launch, but I digress.

I flew into St. Louis and then drove out to Ft. Leonard Wood to spend the weekend with my Aunt and Uncle and their five kids. (I almost had myself talked into renting a new Camero but I chickened out. At least they finally gave me the new Chevy Malibu that I'd been asking for.) It was exciting and entertaining to say the least. The kids were great, and Missouri was generally flat.

My dynamic duo cousins

For my benefit Clark and Cal are reenacting the time when Cal got his finger stuck in a battle tank.

On the trip back I stopped in St. Louis to go see the Arch and got unknowingly caught up in some of the pre-game crowds of the first Cardinals game of the year.

It was really a great trip in all. I only got mildly lost once. All of my flights were a few minutes early. I got in some golf and was able to reinstate myself as the favorite cousin.

It was a lot like.....

Last Thursday I was meeting with an industrial door repair contractor who was driving up from Las Vegas to look at some of our large, locomotive sized doors. I arrived at my office and waited, but the guy didn't show up. I called down to the engine house and discovered that he was already down there inspecting the doors. It was a quiet and sunny day at the rail yard so I went walking down to the engine house, trudging through new snow that fell the night before.

Passing the freight barn I noticed that one of our diesel locomotives was parked outside in the yard. As I was walking it almost looked like the locomotive was moving (you know how it can look if you're moving and you're looking at an object that isn't). After not being able to convince myself that the locomotive wasn't moving, even though it was quiet and there wasn't anyone around, I stopped walking. By the time I had stopped walking the "not moving" locomotive had really picked up some speed. I could see that it was heading down Machine Shop Track #2 towards the engine house. I began to panic, wondering if I should shout or try to stop it (this thought was tossed out almost as soon as it entered my thoughts). In another instance the locomotive went crashing through the closed roll-up door.

As it turned out the door contractor had been standing on the other side of the door just seconds before the locomotive came crashing through. No one was hurt, but the door had been ripped down and now had the face imprint of a large locomotive on it.

Later that day as I sat down to write a narrative to the insurance company all I could think to write was,"Well, it was a lot like watching a train wreck."

On the upside, we really couldn't have chosen a better day to have the door contractor on site. I thought the door was un-salvageable, but they worked a miracle.

Southwest Extravaganza

Being faced with one week of paid vacation I decided to head South. The initial plan was much grander; however, shortly before the trip plans changed for the person who was going with me. I contemplated several other trip options but the siren song of the sunny South wouldn't relent so I went anyway. (and I wasn't disappointed)

Leg one: I dropped the wagon off at the mechanics in Salt Lake for him to fix some of the things that I had "fixed" myself. I then picked up a rental car and headed for Green River, UT. It was a cold drive and I found where all the Subaru owners hang out. I had no idea that this place actually existed.

After my night in Green River I was going to take the ferry across Lake Powell but it was closed until April. Consulting my road atlas I planned a route around the lake. It was a beautiful drive and then 100 miles from anything the pavement ended on top of a bluff.

There was a dirt road leading down the face of the bluff and it looked like the highway might continue at the bottom. Plus, I was in a rental car so I figured why not. This was about as wide as the road got. It was pretty narrow and really steep.


I made it on to the Grand Canyon National Park that day where I hiked around a bit and looked at..........stuff. (F.Y.I.- The Grand Canyon Skywalk is not in the park. It's on some indian reservation at the other end) Finally I made it to Phoenix. This one picture sums up why I want to be snowbird next winter.

The weather was warm. The grass was green. The flowers were in bloom and there was fruit on the trees. I spent the time sight seeing and visiting friends and family. 74 degrees feels amazing after a long, cold winter. I even went out and took the tour at Taliesin West in Scottsdale.


After Phoenix I headed back to Salt Lake to visit more friends and family and to pick up the wagon. All in all it was nice break. As with any good vacation I came back exhausted and only too happy to return to my normal routine.

You Can Drive?

I was picking up one of my friend's sick kids from school because they were busy. I pass this kid walking to the bus stop as I walk to work most mornings. As she walked up to me so that I could take her home she looked at me a little incredulously and asked,"You know how to drive?" I just shrugged my shoulders and said,"I guess we'll find out." It never occurred to me that she only ever saw me walking.

This isn't the first time that I've had someone concerned over my walking. I've had ward members offer me cars for cheap and people stop and ask me if I need a ride. I find it funny that people can't believe that someone has a car (or three) and chooses to walk anyway.

I wish I had some altruistic reason for walking like saving the planet or becoming healthy, but the truth is that I just hate driving to run errands or for commuting. It just isn't fun.

My work is only a 12 minute walk away and it keeps me from having to scrape windows or agonized that in the 2 minute drive to work the engine oil never got up to temperature. Whatever fringe benefits I get are just icing on the cake.

On the Uphill Swing

The holidays are finally over; as is the shortest day of the year and the family wedding. As you may have already heard, the wedding was magical and December 21st was, well, short. Christmas was nice and quiet. Turns out it was to be the only quiet part of the last few weeks.

December in Nevada was cold and snowy. Temperatures frequently dropped blow zero and by the time all was said and done we had a foot and half or more snow with drifts that were much deeper. I got out my snow boots, but snow shoes would have served me better on the walk to work. This last week we've seen temperatures in the high 30's to mid 40's with sunny skies. The snow melted enough that I was even able to walk to work sans boots! (as long as I was careful where I stepped) I still end up in snow up to my knees when I try to walk across the rail yard. However, the days are getting a little longer. It's now barely still light outside when I leave the dental office instead of pitch dark. Nonetheless, I am still aware that February is generally miserably cold, but the muddy days of April and May are just around the corner. I can feel it coming and I can't wait.

To pass the winter months I'm planning road trip to the Southwest. It is astounding how great 50 degrees feels after -15.

Happy New Year!