At 73, I still feel sharp and reasonably fi t, but I decided that this vacation towing my toy hauler trailer with my Chevy 2500 pickup would be my last long-distance trip. I simply don’t want to be the guy who accidentally runs into a ditch, scrapes the side of the trailer, or drives over a curb. After 14 days on the road, I’m happy to say nothing like that happened. The only real glitch on the entire 3,600-mile trip was a broken belt tensioner on the truck’s engine. It left us stranded on I-5, just 9 miles from our RV park in Mt. Shasta, California. Thankfully, I had added RV coverage to my AAA membership back in July, and they towed us right to our designated RV parking spot at no charge. The new belt tensioner cost $34 at the local NAPA store, but I paid $172 in total to have a local mobile mechanic come and install it. I’m incredibly thankful it was a small, easy-torepair problem and the only one during the trip.

I’m originally from Oregon and love the Oregon coast, so that was our main destination. However, I’m also a hard-core car guy, and the Hot August Nights (HAN) events in Reno/ Sparks, Nevada, just happened to coincide with the fi rst week of our trip. The MAG Collector Car Auction is also a big draw during HAN, running Thursday through Saturday. My sister Deannia lives in Sparks, within walking distance of the downtown car show events. My little 21-foot toy hauler fi t perfectly in her driveway, so staying with her for a few days was fantastic. Before the trip, I estimated gas would average at least $4.25 per gallon, and I was pleasantly surprised to see prices in the mid to high $3.00 range— except, of course, for the $4.50 to $4.79 per gallon in California. Amazingly, gas along the Oregon coast ranged from $3.25 to $3.69 per gallon. The weather throughout the trip was great, with only one day of light rain and clouds on our last day at a beautiful RV park in Depoe Bay, Oregon. I love Depoe Bay; it’s so scenic and quaint, with the world’s smallest boat harbor, where I counted 45 boats moored. Back in 1961, my dad and I went salmon fi shing from that little harbor, and I caught one of the only three salmon that day—the only salmon I’ve ever caught. We stayed at RV parks in Brookings, Coos Bay, and Depoe Bay. Originally, I planned to continue north to Long Beach, Washington, but that darn Car Guy bug stopped that plan when I vacation, the toy hauler trailer has been fully cleaned up and is now offi cially for sale. The engine and transmission will soon be installed into a 1991 Chevy S-10 extended cab pickup. The S-10 found a GM Vortec 5.7 (350) V8 and a 700R4 automatic overdrive transmission near Cottage Grove, Oregon. I couldn’t pass up the price, so we headed east to Interstate 5, then south to buy them before someone else snagged them. They’re both still in the back of my truck. After this awesome 14 day vacation, the toy hauler trailer has been fully cleaned up and is now offi cially for sale. The engine and transmission will soon be installed into a 1991 Chevy S-10 extended cab pickup. The S-10  is now in my garage and in the beginning stages of this V-8 conversion. Stay tuned for future updates. Being out the killer Arizona August heat for a few weeks was great and already the nights are starting to cool down and we’re seeing a lot more days below 110º If you look hard, you can see the fantastic Arizona weather that’s coming SOON.