I'm back from Norcal. The good news is that the route is more or less sketched and we picked up a camper for Luke's pickup. The bad news is that the pickup also needs serious engine work. We believe the used-car warranty will come through on this count.

But now, for what you really wanted: the photos. I have two so far. Click for big versions.

Here's the truck (man-size mudder tires! yeah!) and John, the AZ mechanic who did the initial work to get it road-worthy. Unfortunately, after taking Luke back to SF and then he and I up to Westhaven without much incident, the engine had a major breakdown -- horrible death-like knocking sound -- on the way back from the grocery store. It should be all ironed out by May though, hopefully though a warranty.

And here we are with the Siesta, a camper shell which should fit much more nicely on the big truck than on the lil' red one. We got it off a pure humboldt dude, and unfortunately the cranks which you use to raise and lower the camper couldn't get it high enough off the ground enough to back the 4x4 under. Man-size mudder tires...

To load the Siesta up, we will have to fabricate a cranking mechanism with higher clearance. This should be pretty easy, actually, and will be documented in full. But it seemed like a task better suited for the leisure of may rather than the pressure of the moment, so after some deliberation (and hamburgers and a right-wing mom'n'pop joint in Eurika) we decided to see if the smaller red truck would carry the weight of the camper. Proving it's worth once again, it performed like a champion, even on rutted and bumpy Westhaven gravel roads.

At $300 (plus however much it saps our gas mileage), the Siesta seemed a worthy investment in terms of the additional comfort it will offer for three men and a dog on the road for three months. It will sleep two in comfort, has roof racks, a small refrigerator (which can run on electricity or propane) and a stove. We plan on serving fried eggs out of it at Burning Man. Oh yeah.

So Luke and I returned a little later than originally planned, and via the all-night greyhound. Oh man. Thanks to Zia being johnny on the spot with the half-pints of Aincent Age, the bus trip passed quickly. Now the pile of work looms. I fly to New York on Sunday. Much to do between now and then.

Look for future trip updates starting soon on VAGABENDER.COM