[JimK]

Today, Thanksgiving, is the one year anniversary of my 6000 mile trip to get a hiking car. I thought some of you might enjoy reading my adventures and misadventures. Hang in there, it's 8 pages long. Getting My Subaru

[Dave Weyrick]

Great story Jim! I recently moved to Bloomington; I'll have to consider a Subaru when I replace my '87 Mazda P/U. Got a photo of your Subaru?

[JimK]

Dave, I'm off to Lake Serene in the rain. I'll post a few pictures soon.

[Dayhike Mike]

Thanks for the post...enjoyed the story!

[Scouter]

Great story Jim. There's a '82 Subaru for sale down the road that's going pretty cheap, however it has over 200k on it. A little leary since I don't know much about 'em. I've been to Sidney as well, but just to visit the Cabela's store there. Took a road trip two years ago to visit my brother in law in Fort Morgan, Colorado, which is about an hours drive from Sidney. We planned to return to by heading north through Wyoming and then head west on I-90 through Montana. However, we lost our fuel pump just after crossing into Montana, in the middle of the Crow Indian Reservation. Talk about desolate, and no cell coverage. Luckily there was road construction in the area and a guy loaned us a cell phone to contact our travelling companions ahead of us. We limped into Billings and found a shop next to Carquest parts warehouse. The guy changed out the pump and filter and we were back on the road in less than two hours. However, the rest of the trip was spent worrying about what else could go wrong with the vehicle.

[Allison]

That's an excellent story, Jim. As the proud owner of an '87, many of these tales of mystery, overheating and the like, ring true. On the right night, either the Nav or Quark can relate stories of my most recent mishap with Bridget the Aging Soob, which was long long ago, the night before Christmas, 2002, about 30 miles east of Sequim. It was a dark and stormy night, and I was put to the choice of one head gasket versus one whole almost new engine. Long story, but not as long as yours. When Bridget finally has to be laid to rest, perhaps I need to go to Philly for my next Soob.

[JimK]

Scouter, a trip to Sidney just to see Cabelas? That is a story in itself. Glad to see you survived your breakdown. Marylou, it seems like I have heard a bit of your Sequim breakdown story. It must have been here just after the fact. Mine is 10 years younger than yours and I hope to still have it in 10 years. Dave, below is a photo of the beast. It is completely straight with only a black mark on the rear bumper. It was so detailed inside that I can promise it will never look like that again. Even the rubber trunk liner was waxed. Unfortunately, that meant that everything slid from side to side with the gentlest turns. I fixed that by transporting a friend's dog on a hike. The muddy dirty dog managed to take all the wax off in one trip back home.

My 1997 Subaru Outback

[Dean]

Great story Jim. I've been getting more interested in Subaru outbacks as this year has progressed simply because I've seen so many of them in the back areas of Wash / Oregon. Looks like a great vehicle.