They had our car pushed outside, that seemed odd. I get in to start and notice every switch on the control has been pushed. Also, the battery is dead! After checking all the fluids, we get a jump from one of the rally vehicles and it starts right up.

SEPTEMBER 9, 2010
Today we gas up the cars and prepare to leave. We also have our car inspected by FIVA for safety. We have a tail light out (bad bulb). We also have to pack all the food Arthur has shipped to China in the car. I must say every square inch is packed full, there is no space left!

Phillip Young, the head of the rally came by and said our car would not make it out of Mongolia due to having two spare tires on the back of the car. He said the car would not handle well and we would destroy the rear suspension. HE WAS WRONG!

DAY ONE
Today started very early. We were up at 5:15 AM, down for breakfast, departure at 6 AM and we were a little late because Arthur couldn't get his act together.

We ended up being the last car out of the lot and as usual we got lost. The Volkswagen we were following did not have a clue where he was going either.

After several blocks we stopped to talk about it and low and behold, luck was with us and an official from the Rally found us and offered to lead us to the Great Wall.

That worked okay in heavy traffic until the congestion became impossible and we lost our guide. We missed the exit due to heavy truck movement. We got off at the exit and asked a young man who could speak English for directions, and 10 minutes later we were there.

Everyone had trouble arriving and the officials delayed the start 1 hour.

At the wall there was a ceremonial dragon dance which is supposed to be good luck for the travelers.

Departing the Great Wall we received the usual changes to the route. The going was a piece of cake on motorway but then we exited to the back roads. This became a greater problem because now all signs are in Mandarin.

We passed through some beautiful valleys and mountain ranges only to be brought back to reality driving though very poor villages.

We did press on and finally arrived at our hotel at 4:30.

Even though some of the driving was "rough" it is only a little taste of what is in front of us.

DAY TWO
We left the hotel at 8:42AM and arrived near the Mongolian border some 10 hours later. Today’s drive was full of small towns, big cities and mountain ranges to the height of 5300 feet.

It seems as though the entire town of Daytong, China (paid for by US taxpayer’s money) was under construction.

The little car that could, had a tough time climbing. The radiator got to almost 230 degrees. We had a noise that sounded like the throwout bearing (that releases the clutch) is having some issues. We have one with us but it is tough to replace.

Arthur: Driving in China is like the wild, wild west only with cars; drivers pass on the left, cut in front of you, play chicken with you when they are trying pass, they go through red lights, pull out without looking, if you are by accident in the left turn lane and want to go straight or turn right there is always a friendly policeman to help you get where you want to go. You have to be aggressive or you will be left in the dust.

DAY THREE
Today we cross into Mongolia (a border crossing). The crossing was painful. We think that all of the border guards wanted to look at the cars.

When we lined up in the China portion of the crossing, they sent us back out to our cars then all came out and looked at the cars for about an hour.

Then we were allowed to go back in and pass through. Next we drove about a half mile to the Mongolian border crossing. They were very disorganized and did not have all the paper work in English.

We to use Mongolian forms to copy one of the US forms in order to answer the questions, we did not get out of the border area until 12:30 PM.

The trip to Sainshand was a lot worse than it was 3 years ago. I don't think I could have imagined it to be worse. Now they are building a road through the entire route. This before was horrible and now to use Arthur's words, "it was sadistic." We did not arrive in Sainshand until after dark. We were to camp here. As we were driving through town, I spotted a hotel and we pulled in. As it turns out, it is a brand new hotel and believe it or not, they have a garage for every room. The camping tonight will be great.

DAY FOUR
Well, today was a little better, it was only horrible. We did several time trials (Arthur wanted to do this). The last half of the trip was on asphalt, but the car suffered.

Tail pipe mounting broken, electrical fans failed, we lost a hinge pin for the deck lid. We had to the drive the car slow due to the fans not working. Approximately 45 to 50.

Arthur complained about driving slow (he said it must be his A-type personality). We arrived at the hotel at 5:30 PM.

DAY 5
Today is a day off. The parking area was full of cars being worked on and our car is no exception. I started with a major problem the radiator cooling fans. When driving and you hit a bump the fans would come on and run for a few minutes, then shut off. In diagnosing I started at the fans, and checked all the connections back to the fire wall. Then I checked power going to the relay and I had power.

I could jump the feed line to the fans with a hot wire and make it run. I assumed it was a bad relay but I changed the relay and the fans did not work.

So I wired the fans directly to the ignition switch with a 30 AMP fuse so now any time the key is on the fans will run, I will have to remove the fuse when crossing rivers.

Next I repaired the exhaust tailpipes, a few bolts and a bracket and it was repaired. Replaced the bolt in the truck lid hinge. Then I hired two boys who worked in the hotel to wash the car.

They did it with buckets of water and towels and charged $10.

Finished at last and I am beat.

During the day I was lucky enough to meet the US Ambassador to Mongolia, Jonathan Addleton. I also met a missionary by the name of Elder William Clark. During our visit Elder Clark relayed to me a cure for bad food which is two cups of sauerkraut.

Over the next several days you may not hear from us as we will be camping.

DAY SIX
Today was started with great fanfare at Mongolia's capital complex of government buildings. Complete with national anthems of the countries represented in the rally. They played beautiful orchestra music. There was a traditional Mongolian quartet playing with original Mongolian string instruments.

You have to be impressed by the way we have been treated by the Mongolians. What a great send off.

After departing the great square we drove through town. We made a small turn but it didn't feel right, so we returned to the main road. That was okay because we were able to fill up with petrol. And on our way back Arthur made an illegal left turn, though we didn't have any signage, and we were stopped by the local police who promptly pulled out his little book and pointed to a phrase that said we had broken a traffic rule. The fine would be 5,000 of their money that we are sure went in his pocket as part of his salary for that day. Then he said, "Go, Go, Go" and we left.

As we left town we are driving on a very rough asphalt road. Arthur hit the mother of all potholes and the car continued for about 500 feet and then stopped. I smelled gasoline that was very strong and I told Arthur to turn off the engine. The car had impacted so hard it drove the engine sideways, causing the glass bowl on the fuel pump to strike the pre-filtered housing on the fire wall and that caused the bowl to shatter.

I started to change out the bowl from the spare fuel pump and decided instead to just bypass the mechanical pump all together. We had dual electric fuel pumps mounted in the trunk. With a spare pump stowed away. Repairs were made in about 20 minutes and we are on our way.

On our way to camp later in the day Arthur asked me if I would still mind skipping the camps and staying in motels for the next four nights.

I had spoken to the US ambassador to Mongolia and he informed me that there was tarmac all the way to Khovd. So I tried to verify with the Chinese map and it showed tarmac all the way. Based on what we thought were good roads, they actually turned out to be the roads from hell.

We go to our last check point with the rally and told them we were going to leave. Then we are off. After about 4 hours of driving the tarmac ended. Not knowing what was going on we surmised they were just working on the road. But there are no roads and it is getting dark. I kept hearing a rattling noise in the rear of the car. So I stopped to check and discovered the left rear shock came loose at the top mount. The shock is gas filled and I could not compress it enough to get the bolts installed. So I took the last bolt out of the bracket and removed it, laid the shock down on the fender brace. The last of these repairs was done with a flashlight.

We continue on trying to make our way to Altay, this was on the way to Khovd. It is extremely difficult in the daylight and virtually impossible at night. At 9:00, 10:00, 11:00 PM and 12 midnight, we have come to a many forks in the road and had even gone back because we thought we had taken a track the would lead us to the south. In other words we are lost. Arthur decides he is going to flag someone down for help. Here comes a van really moving, we are stopped and Arthur gets a flash light our and flashes at the van and they stop. He comes up and could speak a little English. I thought he was drunk (and he was). We show him the map and ask him which track to take to Altay. And he responds with "you are in good hands now".? (Whenever you hear that you know you are in trouble). He keeps repeating himself, and so with no other choice we follow him.

DAY SIX INTO SEVEN, AND EIGHT
We go as fast as we dare, trying to keep up, but he is getting too far in front. Then we follow his tail lights as far as we can see them. Then we follow the dust trail as far as we can. But it was enough to get us on the right track. As we continue on it's 1:00, 2:00, 3:00 and 4:00 AM and neither of us can stay awake any longer. We stop and sleep in the car for 2 hours.

We are at a small village called Olviit. We try to speak to the people in the town but English is not spoken there. We show them the map and direction of the town we are trying to reach. They point us in the right direction, but we are turned back by a river. Then we drive around a little bit and go to a construction site to find someone who can help us. We are pointing on the map where we want to go when a small van/bus pulls up and he says follow me and we do.

First thing we do is to go right down to the same river and with a little hesitation drive across it and on to Bayankongor. But there isn't any way we can keep up with him.

Now we are driving down a big valley and our GPS is on track to Bayankongor. We find a small restaurant with some very nice people that help us with breakfast. Arthur has is porage and I had corn flakes. They didn't speak any English so I drew a picture of a cow with utters to simulate milk. They figured it out and I had milk for my cereal. The girl that waited on us kept looking at the corn flakes so I motioned to her to get a bowl and she had a bowl of corn flakes. I am sure this is the first corn flakes she has ever seen. I think she liked them.

We met a Mongolian guide with a business man from Pennsylvania he gave us a better route to Altay. He said when you leave town move left from the power lines, it would be a smoother route and end up in the same place. We did that, I guess smoother would be a relative term because it was rough. On the way we had a big spark shower under the dash. Everything seemed to work so we continued on. On the way, we came to a river at a Mongolian family yurt encampment. The drive paths went everywhere so we did not know where to cross.

We stopped to speak with the people, no English of course. But it is amazing how much you can get across with gestures and drawing pictures. It was decided that one of the young men would get on his motorbike and lead us across. He also put us on the right path after crossing the river. So we continue on, hour after hour. Remember we have only had two hours sleep and the past 36 hours. We get in to Altay at about 10 PM. We found a hotel but had to wait to until midnight before the room would be available (draw your own conclusions). The linens on the beds were changed in front of us. The room didn't have a shower, only a sink with cold water. You just have to make do with what you get.

DAY NINE
We arise at 8AM, we leave town on a good road at 9AM. We are encouraged about our prospects for the day. After about a half hour the good driving ends and it is back to the rough and rougher (potholes that aren't small, washboard, ruts, dips, drops offs and every horrible thing you can imagine). I know now Arthur is getting impatient on how long it is taking. He readily admits that he has ADD and has obsessive compulsive behavior. He drives too fast over the washboard tracks and it literally dismantles the car. The engine dies and will not start. A couple of Mongolians came by and gave us a hand pushing to start. This was very fortunate in a way because there was another problem. When the car started from being pushed I noticed NO OIL PRESSURE!!!!!!!!!!!!! I asked Arthur to get oil as quickly as he could, because we cannot turn off the engine and need to move the car up on a hill to check it out and have the hill for starting.

Filled with oil I see the oil filter has come loose and it broke the supply line from the engine block to the oil filter. I am trying to think how I am going to repair a broken oil line in the middle of the desert. I thought about it for a few minutes and decided I would take the broken line from the block and turn the remaining portion of the line around. I took vice grips and squeezed the line together in several places. It was so hot behind the engine where the line attached and it was very difficult to work with. I had a great deal of difficulty getting the threads to attach the short piece of line to the block. I decided to get a piece of plastic line cut from the siphon pump and push it over the end of the oil line. That way I could hold it in position.

After a lot frustration and continued efforts I got the line in and problem solved. To get the car started we pushed from the incline and it started. Remember the car will not start and in a couple of hours it will be dark. After the car is running I decide to adjust the idle up. When it slows down the lights almost go out.

We continue to drive through midnight until 2:30 AM Arthur had made a reservation at a hotel in town but we could not reach anyone so we elected to stay at another hotel we had run across first. We were exhausted and crashed.

DAY TEN
The next morning we get local workers to help us push the car to start it. We are off to find a battery. I really don’t know for sure that this is the problem. I did try to jump the starter direct to the battery and it would not start. As I was waiting for Arthur in the bank to change money, a gentleman approached me and spoke English very well. He was a Mongolian who worked for Caterpillar and Ford. I asked him if he knew where I could purchase a battery for the car. Perhaps an auto parts store. He said I know just where to go. A black market that has everything and I mean everything.

We purchased the battery for 80,000 their money about $50.00 and before Arthur could pay for it two guys had the battery changed. I got in and started it. One problem solved.

Next I asked my new friend if he knew of a garage with welding capability. He said yes, "follow me." We pulled into the gates of the Kahn Garage and get the royal treatment.

They pull us right up, front and center, and my new friend translates for me about the problems we have; a broken shock mount, a broken oil line and many loose bolts on the chassis. Other problems we have now are the driving lights, turn signals, no brake lights, no tail lights. I will try and attend to the electrical problems. We also need an oil change and filter and all vital fluids checked and the chassis lubricated.

While they were doing the repairs I resolved all of the electrical problems with the exception of the driving lights. All repairs were made in short order.

We offered to take our new friend and his buddy, who was a Russian military man that was involved in aviation, out to dinner and had a very nice visit.

The Rally begins to arrive that afternoon and I am really glad we had our work completed.

DAY ELEVEN
Just a little bit about Khovd. The locals pronounced it Holk. Khovd is the largest city in Western Mongolia, it survives on agricultural economy, food processing plants and light manufacturing. It also houses the main University in Western Mongolia.

Today we journey back to the Kahn Garage where they were to make a mounting bracket for the top of the radiator. They were unable to do so. So I elected to go without it. The radiator was mounted down on both sides so it was not going anywhere. Kahn's is full of rally cars with all sorts of problems. Bad wheel bearings to broken axles and broken suspension parts. And even broken frames. It was a sea of misery.

We elected to get our car washed by two women who were entrepreneurs working very hard. They have a drum with a pressure washer hooked to it. They carry the water in buckets from the Kahn garage which is next door.

Now all that is left is to pack up the car and prepare to leave Tuesday morning.

DAY TWELVE
Today's drive is 193 miles of more torture and agony. We have avoided all the camping that we can, but tonight we have no choice. We cross 4 rivers and 3 small streams.

I know 193 miles doesn't sound like much, but here we drive from daylight to dark to make it to camp. We have crossed many mountains and are camping at approximately 7500 feet and it is GETTING COLD! I help Arthur set up his tent and air mattress and I prepare my bed in the car.

I am amazed how well it worked out for me. I think I fared better than Arthur in the tent. The little stream running by the camp site was frozen over the next morning.

I was talking to the Doctor at the border crossing and he informed me that it got down to minus 12 centigrade or 18 degrees F he also said he had two ladies who passed out from the cold, and had to get them into a vehicle to warm them up.

DAY THIRTEEN
Today we head for the border between Mongolia and Russia. We get there early and it's only 20 miles from camp. But getting there early doesn't mean anything. We wait and wait. We don't get out of the Mongolian section until 11:00 AM then we continue across the no man’s land for about 20 miles. One stop at a guard shack to check our passports and then we continue on the main border check station.

They wash our wheels with a chemical spray, then we wait. And wait and wait . They shut the whole border crossing down for lunch for about an hour and a half.

We leave the boarder about 3:30 PM. There are lots of cars behind us. I feel for them because we have a long drive ahead of us. I feel sad for them as well because they will not be able to experience the beautiful drive we saw in 2007 through the Siberian mountain region.

When you purchase gas in Russia you have to guess how many liters you need then you pay them up front and if you miscalculate they don't give you the change.

The rally had changed the route to the resort where we were staying to a longer drive up through Binsk. It goes farther north and then goes south to get to our hotel. The reason was there were forest fires and if we went the original route we could be arrested. This turned out not to be true, there was only a four block detour.

We stop at a little café along the way it is now really dark. We have borsch and chicken. Another rally car stops with two guys from Italy in 1929 Chevy convertible sedan. They think they have found a short cut cross country instead of going all the way to Binsk. We ask if we could tag along. It takes forever. We get into Belokurikha at about 11:30 or so, we took a shower and went to bed.

DAY FOURTEEN
It started out okay driving very rough roads full of pot holes we make it to a little town near the Kazakhstan border named Ruptovsk and on the way out of town all hell broke loose.

The car quit and the cockpit filled with smoke. Arthur was driving and I told him to shut off the main power switch and we coasted to the side of the road. I got out and the opened the hood and saw a melted and smoldering mess in the middle of the wiring harness running down the center of the engine to the alternator. I look inside the car and the melted wiring continued up through the amp meter and over to the fuse box. Also, another wire from the fuse box out to the main feed for the car at the starter solenoid. I started to peel open the harness when a big dump truck pulled up on the other side of the road. Out jumped a young man about 25 to 28 years old, he pulled out a knife and pushed me aside and started cutting open the wiring harness.

I went inside the car and started unhooking the harness and pulling out the bad wires. In order to make repairs (we did not have heavy gauge wire needed), we used triple 18 gauge wire to carry the load. The Russian made the connections by stripping the installation two inches back and twisting all connections together. He used old fashioned cloth electrical tape to tape everything up. In about 40 minutes all temporary repairs were made I got in and turned on the main power (no smoke) so I turned the key and the DAMMED THING STARTED.

Without his assistance we could have been there for a couple hours. The Russian people are just terrific. After the border crossing we continue to Semey, Kazakhstan.

DAY FIFTEEN
Today we go from Semey to Usharal. Tonight is suppose to be the last night of camping out, and Arthur finds a nice hotel overlooking the camp ground. Just the way we like to camp.

DAY SIXTEEN
Another big day, 342 miles from Usharal to Almaty. We start and end up making it before dark. The roads are still bad to worse at times.

There are all kinds of fruit stands along the way. We stop and pick up apples and pears. The apples are very good but he pears are the best I have ever had. I planned to save the seeds and plant a tree when I get home.

Almaty is named after the apple trees that grow here. Apples have grown here since early times it is believed to be were the apple originated. Alma is the Kazakh for apple. Almaty is a modern bustling and expensive town.

DAY SEVENTEEN
We have a day off. In fact, we have two days off. I will try and make all necessary repairs to the car here. I remove all the temporary wiring repairs that we made on the road and install all new heavy gauge number 10 wiring. Everything on the car made a noise but the horn, so I took it apart and made necessary repairs. I replaced the bolts that held the dash in place plus we discovered the steering column was loose and I put bolts in it. I discovered another problem; the car won't start. It will crank over but will not run. I did another inspection and found more burnt wires near the fire wall that shared the same harness with the alternator wire. I replaced a burnt section of wire approximately two feet long, and the car started and continued to run okay. I found a garage today and made an appointment to get the oil changed the next day. We had the car washed late afternoon and another day is in the books.

DAY EIGHTEEN
I went to the garage at 8 AM to make sure I get in early. (They open at 9 AM.) The owner introduces himself to me and wants to know what I want done. I said an oil change, service, replace the speedometer cable, and inspect the bottom of the car for loose bolts. We did all the repairs and it took until 12:30 to receive the oil, everything completed and back at to the hotel by 2:00 PM.

DAY NINETEEN
We travel to Shynkent, Kazakhstan. It's a nice day. The car got hot climbing mountains and we had to add water. We are experiencing brake noise in the front wheels and we arrive at the hotel okay. Not much of a hotel and the food is not very good. P.S. The engine still cuts out occasionally but you can shake the wires under the dash and it comes back alive.

DAY TWENTY
Shynkent to Cynoz (border) then on to Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Today is a short travel day. A lot of time was spent crossing the border. The day was uneventful except the brakes are getting worse. We arrived at the hotel about 2:30 and I elected to ask the rally support team for help to check out the brakes. I pulled all the brake parts out of the car while the helper jacked up the car. We pulled the left front wheel and drum and everything looked normal. So we pulled right side and not so good. It seems the brake return spring had broken and allowed the brake shoes to fall out against the drum as well as the spring getting down to the rotating assembly. The result was both shoes trashed and the brake drum was beyond repair. The only option we have is to install new shoes and a new return spring. I also replaced the wheel cylinder because the old one had partially come apart. The whole thing was about to self destruct, if that would have happened we would have zero brakes. We will have to drive as if every stop will be the last, to conserve material in order to finish the rally. All repairs made and the car up back together by 4:30.

DAY TWENTY-ONE
Well here we go again. We are traveling to Samarkand, Uzbekistan. We are traveling along well, getting lost as usual, but the GPS helps us get back on track. The brakes feel good, I think the car only cut out once today. We stop for fuel and one of the locals came to me all excited. I have to go check it out and sure enough there is antifreeze coming from the radiator. I am hoping it is the plumbing or the over flow tank, but it is not so. The aluminum radiator is cracked at the lower tank on the left side. I pull out of the way of the gas pumps to check it out. Lucky for us the rally support vehicle is there to get fuel and lends us a hand. We tried different epoxies and silicone to plug the leak. The leak continues. The rally guy pulls out bottle of super duper radiator stop leak. We pour in the stop leak and I fill up the radiator. In less than a minute the leak has stopped. We run the car for a little bit and set out for the hotel. We have approximately 80 miles to go. We make it to the hotel and the car is still not leaking. We have a day off tomorrow and I will try and find someone to repair it.

DAY TWENTY-TWO
Rest day at Smarkland today my primary goal is to repair the radiator. I could not find a source that could weld aluminum. I took the advice of one of the repair team members for the rally. He suggested I leave it alone since it is not leaking. Well I couldn’t do that so I cleaned the area that had been leaking and applied silicone to the crack. I applied layer after layer of silicone allowing two hours between coats. This built up a good rubber patch. I also washed the car with the help of local boys while I was waiting for the silicone to cure.

DAY TWENTY-THREE
Today is a border crossing from Uzbekistan, to Turkmenistan. They tell us this will be the worst border crossing of the rally. In reality it was easy and we arrived at the hotel about 2:30 PM. We are staying at the hotel Mirap. It is a converted sanitarium (you know you can't make this stuff up). They didn't have food here so we were bussed bused? to a restaurant.

I checked out the car and it never uses any oil and I didn’t need to add water today. It looks like the patch job is holding.

Well it is time to go to dinner. We have to walk about a half mile to the bus. It was a good half hour ride to the restaurant. It was a nice meal and the entertainment was unbelievable. They had singers doing live music during dinner. After dinner things get dark, the music starts playing and out comes this belly dancer. I swore I wouldn't go anywhere without my camera. No camera! Arthur was able to get about 4 minutes on his. Just so I can share with the guys in the shop. Just so you know, it is not all fun and games out here. We have to suffer though things like this.

DAY TWENTY-FOUR
Today we traveled from Turkmenabat to Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. It is a long day, 630 kilometers or 392 miles. Roads are very rough but the car is not experiencing any problems except the engine would cut out from time to time. I was in my room thinking about it. So I went to the car and checked out the connections on the back of the ignition switch and sure enough I found a loose wire. I started up the engine and jiggled the wire and the engine died. I removed the switch from the dash and tighten all the connections I re-assembled the ignition switch into the dash checked it out and can not make it quit. I have been fighting it for days and glad to find something.

Tomorrow is another big day a border crossing into Iran and 338 miles. They inform us it will be tough on the women. They must be covered from head to toe. The men must wear long pants and long sleeve shirts. They also tell us it is going to be hot in Iran.

DAY TWENTY-FIVE
Today was another tough day. We set our watches back an hour and a half for Iran. We arrive at the border at 8:30 but the Turkmenistan border did not open until 9:00 AM. This border was not bad; we were out in about an hour. We had to drive to the Iranian side of the border and we spent another two hours being processed.

All the Americans had to be finger printed. I think we got out of the border about 11:30 with a 338 mile drive to Gorgan. The first half of the trip was mountains, really tough going. We arrive in the city about 5:30 or so. I can't tell you what a reception the people of Iran have given us along the way. People saying "we love you." A policeman asked me where we were from and when I told him he said it was everyone's dream to go to America. This was a national holiday for Iran and the traffic was horrible, again as other countries in this region there seem to be no driving rules. The hotel had been changed in route from the information we had been given at a check point. We were told to go to our original hotel and they would tell us where to go. We follow our GPS to the front door, the guy at the hotel sent us down the hill on the road we came up on. Then we started asking the locals. We showed them the second name of the hotel that was on the list. And here is where we are supposed to be. They wanted us to have dinner with them. We asked them if there was someone to speak English and they finally found someone. We showed him the name of a third hotel and we asked if he could take us there. We would pay him. They still wanted us to stay for dinner free of charge, but Arthur wanted to go to the other hotel. The fellow said he would lead us to the other hotel at no charge.

I just can't say enough about how well we were treated by the Iranians.

Well we finally got to the hotel where we were staying or so we thought. They don't have any rooms. Good friends we had met from Washington state and Canada offered to take us into their room. Some took their sleeping bags and slept on the roof. Others were sent to another hotel and some slept in the lobby. We were very grateful.

DAY TWENTY-SIX
Today we travel from Gorgan to Rasht. The first half of this trip was beautiful as we work our way down to the coast of the Caspian Sea again the reception is just unbelievable. It is just one town after another, about half way it started to mist rain. The further west we went the worse it rained.

In one of the little towns we passed through the police stopped us and had us pulled to the side of the road, where a big crowd of people were standing, and three or four men in suits (I suspect they were town officials). They gave us fresh cut flowers. We believe they were greeting us to their city.

As we go on, the driving is without rules, rain is really coming down now and windshield is fogging up inside. They have changed our hotel again we were informed this morning. The route we are taking this afternoon is extremely complicated. It seems every day we think things will improve BUT NO and to add to that the brake problem we had the other day has returned. When you applied the brakes it pulls to the left, nevertheless, we continue to see well wishers on the road. We make it to the hotel okay, a resort by the sea. But unfortunately we can't enjoy it because of the rain. We turn in early we want to leave at dawn.

DAY TWENTY-SEVEN
Today's route takes us from Rasht to Tabriz. It is still raining and has rained all night. We head north before turning west for Tabriz. Uneventful until we head west and start climbing, we drove 43 kilometers up a mountain, from sea level to 7,800 feet. Had to stop the Ford twice to let it cool off and added water once, we crossed the summit which was covered in clouds (fog). Going down the other side the rain stopped and it was a sunny day the rest of the drive.

We stopped for Arthur to have is traditional lunch of sardines and a guy on a motorcycle came up the hill from the valley below. He had seen us stop and brought two melons which were some that I had never seen. They were a long gourd-like shape but tasted like a honeydew melon. I took video of him and photos. After lunch it was an uneventful drive to the hotel. I have driven the car all day due to the brake problem. I had to be real creative going down the mountain with minimal use of brakes.

After reaching the hotel and checking in, a young woman dressed in a burka, a habit type attire wanted to interview me. I said okay and we sat down and she asked me about the trip and I gave her the details. Then she wanted to know how I liked her country. I told her about all of the nice experiences and the people we had met along the way. Then she asked me what Americans thought about Iran. I told her we had been instructed by the rally not to speak about politics. I think that the American people like the Iranians just fine. It's our governments that need to be educated. I told her if the people running our countries were on this trip with me and had all the experiences I had and met all those wonderful people, there wouldn't be any problems. I told her it didn't matter where I had been people are just people and by nature want to befriend one another. It is time to close out another day and then get up at 5:00 AM. We will leave Iran for Turkey.

DAY TWENTY-EIGHT
Today we crossed the border into Turkey. The border crossing a non event, we had more trouble getting into Iran then leaving. As we leave the border our route book makes note of Mt. Ararat on the right. This is supposed to be where Noah's Ark came to rest after the great flood. It is higher than any mountain in the continental United States. We are on our way Erzurum. (A good run today with the car with the exception of climbing into the parking lot of the hotel, it is the base of a ski resort. It is really tough.)

DAY TWENTY-NINE
We spoke to our Aussie friends about going direct to Istanbul from Erzurum via the capital Ankara. The car is not making power like it should or the altitude is to great. We are driving between 5,000 and 7,500 feet. Level ground is fine but the climbs are tough. We came off of a mountain and Arthur asks do you smell something? I said yes but everything seems fine. As I pull into a gas station the radiator blows its top, steam everywhere so we let it cool down for 45 minutes to an hour.

I had Arthur start it up and I started pouring water into the radiator very slowly. I filled the radiator and everything seems fine. We pull out and didn't make it a quarter mile until we were blowing steam again. I opened the hood and felt the top radiator hoses. The left one was fine but the right one was rumbling like pop corn popping. The temperature probe was in the left head and read normal.

I knew what it was and those of you who are Ford flat head fans know as well. The right thermostat was bad. Our Aussie buddies stop and I told them to go ahead that I could repair the car. I got the thermostat out even as hot as everything was it was still closed. So I threw it over the hill and I had a new one in spare parts. I replaced it and put everything back together and we were on our way again. And by the way it was raining. I had to change it in the rain. We continue to struggle to climb the mountains and enjoy the down slopes. We drove 14 hours today to make it to Ankara. The only place we could find to stay was near the airport off of the motorway that we were on. It rained all day, both wipers quit within one hour of each other.

DAY THIRTY
We leave Ankara about 8:00 AM for Istanbul with more of the same kind of roads climbing and descending. It wasn't raining when we departed but I put RainEx on the windshield just in case and sure enough within two hours it started again. This one mountain we were climbing as we passed through 5,000 feet. The rain changes to snow and we are without wipers. At first it was kind of fun as it wasn’t sticking to the windshield. We are taking pictures because no one will believe it.

I was joking to Arthur that tomorrow for entertainment we would have hordes of rats by 10:00 AM and swarms of locusts by noon. But the snow keep coming and now it is sticking to the windshield about every quarter mile we have to stop and clear off the windshield. And it gets worse, the road has leveled off and we are not going downhill which is what we need to do to get out of the snow. Now we have to stop every two or three hundred yards to clean the windshield. Arthur got the wiper blade since it wasn't being used anyway and we used that instead of the wipes we had. I put my arm out the window and scraped off the window so I could see driving down the road to get off the mountain. Finally we made it.

On to Istanbul without any further events. We arrive about 4:30 in the afternoon I want to check out the car because it is missing. It sounds okay on idle. I find a shopping mall with nothing but garages near the hotel but no one could speak English. I can usually figure out how to communicate with people but these guys are especially tough. They brought out their expert and I told him (with pictures) I wanted to do a compression check on the engine. He shook his head no and begins pulling plug wires off one at time. I know he got hit by the spark but never flinched. When we get to the rear plug on the left side, no change at all with this plug wire off. They tell me to come back Monday and they will fix it. No can do. I had the oil changed and back to the hotel about 7:30. By driving straight through it gave us a day off. I will investigate the problem further.

DAY THIRTY-ONE
Up at 7:30 had a bowl of cereal and out to check the car, I removed the spark plug from the rear cylinder and held my thumb over the plug hold and cranked over the engine with the jumper wire. It blew my thumb off the hole and I am encouraged. I pull out a new spark plug and replace it. It makes no change in the way it runs.
I make all the other necessary repairs I have found and now the rally is arriving. I talked to one of the mechanics. And he loaned me his compression gauge and I checked the cylinder and it has less than 20 pounds compression. It should be 100 pounds or more. Now all you motor heads out there what is the problem?

You would not believe how much it would blow your finger off the hole. Are there any guesses? I have my theory but we will see later.

The rally head mechanic seems to think we can make it all the way on 7 cylinders.

DAY THIRTY-TWO
Today was uneventful, other than we had to stop once and add water, we arrived in Thessaloniki, Greece at about 4:30.

DAY THIRTY-THREE
Today we travel from Thessaloniki to Lgoumneitsa, the port where we load our car on a ship to Anconia, Italy. We took main roads due to the engine power and did not follow the rally. To my surprise about 1/2 the rally was on this route. We arrived at Lgoumneitsa about 1:00PM. It rained most of the way over the mountains and to the port city, so we had a lousy afternoon there, waiting until 7:00 to load the boat. We didn't get on the boat until after 8:00 pm. Once we are all secure and under way we have dinner. What a great ride, very smooth.

DAY THIRTY-FOUR
The ship was supposed to arrive at port in Anconia, Italy about 10:00AM but we did not get unloaded until about 12:00 noon. We set our clocks back 1 hour after departing the ship. We are diverted from our route by the police due to a car accident and we traveled thru town for about an hour in order to find another entrance to the freeway we need to take North and West. Finally on our way, and it’s raining here as well. After several hours of driving we move away from the coast and the rain stops. We drive until 9:15PM, in a little town on the north west of Italy called San Reno. This is a resort town and we stayed at Hotel Paridisio, I wish we had more time here!

DAY THIRTY-FIVE
This day is another long day, we are looking to travel flat roads due to the condition of the car. We depart about 8:00am and drive all day until 8:30 PM, we arrive at Troyes, France. The car overheated once today.

DAY THIRTY-SIX
I cleaned up the car for the drive into Paris tomorrow, did routine service work, and added antifreeze to the car for shipment home.

DAY THIRTY-SEVEN
Today we drive into Paris, the route is very complicated with lots of turns and intersections, a navigators challenge down to the last minute. We are driving to a park and holding area. We are released 10 cars at a time to Place Von Dome where we received our bronze metals and pass through the finish arch and it's over just like that. My wife Jetta is waiting for our arrival and I am very glad to see her! I have been gone from home for 40 days.