The Van Broke Down, Again

Howdy from Lincoln, Nebraska,

Welcome to the 3 new subscribers from this past week!

As you guessed by the title, the van went down a second time.

If you missed the adventures from the last couple of weeks, you can find the writeup on the 1st breakdown here and the follow-up on returning to the road here.

Those two pieces above will set the context for this one.

As always, photos of the week are included at the end.

We broke down in Eau Claire, WI.

After Keshena, WI I headed west to Eau Claire - the birthplace and hometown of one of my favorite artists of all time, Bon Iver.

Eau Claire was so freaking cool that the subject of this newsletter was originally going to be titled "Ode to Eau Claire."

Instead of writing a breakdown on Eau Claire, my van broke down in Eau Claire - yikes.

It sounded like the same dang problem as before. The van would crank, but it wouldn't start.

Worse yet, it broke down on a Saturday when most Eau Claire mechanics were closed.

In place of my full piece on Eau Claire, here are my quick-hit items on the town:

• Art - lots of murals & a dedicated center for art, both healthy indicators of a strong town

• Food - local places with healthy options, including omelets with avocado and salmon - so dang good

• Music - strong support for local artists, large gatherings of outdoor music throughout the town, & the birthplace of an artist of a generation (highly subjective, but I digress)

• History - plaques along the riverwalk indicate Eau Claire emerged in the late 19th century after the timber industry began to expand in the region

• Outdoor recreation - multiple pedestrian bridges span the river for walking, running, and biking; lots of folks floating the river

I highly recommend Eau Claire as a place to visit.

To Minneapolis we go on another tow truck.

I had been set to go to Minneapolis that afternoon to have lunch with a distant relative, Irene, who I had never met. She offered me a place to crash if I needed it before I had broken down.

Now without my abode on wheels, I took Irene up on the offer to stay in Minneapolis.

I got towed from Eau Claire to Minneapolis and stayed with Irene Saturday-Wednesday while I got back on my feet.

She also joined the newsletter this week, so thank you, Irene! I wouldn't have made it through the week without you.

We spent Sunday doing a tour of Minneapolis with other family members, Matt & Connor. My favorite part was the Prince mural (see the Photos of the Week).

We took the 2nd breakdown in stride, and now we're back.

Monday morning, we found a mechanic who could see the van right away. I got the van towed to the shop Monday afternoon, and the mechanic had the van back to me by Tuesday afternoon - great service.

The prognosis? The fuel pump connector had gone bad last week and was replaced after the 1st breakdown, but the fuel pump module had also gone bad and was ignored.

The mechanic in Wisconsin didn't do bad work. They just didn't do enough work.

You of course don't wish to go down 2x, but if you do you hope it's not 2 completely separate issues.

The fact that this was directly related to the 1st issue, we could fix it fast, and it was cost-efficient meant that breakdown #2 wasn't that bad.

We're now back on the road headed southwest to Denver for a backpacking trip over July 4th.

Photos of The Week

Locations this past week: Keshena, WI -> Eau Claire, WI --tow truck--> Minneapolis, MI -> Lincoln, NE

Pre-breakdown, happy Josh at the site of the Bon Iver "22, A Million" mural in Eau Claire.

Pablo Arts Center at the confluence of the Eau Claire and Chippewa rivers. Here, you can find folks fishing, reading, swimming, or floating down the river.

Stumbled upon some live music on the Eau Claire riverwalk.

An all too familiar sight. Getting towed from Eau Claire to Minneapolis.

A mural dedicated to Prince sits right outside of his old club, First Avenue, in his hometown, Minneapolis. The thing is exploding with color - heavy accents of purple, of course.

3rd tow in less than 2 weeks. On the way from Irene's to the mechanic. Caroline was a trooper.

Awesome trail behind Irene's house that I could go for runs on.

Thanks for reading

If I have any luck, I'll return to some non-van breakdown writing for next week's newsletter,

Josh

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