from Wikipedia:
Lake Pepin is a naturally occurring lake, and the widest naturally occurring part of the Mississippi River, located approximately 60 miles downstream from Saint Paul, Minnesota. It is a widening of the river on the border between Minnesota and Wisconsin. The formation of the lake was caused by the backup of water behind the sedimentary deposits of the Chippewa River's delta. It has a surface area of about 40 square miles (100 km2) and an average depth of 18 feet (5.5 m), which makes it the largest Lake on the entire Mississippi River.
We're here primarily to spend a little time with friends Doug and Kay... a couple of adventurers we first met in Rockport but subsequently have crossed paths with several times. Their travel resume' contains years living on a sailboat in the Bahamas, wandering the Southwest in a motorhome, and much more. Doug is always thinking and coming up with new ways to approach the travel/snowbirding thing... and that's one of the things we like about being with these two. Even in this unconventional lifestyle most people fall into ruts. Doug and Kay are always clamoring to get out of the rut.
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| Back on the road again! |
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| Along the Mississippi on the Great River Road |
The other issue is one I've been fighting with since Spring. The front hubs and bearings on the bus-house are running in oil. They're called Stemco hubs and they have a sight window so you can check the level and condition of the oil. The right side hub had a very slight leak which I think I addressed by tightening all the bolts and screws that hold the assembly together. But during our trip to Wisconsin in the Spring I noticed a milky-ness to the oil... a sure sign that water had gotten in the hub and mixed with the oil. During the summer I drained and replaced the oil in the hub... twice in fact. But during our drive yesterday the dreaded milky appearance to the oil returned. Hmmm. We stopped at a FleetFarm store in Winona and bought a suction gun, another bottle of 80/90 oil, and a container to store the drained oil... and proceeded to change the oil in the hub right there in the store's parking lot. I'll be closely monitoring this situation as we head west.
And then there's the bus-house's dash A/C... which was only producing a slightly cool stream of air on this hot travel day. I've had the system "recharged" in the past, but there's clearly still a leak in the system somewhere. Of course, said leak could be anywhere between the front dash A/C coils and the compressor some 40 feet back on the engine... so why wouldn't this be easy to fix?
When you're dealing with a complicated hunk of machinery like the bus-house you've got to be willing to deal with issues like these. Before we started the Sabbatical, thinking about mechanical gremlins could bring on frightful fear and cold sweat. But after more than four years of living this way it's become part of the adventure.
Today, we're off to explore the Lake Pepin area with Doug and Kay.
2 comments:
Good to see more regular posts... I miss them when your parked too long in one spot. ;^)
Hi Thom and Dar: This former full-timer is glad to see the two of you back on the road also. I have to live vicariously through the full-timer blogs. Since you are so close to Faribault, I just thought I would suggest a company that services buses and RVs that we have used more than once and come away with a feeling of trust that they knew what they were doing (finding decent service is one big RVer nightmare). The company is ABC Bus Co. in Faribault, 507-334-1871. It is easy to get into and out of. We had two recalls (brake and refrigerator) done, but the biggest job they helped us with was an oil leak when our Newmar Canyon Star was brand new. I think the head mechanic's name is Mike and he really knew what he was doing. Just a suggestion in case you wanted to get your bus house looked at while you are coming through. Happy trails!
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