Chippewa Valley Volkswagen Club's
Campout & 3rd Annual Car Show

Eau Claire & Chippewa Falls, WI
June 23 & 24, 2001

Nick and I drove the 74 Sun Bug and the 79 Westy up to Chippewa Falls on Saturday to join the CVVC for a weekend of VW fun. It was a three hour drive for us. We started early, thinking that we could enjoy the afternoon in the area doing some antiquing. We would also be meeting Brian and Dawn from the DBG bus club in Eau Claire. The drive was beautiful and the weather was perfect. Nick, the human compass, had been leading the way and when he realized he really didn't know where we were going and pulled over. He told me that on the way, his brake pads had bit the dust and the rotors were starting to grind. Sometimes mechanics are their worst enemy if you know what I mean!

Since we arrived in Eau Claire early, we decided to check out the campground where we would be staying and leave The Brown Hornet there. We found the campground, which was a little off the beaten track but was surrounded by trees and a river. There was a true north woods bar across the street and the folks made us feel like we were just some of the regulars when we stopped in for a beer later. We decided to go look for some brake pads for the bus before it got too late in the day. We would be lucky to find any because when Nick and I replaced the front axle on the bus, we had used an earlier (71, 72) axle. It has smaller brake pads than the 79 model. We stopped at a couple parts stores and they didn't have any in stock. Well, since Chippewa Falls wasn't that far, we decided to go to Car City (location of the dealership that would be hosting the show on Sunday). We knew it was a long shot but we had nothing to lose.

The folks at the dealership tried to help us out by suggesting a couple places in Eau Claire to try and letting us call them. Peter Franz had his green bug in the parking lot and took a few minutes to try to help us as well. As you can guess, no one in Eau Claire had any 71 or 72 brake pads, either. Peter suggested we call Tristan (President of CVVC) to see if he had any. At this point, Nick decided he would just take his chances that someone would show up at the campout that night who would have some or know of someone who had some. So we piled back into Hubert the Sun Bug (who was running just fine with no problems) and went back to the campground to wait for our DBG bus club friends to arrive. When we got back to the campground we met Tristan and another club member who were setting up a tent and some signs for the cruise that would be coming out to the campground later.

You know what Tristan had? Yep, he had the brake pads that Nick needed. So Nick bought the brake pads and was happy.  By now our friends were almost to Eau Claire and called us to let us know, so we decided to meet at the Leinenkugels Brewery and we could go eat lunch from there. The year before we had toured the Leinenkugels Brewery and I recommend it if you're ever in the area. We visited the gift shop for a bit while we waited. We went back to the little bar across from the campground and had lunch. Again, we were treated just like the regulars. The food was good, too.

We went back to the campground and our friends set up camp and we relaxed a bit. Nick thought about changing his brake pads and started to attempt it but something was wrong with his jacking point so he said forget it. He never did change his brake pads and ended up driving home with his rotor grinding. All I can say is it's his bus and he is the one who will be working on it. We took Hubert to Chippewa Falls to do some shopping and to eat supper at Mike's Smokehouse with our friends. Mike's Smokehouse has become a favorite stop of ours when in Chippewa Falls. They have huge baked potatoes and of course, good prime rib, etc. We all piled back into Hubert who was now loaded down with our favorite beverages for the evening and our shopping bags. After the huge meal, we could barely squeeze ourselves in the bug.

When we got back to the campground, there were quite a few folks there from the cruise and they were setting up camp. A campfire was started. We joined our hosts and talked to some old friends and made some new ones. Volkswagen stories were shared around the campfire. It was very relaxing and a great time. I didn't want it to end but sleep was starting to take over as I started to nod off in my chair beside the fire. So I said goodnight and crawled into the bus to sleep.

The next morning most of our camping friends had gotten up early and went to the dealership to get ready for the show. Most of them were working and had to be there early to set up. We packed up camp and went to breakfast with our friends. The show was held at the Car City dealership in Chippewa Falls. It is one of the shows that I always enjoy going to. I enjoy meeting the other enthusiasts in this part of the state and some of the Minneapolis enthusiasts. The show was small, but had some great looking Dubs.

Joe Mond, DBG club member, brought his Type II Ambulance to the show. Jon Lane, Comon Gear Antique Society and DKF member, brought his beautiful oval window bug with his newly restored Sears Allstate pull behind trailer. Duane Johnson, CVVC and club member, brought Slimer and by the way, Slimer is for sale. Doug Gourley, NWVC club member from LaCrosse, showed up later with his "project bug". He showed me how the big wind up key that he installed on the bug's decklid worked. I always wondered how they did that.

The weather was great, but I was disappointed that I didn't get my free car wash this year. The other 2 years we got a short rain shower, just enough to make you get the towel out to dry off your Dub. There was a concession stand run by the CVVC club members. Beezer's Buggies was in the vending area as well as a few folks who had a few parts to get rid of. Nick found some items he needed and I found an ad and book that I didn't have in my ever growing collection. The DJ was excellent and they had giveaways throughout the day by announcing the first person to bring me a ______, wins the doorprize. It was fun, but I was just too slow or busy to make it in time to win anything. There was a piston toss contest. The air cooled bug won the push drags contest. Yea!!

Our DBG friends, Brian and Dawn won a trophy for their class and for Best Display and Joe Mond won a trophy for Special Interest and Best of Show. Doug Gourley won a trophy for his "project bug", as well. I won Best of Class in the 68 & later stock bug, but I have to admit I was my only competition. You folks should have come up and given me some competition! Nick is on his retirement tour, so he didn't even try. He won a first place trophy with The Brown Hornet last year so he retired the bus from competition but he still enters the shows for fun. At least that is the story he tells me. After the awards, the CVVC members line up at the entrance and send everyone off with a good bye and thanks for coming. A very nice gesture if you ask me.

We went to Mike's Smokehouse again with our DBG friends for some more of their excellent food. We just can't get enough of it and know that we probably won't be here again until next year. Next year the show will be at a new location. The dealership is moving to a new building. After eating, we said our goodbyes to our friends as they were heading South to Baraboo. We were heading Southeast back to New London. The drive home was very nice and I didn't have to drive home in the rain as I did in the previous years. I worried about Nick and his grinding rotor, but he didn't seem to mind so I just let him worry about it and I enjoyed my problem free drive home. I saw several folks checking out our Dubs as they passed. The kids were thrilled with the bug and were waving. We made it home around 6 pm that night. Nick has written in The Brown Hornet for a brake job in his appointment book for this week. I think it's about time!

Sherri

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