Yes, we are in Des Moines now. We left at about 1pm from the tire place and started on our way to Des Moines. We should have arrived at about 4 or 5 pm; however, we made it half way and the van started acting up. The gages in the van started going wacky showing no gas then a full tank, just one example. We pulled off at the next exit and as soon as we did the van died and wouldn't start again. Jim called his mechanic friend and we confirmed it was definitely the battery and possibly the alternator. After a moment of deliberation we decided to call roadside service and see if we could get a tow. The wait on the tow was going to be about 3 hrs. We weren't sure if we wanted to do that and while I was on the phone with roadside a guy came buy and said that he would take us to the next town to get a battery. Jim went and Paul and I stayed with the van. We got a call from Jim about 20 minutes later. The guy that took him to town, which was 7 miles away by the way, dropped him off; leaving Jim stranded and on top of that the only guy in town that sold batteries was not around. After about two hours had passed Paul and I were able to get a jump from Brian, a pharmacy student, and we got the van started and immediately headed Jim's direction to go pick him up. I had been calling him for the past 20 minutes, but he was not answering his phone. On our way to pick-up Jim we crossed each others paths. Jim was in the car---turns out he eventually was able to hitch a ride back to the van---coming down the hill when we finally got a hold of him. Now that we were all back together we got on the highway and made it about a mile when the same thing happened. We pulled off at the next exit and the van was dead once again. I called roadside service and this time the wait was only 30 minutes for a tow. We got a tow to the next town, Atlantic---populace 9000. The three of us were piled in the front of Greg's tow truck; Paul and Jim on the bench and me stretched across their laps. He towed us to a shop that said that they could get us fixed that night and when we got there he said he didn't have enough help to get the job done. Since Jim chatted Greg up the whole 7 miles into town we had become pretty good pals. As a result, Greg offered to do the work himself at his Dad's shop, which was about 1/4 a mile away from where we were. After unsuccessfully alternating one alternator we got one in the van and got the van running. Greg entertained us with some great stories about the things that he would find at various wrecks where they were sent to tow. The best was the truck full of turkeys---I thought fresh turkeys, but he met frozen---that were in the freezer in the garage. He said there was a whole truck load and the town went crazy looting all these turkeys. He also told us about a similar situation with wine, diapers, pork...crazy isn't it!?!?
We were back on the road by about 9:30pm. When we got to Des Moines and finally found the place we are playing tonight, which by the way looks awesome, it was 11pm. At this point, we just wanted to get some food, have a beer and find a place to stay. We were able to find everything, but food! All food establishments close by 10pm in Des Moines.
Today, we are checking out by 1pm and going out int to the rain and fog of Des Moines to promote. We will update you more later.