Month: August 2009

by

Camp Hosting Update

This summer of camp hosting has been absolutely fantastic!

I am very happy in my position that has seen a growth of responsibility. This week, I’m covering for the manager for three days and will have the run of the park, so to speak, for two of those days while the owner is also away. It’s great to be trusted and appreciated. The shifts this week are long, nine hours, but there are so many little things to do that the time goes by very quickly. I have some desk work to do, like bookkeeping and updating the computer system, that gives me a moment to breathe after frantic running around and I also have to coordinate (I refuse to use the word ‘manage’!) the motel housekeeping staff. It’s a full plate, but not overwhelming, and at the end of the day I know that a day’s worth of work was done.

by

Emergency Exit Strategy

The fires raging through both BC and Yukon are making me think about what I would do if I suddenly had to evacuate as many in BC are doing presently.

In theory, evacuating with an RV sounds ideal. If you are a full-timer, then you can just drive your home out of the evacuation area. If you’re a part-timer, then you can at least know that you will have comfortable surroundings wherever you end up.

But how long does it take to pack up an RV? How quickly can you actually get it on the road? When I’m settled somewhere, it doesn’t take long for me to need at least an hour to get on the road. Moreover, I’ve been parked for two months so I’m sure that my tires need air. I also don’t have that much gas in the tank. I’m in no shape to hit the road quickly.

Then there’s the issue of exit routes. In Dawson, the choices are few depending on where the emergency is coming from. There’s the non-RV friendly Top of the World Highway that can only be reached by ferry. RVs are low priority for the ferry so the chances are good that it would take me days to get out of town. Another option would be to take the Dempster highway to Inuvik. The final, and most ideal, option is the Klondike highway back to Whitehorse.

What I’ve learned in the past few weeks is that I need to get a bit less comfortable when I’m parked for a long time as getting too entrenched undermines the mobility I craved so much. I need to check my air and battery levels and park with at least a half tank of gas. It’s also a good idea to have a few days worth of food on hand as well as cash.

Thankfully, the situation in Yukon does not thus far constitute an emergency, just a smoky nuisance.

by

Internet Independence

One conclusion I’ve reached in my year on the road is that I need to regain my internet independence.

It is unrealistic to expect RV parks to provide even the minimum amount of internet service someone of my generation needs. I use the internet for everything and I have high bandwidth needs, from posting photos online to watching videos to Skyping.  I have been playing by park rules as much as possible this summer and it’s really starting to cramp my style. There is so much I’d like to post to the blog and the blog is just one small part of my online activities.

I still can’t envision being able to afford a tripod satellite system and air cards, a burgeoning technology in Canada, won’t work where I spend most of my time. Next year in Dawson, I’m going to see about having my own personal DSL account right at my site. In the meantime, I try to surf like it’s 1996 and I’m on minute-by-minute dial up. Nostalgia isn’t much to be cracked up about…

by

Northern Conflagration

This dry, hot summer has been a forest fire nightmare. There are currently major fires burning outside every major community in the Yukon, with fires near Watson Lake being critical, and many more throughout Alaska and British Columbia where several communities are on evacuation alert. The last few days, the weather forecast in Dawson has been represented by a fire, indicating smokey conditions. I don’t have a very good olfactory sense, but I’ve been able to smell the smoke for two days now. Today, it was particularly cloying as it’s also damp out.

This is what things have looked like for several days now. Don’t mistake it for fog, this smoke is thick, grey, and tastes like ash.

smoke

We had a good dose of rain overnight, taking us from hot and dry to cold and damp in just twelve hours, but it will take a lot more to end the wildfires.

European tourists I spoke to yesterday were flabbergasted that we don’t put the fires out. I replied that forest fires are a natural phenomenon often sparked by lighting more than by human hand. It’s cost prohibitive to put out fires in the wilderness and not ecologically sound to do so. Some plants need the high heat of wildfires for germination. Wildfire suppression causes more damage in the long run than letting nature run its course.