Day: May 29, 2013

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Water Filter Matters

Getting good drinking water on the road is always a challenge. Sometimes, I’m lucky enough to live somewhere like Campbell River with really good tap water that I can just drink straight up. Sometimes, I’m somewhere that the water is safe but tastes yucky and a simple charcoal filter like Brita makes it good.

But I usually find myself buying water. I don’t buy packages of the little bottles but rather gallon-size or larger containers. If I’m somewhere for a while, like when I was in Lethbridge, I buy a refillable water jug. Water is the only thing I drink, so I don’t think that paying for good tasting water is frivolous.

For some time now, I’ve debated getting a whole-house water filtering system, but the more boondocking I do, the more I end up with no water in the holding tank, so an undercounter or inline filter wouldn’t work for me. I also wanted more than just a charcoal filter, but rather something that would filter out bacteria and particulates.

Being here where buying water is getting to be cost-prohibitive, it was time to buy something to make the tap water here drinkable.

I did some research and came to the conclusion that the only countertop unit that would work for me is an Aqua Rain, which we used at the campground in Dawson. Great filter, but massive and super pricey.

But that memory did nudge me in another direction and reminded me of something I’ve wanted to buy since I first saw it, but couldn’t justify for the little I would use it. Dang, why did I only now realise it was the solution for my at home water consumption?

When I hiked the Chilkoot trail, we had unlimited quantities of delicious water thanks to an MSR microfilter.

This is the perfect solution for me as it will make just about all water sources safe and tasty and the filter is super long-lasting (2,000 litres/500 gallons, which should last me at least a year). I’ll also be able to take it along with me on hikes.

The filter fits over wide-mouth Nalgene bottles. I have a very worn one, so I splurged on a new one that will better match my house decor. 🙂

I was actually going to go with a competitor filter because it was Amazon Global Shipping eligible, but for whatever reason, they won’t ship here. So I went with my first choice, the MSR, and had it shipped to my best friend’s in Virginia. She’ll forward me the package and I’ll reimburse her for shipping via PayPal. I expect to have to pay tax and perhaps duty on the package whenever it gets here. A pain, but my only out of pocket costs will be the shipping and border fees thanks to some wonderful sponsors who shop on Amazon through my links. Thank you again SO MUCH!

And since I was sending an order to VA to be shipped back to SK, I added the adapter I need to plug my Macbook Pro into a TV L gave me (because the tuner went out and it’s only good to use as a computer monitor). I’ll soon be able to watch movies on a 19″ rather than 17″ screen! 🙂

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Town Day

I’m crazy busy, but today was the one to go into town as I needed gas, propane, drinking water, groceries, and to send and receive some massive digital files.

Propane in Assiniboia can be had at the Co-Op gas station, which is next to the Co-Op hardware store. I stopped at the latter also to get prices and options for cement pavers on which to park Miranda.

I then stopped to check out The Bargain Shop!, a discount retailer, to see what they have. I found better prices for paper products than at the Co-Op grocery store, so I stocked up.

Next, got my groceries, including a pre-roasted chicken and everything I need to turn its carcass into soup. Meat is otherwise too expensive in town and I’ve been eating pretty much vegetarian since I got here. The chicken and a loaf of fresh baked bread will be a real treat tonight!

I almost forgot about my files, so now I’m parked at the top of the hill waiting for the download to finish. I can’t wait to get home; the smell of that chicken is about to send me over the edge!

I really need to come up with a better solution for drinking water. In the US, I could buy a gallon for $0.70. The same gallon here is $4.00!!!!!!! Now, I don’t drink anything else, so I don’t mind buying water, but this is getting to be expensive. The tap water in the village isn’t potable without using a ceramic filter, so I need to find one of those. I was going to go with the undercounter kind, but that makes no sense for when my fresh water tank is empty. So I need to find a countertop or pitcher unit.

I’m surprised that I wasn’t itching to go to town today and would have gladly waited if I didn’t have such pressing needs. I think that once I come back in July with a truck full of supplies, I could easily not go into town for weeks. I’m simply not having any trouble at all filling my days and I have enough social engagements to keep me from going stir crazy.

Yay, my download is just about done. Back to work I go.