Willow Bunch

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Garage Saleing

I went over to Laura’s at about 9:00 this morning and we headed out to Willow Bunch to check out the garage sales. There were several and there was a map available so you could cross out the ones you’d been to.

I didn’t bring any Canadian cash with me, but left $7 in US bills and change in the wallet for an emergency situation. ‘Emergency’ was clearly defined here: if I found something that I absolutely need and was planning to spend full price on when I got to a town with real stores.

First garage sale had some goodies, but I was happy to window shop. Second garage sale threw my whole ‘just going to look’ plan out the window. Sometimes, you find something you REALLY need and you just have to pull out the wallet:

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Jody and Gary have one of these port-potties and I knew that getting one of those would buy me a lot of time before getting the black tank replaced. They are perfectly sanitary and work just like an RV toilet, except the holding tank is smaller and you can take the whole thing to the dump.

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It’s scratched and dusty but otherwise impeccable. I imagine the seals will need a little lubrication.

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The toilet flushes with the handle. You can attach a standard RV hose to the unit, upright it, and then dump it.

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You put water into this part and then pull up the knob to pump the water into the bowl.

The RV toilet is so low that I’m hoping I can just set the porta-potty over it and use it that way.

When the unit is full, I’ll dump it into a five-gallon bucket, and when the bucket’s full, it’ll get dumped at the lagoon.

The porta-potty was marked $10. I said to the lady, “I have a 5USD bill on me. Would you take that for the toilet?” She thought about it for a bit and said, “Oh, sure.”

I was going to pick up one of these toilets at Canadian Tire next month. They are about $100. I can be forgiven for breaking the ‘just looking today’ rule, right?

The wallet being out once, the promise was broken, and then I shopped up a storm! Cooking yesterday (parsnip fries), I once again got frustrated that I don’t have a slotted serving spoon or a grease splatter guard for my pans. I found those items at two separate sales, for 10 cents each. I am such a big spender!

By the end of the tour, I was feeling rather parched, so I spent a whole 50 cents on a cold glass of lemonade being sold by an entrepreneurial little boy. Got to encourage those kids!

We finished our morning at the thrift shop where I picked out a bunch of clothes and then put them back. I did grab two magazines for a total of 50 cents.

Grand total spent this morning: $6.20. Grand total saved, at least $100. I guess some promises are just meant to be broken.

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At a Familiar Starbucks, or Stettler AB to Minot ND

I’m back at the Minot Starbucks where I got online last time I was here before getting my cell phone connection to work. It’s been a long couple of days and today is not over!

Going back to Stettler for a bit, there was a lot to celebrate on Tuesday night, so Donna, Ken, and I treated ourselves to dinner at Stettler’s White Goose Restaurant. The food was excellent and reasonably priced! I enjoyed their chicken souvlaki and would go back to this restaurant without hesitation.

Wednesday morning, I dropped the truck off at CR Glass at 8AM. The other glass place in town looked at me like I was an alien on Tuesday when I asked about the possibly of having my windshield replaced that day or first thing Wednesday. CR Glass said on Tuesday that they didn’t have one in stock, but that they’d have it by 8AM Wednesday and I could be on the road by 1:30ish. They were true to their word and the cost was only $262 with the tax. Thanks, CR Glass!

Goodbyes are always hard, and especially so when you know you won’t be seeing dear friends for another year. I mean, what would be the odds that I’d have to come back again to Alberta before my expected return date?! So I made sure to have everything packed up so I could leave straight from CR Glass instead of going back to Donna and Ken’s.

Donna made sure I was loaded down with electronic rejects, including a little inverter to charge my laptop and iPad when I’m driving! Croft had mentioned such a device, but I misunderstood what he meant, thinking he was talking about a 12V charger. Thanks, Donna!

Google Maps said I was looking at 10+ hours to my property, putting my ETA at about midnight, which was too late when I factored in breaks. But my GPS put the ETA at 11:00, which meant about midnight with breaks. I decided to try for it and reevaluate as I approached Swift Current.

The drive was smooth and uneventful until I got to about 30KM shy of Brooks and I discovered that my gas gauge is not properly calibrated. I went from having a quarter tank of fuel to being in the red in a matter of a couple of kilometres! I was on fumes when I pulled into the first gas station I could find and put in a full tank and then some. Talk about stressful! But my nerves were soothed when I was told, “You got plenty of gas. How about a free hot drink?” So I came out of there with a nice coffee with hazelnut creamer.

It was coming on 6:30ish or so when I hit Medicine Hat, so I took a bit of a detour to a Safeway to pick up a semblance of a picnic for dinner and breakfast.

By the time I turned onto SK highway 37 at Gull Lake, my ETA to my property was only 10:45. I was going to make it!

Next time I go to my property, I will stay on highway 1 to Swift Current and only turn to highway 13 from there. Highway 13 from Cadillac to Weyburn is beautiful, but the bit between the junction of 37 and Cadillac was pretty rough.

I was coming onto a quarter tank of fuel when I hit Cadillac (hilarious, I used to live in Pontiac, but I digress). No problem, there’s a Husky there. Except that I arrived at about 8:30 and it was closed, with the next gas station being more than 100KM away and just as likely to be closed. I just about had a heart attack! And then I noticed the note under the closed sign, that gas was still available after hours with a credit card. There was two pages worth of instructions, but I quickly ascertained that the process was just like getting fuel at AFD Petroleum in Dawson City. So I had no trouble getting my fuel.

It was just starting to get dark when I rolled into Assiniboia and there was still pink at the edges of the sky when I landed on my property at bang on 10PM! I was able to set up camp and was snug in bed by 10:30. I read till 11:00 and slept soundly till 5AM when I was awoken by the sun since my temporary window covering (garbage bag + duct tape) had come loose. That was still a good night for me and I dozed till 7AM, so I was quite well rested this morning.

It was pretty cold through the night and this morning, but my sleeping bag and blanket were sufficient even though I was just sleeping in a t-shirt and shorts. I even left the canopy door cracked open. My fleece was sufficient to ward off the morning chill. All in all, a very successful first night sleeping in Moya!

looking towards the rear of my property

looking towards the rear of my property

this whimsical addition to my radio antenna cracks me up!

this whimsical addition to my radio antenna cracks me up!

looking towards the street (kind of annoyed the for sale sign is still there, but anyway)

looking towards the street (kind of annoyed the for sale sign is still there, but anyway)

I pulled out of my lot at about 7:30. I put Duluth, MN, into my GPS, knowing that I’m not getting there tonight, but it would at least plot me on the shortest route to Quebec. I thought I would be stopping in Weyburn for coffee and internet a couple of hours later, but Moya scrapped those plans. You see, a pick up truck, even a small one, makes light of gravel roads, so I was able to take the road to Willow Bunch that I swore I would never take again in my Accent. That put me at only about a half hour from the US port of entry at Scobey, MT. It meant hours of rural driving and no internet break till Minot, but also immediate access to cheap US fuel!

I stopped just before the border in a town with a small campground and visitor centre with public washrooms (rough but clean). I had breakfast, washed up, and threw out my trash then drove the 10KM to the border.

This was the first crossing where I was asked why I had chosen that port of entry, a very sensible question considering the remoteness of the crossing and how far I was from ‘home.’ I explained that I’d spent the night at my vacation property in ____ and earned a ‘That makes sense! Have a great trip to Montreal!’ in reply.

Fuel was running low as I pulled into Plentywood, MT, around 10:00 so I stopped for gas and coffee. They were having trouble with their POS system, so I was there a bit since they would not let me go to the bank right next door to get cash. That earned me another free coffee, and a really good one at that. 🙂

It poured rain most of the way to North Dakota, but has since cleared up a little.

I’m heading to a casino in Minnesota about five hours away. That will make a full day, but I can do it now that I’ve had a rest.

The truck drives like a dream. I am so happy with it. 🙂

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Photos of My Property

It’s a vacant lot, so there isn’t much to see, but here, as promised, are photos of my little piece of Saskatchewan heaven. 🙂 I am providing plenty of clues as to the location, but would ask that no one guess the exact name of the locale on the blog. I’ll be glad to confirm guesses by email. The structure you can see in the pictures will be taken down by the sellers, but I did invite them to leave it there for the year in exchange for cutting the grass this summer…

driving south out of Assiniboia

driving south out of Assiniboia

this is 'main street' in my village!

this is ‘main street’ in my village!

still on main street

still on main street

veering down into the village proper

veering down into the village proper

my plot (the structure will be removed)

my plot (the structure will be removed)

the entrance to my plot

the entrance to my plot

looking towards the street

looking towards the street

looking down main street towards Willow Bunch (18KM away)

looking down main street towards Willow Bunch (18KM away)

driving to Willow Bunch (the administrative centre of the rural municipality)

driving to Willow Bunch (the administrative centre of the rural municipality)

driving north out of Willow Bunch

driving north out of Willow Bunch

It’s a skinny lot sandwiched between houses, but I think that once the trees have leaves there will be sufficient privacy. I can see myself backing Miranda into the far right corner (if facing the lot from the street).

Considerations (in no particular order):

-garbage collection?
-having gravel laid down for a proper RV pad
-having electricity, water, and internet brought up into a proper RV pedestal
-figuring out sewage

I went to the community’s administrative centre to find out more about using the services on the lot, but the ladies there were clueless. All I know for sure is that I have electrical wiring and pipes underground that can be brought up by a permitted electrician and plumber. I’ll figure all that out next year. I could land for six weeks before even having to worry about services, so I’ll have plenty of time to work out what I want to do and how much I want to spend. Internet would be a first priority.

From a tax basis, I can have a 100′ square foot structure on the site without affecting my property taxes. I have a vision of a little cottage that would hold a guest bunk, a washer and dryer, and garden tools, but that wouldn’t be until several years from now. I don’t want to spend too much on this property; it’s meant to free me, not anchor me!