Work

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Fear and Loathing in the Okanagan

It wasn’t until I passed Oliver town limits this morning that I realised just how much I loathe that town and had no desire to come back to this part of Canada.

I know that ‘loathe’ is a loaded and serious word, but I do not use it lightly. Other than the friendships I made, nothing good came out of that place and I am a worse person for having been there. Since then, I have found myself to be wary of people in a way that is completely unjustifiable. I have been treated so well by so many since I hit the road, but the experience in Oliver poisoned my mind. I can barely recognize who I was while I was there and I know I am not the same person who pulled into that town just a little over two years ago.

In some respects, the changes are good. I’m more self-assertive and take much better care of myself, but in others the changes are devastating. I’m so wary of people’s intentions now and so much less willing to work hard and pitch in without a clear job definition and remuneration agreement.

It’s been two years and I’m still ‘not over it.’ Perhaps this winter in Osoyoos will help me pass through whatever mental obstacles I need to pass through. This RV park will probably be a refuge: it is beautiful and a good distance from the southern part of Osoyoos so I do not feel like I am even remotely in familiar surroundings. I don’t want to say too much lest I spoil surprises for Donna, so I’ll share pictures when she gets here. 🙂

The game plan now is to take the weekend off, tidy up the rig, and then start looking for income on Monday. I have a head start on that this time around in that I know that going to the wineries and handing out resumes on foot is a waste of time. Instead, I’ll head straight for the employment office and see what’s available. I’d really rather find contracts than a job so that I can have better control over my time this fall, especially since I’m flying to Montreal for a week on November 4th and I also have a lot of stuff to put together for that thing that’s coming up that I still can’t talk about.

I’m hopeful that coming back here was not a terrible mistake and will instead help me to close one of the darker chapters of my life. Knowing that I will literally be surrounded by friends soon enough makes all the difference.

That, and a pool. 😀

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No Need to Dawdle

The internet in Whitehorse is pretty bad, so I had a frustrating night there trying to get work done and ended up going to bed way too late. I needed to be out of my spot by 11 Thursday morning and still had errands to do, so the morning was pretty painful. I managed to get to two stores and then lost time back tracking to Canadian Tire to get my debit card. It’s the new kind with a pin number and I’m not used to not getting my card back immediately after it’s slid through the card reader. It was therefore much too late to get groceries and beer. I decided that I could get some beer in Watson Lake and that I didn’t need to ‘stock up’ on groceries since I’m heading back into civilization anyway.

So, I pulled out of Whitehorse at 11 and headed straight for Nugget City. I stopped in Teslin for lunch fixings and a nice picnic since I’d been given a ton of veggies before pulling out of Dawson. Teslin is still the prettiest spot in the Yukon in my mind!

Teslin Lake

Sometime after Teslin I started to get quite sleepy, so I pulled over for a leg stretch at George’s Gorge:

George’s (Gorgeous) Gorge

The ride from Whitehorse to Nugget City is one of my favourites; the road is in good shape and you can actually enjoy the scenery. It’s not a technical drive at all, so I was still reasonably coherent when I pulled into Nugget City. It’s a good thing for that since my friend Amber threw herself into my arms the second I stepped out of the rig! We haven’t seen each other since May of ’09!

Forget setting up beyond plugging in the rig; I was quickly spirited away to the lake where a pair of trumpeter swans were swimming.

The male got spooked by a beaver and took off to make sure everything was good.

beaver coming up for air

After two days of hard driving, it was great to get off my butt and get some exercise in fresh air! By the time we got back to the main part of the property, I was famished, so I headed to the restaurant and grabbed a beer after putting in an order for a chicken stir fry .

Amber works late hours so she came back to see the cats on her break around ten, then showed me the digs she’s had all summer. It’s a fifth wheel, the second one I’ve visited this summer, and I have to say I really like the way they are split into several levels…

Since there’s no cell service at Nugget City, I couldn’t get online, so I went to bed at a much more reasonable hour and slept well. This morning I had time to eat breakfast before Amber scared the living daylights out of me by sticking her face up against my back window and then rocking the rig so I’d noticed her. I just about hit the ceiling! She helped me pack up, we did the round of good-byes, and then she became the first ever passenger I’ve carried in this rig, traveling with me from the RV park to the restaurant.

I pulled out of Nugget City around 11 and drove to Watson Lake. After getting gas, groceries (including the black bread and gyoza I can only find here), and enough Yukon Brewery beer to get me through to next spring, I’m now parked downtown and plan to do at least an hour’s worth of work. I’ll then meander down to Liard hot springs, then I will have a couple of overnight options. I’d really rather not go much further than Liard tonight since I’m beat. I need to start boondocking; I’d forgotten how expensive it is to stay several nights in a row at an RV park!

And, so, another summer in the Yukon draws to a close…

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Getting Ready to Leave. Sort Of.

Departure from Dawson is still slated for late morning/noonish on Tuesday, but you’d never guess that from the state Miranda is in right now! Plus, I’m awaiting two packages, the most important of which is my new computer. USPS got it to Canada quickly and customs processed it efficiently, but Canada Post is of course putting the snail into snail mail. It’s been in Whitehorse a couple of days now, so I’m hoping it’ll be here tomorrow.

My work schedule is as full as ever and what I had planned to do was just work until the computer came, then get on with my departure preparations during the installation of the new Mac, which would put me without a computer for at least a day. If the computer comes in tomorrow, I will get started on the prep, but I think I will end up finishing it up in Whitehorse and still leave on schedule.

Tonight, I got all my laundry done, including my heavy bedding. It’s such a treat to be able to do that and start the fall all fresh and clean. Tomorrow, I’ll finish putting things away and also clean the cab carpet.

Departure is not stressing me out at all, even if it’s not as relaxed as it was last year. I’ve had enough departures after sitting to know that my tire pressure is fine (but I will check it ‘just in case’) and that it’ll be a good idea to trickle charge the battery when I get up on departure day. Both vehicles are in good shape (minus their windshields), so the exterior prep will only involve putting away hoses and packing up the bicycle, extra propane tank, and kayak. It’ll only be a couple hours of work to do, inside and out.

The game plan will be two nights in Whitehorse, one night at Nugget City, one night on the Alaska highway, one night in Dawson Creek, and then the start of several nights on a new route. So, really, there isn’t going to be any newness or anything worth stressing out about for almost a week. 🙂

I am eager to get back on the road and and see what the winter will bring, but I sure will miss this little town…

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Sunshine From Inuvik

I don’t believe in coincidences and today was a perfect example of why.

I was offered the morning off from work and took it to catch up on things at home. This made it possible for me to have an earlier lunch than usual, which put me at the café just in time to run into friends I made in Inuvik who were just going through town for the day. We had lunch together then met up at Gerties tonight for drinks.

Needless to say, it’s been a great day!

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Dawson Countdown

I had The Talk with management this week about next summer and thankfully we are exactly on the same page. It was understood from the get go that I would probably not be coming back to Dawson next year, but if I did I would have a job of some sort.

Not coming back to Dawson?

I have absolutely no reason to. I’ve explored the area around here extensively. What I have left to explore would be best done from the more central location of Whitehorse. I’d like to see more of Alaska, drive the Campbell Highway, and tour the Silver Trail, for starters! Much as I dislike Whitehorse, there is no room in this life for sentimental attachments to locations. And in cold hard numbers, not coming back to Dawson means $500 in gas money in my pocket, money that I could apply to taking Miranda with me on some trips next year.

So, I’m leaving Dawson in a week! I cannot believe I’m down to exactly seven days left. It’s boggling, but I’m not in race mode. I’d like to go back to the Drunken Goat if I can, and, of course, Gerties, but otherwise I don’t feel like I’ll be leaving anything undone. My focus is on getting Miranda travel ready.

I will always have a home in Dawson and it is a place I look forward to coming back to several years from now, perhaps with my nephews and niece in tow. I leave with doors wide open and bridges intact, with fond memories of sweet ice cream and panoramic views, and without being thoroughly fed up with the limitations of services at the end of the world. It’s a great way to go. 🙂

The big question now is how am I going to manage my mail from next month onwards. I have a few phone calls to make to Whitehorse and I may end up having my mail held for months in some sort of limbo. I really saw these past two summers that I don’t get much mail worth paying attention to, so that may end up being the cheapest and easiest solution.