Work

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Detachment

I’m leaving Dawson in less than two weeks. I’ve had an okay summer this year, but I still love this town and am glad that I have had a chance to know it so well. That said, my feelings about my imminent departure are completely different from last year. In fact, this is the first time I’m going to leave a place without having my departure panic attack. I didn’t really get settled in this year and I’ve stopped thinking of this stop as a destination, as an event with a beginning and an end. It seems that sometime between leaving Campbell River and the last couple of weeks, my RVing life began to find a continuity of its own, with routines that carry over whether I’m stopped or traveling.

Financially, the summer was a blessing and going back to financial incertitude is going to be tough, but I actually managed to do a solid job of replenishing the coffers. I’ll do fine for myself well into the fall even if I don’t find a job in Osoyoos, although I have decided to look for something part-time. I have enough set aside to actually travel back south and I’m giving myself a full sixteen days to do so. My itinerary is a bit bold and I may chicken out about one section, but I look forward to an even longer period of boondocking while being able to work every night.

My fall plans are slowly coming together. I have decided to fly to Montreal at the beginning of November for a week to see my family, something that will be made possible since I’ll have a rig and cat sitter available to me. My sister had a baby on September 1st, my first niece, so it will be nice to see her and my two nephews. I’m pretty sure the youngest one doesn’t remember me!

Besides that, I have a writing project to complete and I also need to work on things related to that announcement I’m not yet ready to make. I’d also like to continue with the renovating and decorating, although I will have to be extremely frugal in all areas of my life so as to stretch my savings as far as possible. I’m committed to being in Osoyoos until December and have not made plans beyond that.

So, that’s the latest status update. Nothing too exciting, but things are going to pick up soon. 🙂

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The Klondike Valley Nursery & Market Garden

This afternoon, I was finally able to follow the manager, Sarah, to her homestead, known as the Klondike Valley Nursery & Market Garden.

To get there, we had to drive twenty minutes south of Dawson, park, walk two minutes, get in a canoe, paddle across half the Klondike River, walk across an island, get into another canoe, paddle across the other half of the Klondike to a stream, and then paddle up the stream to the house. She does this morning and night!

Sarah’s husband, John, carved his little empire out of the bush and the result is a little piece of Yukon paradise where he grows things one would never imagine could survive up here. He’s a scientist and an artist, creating new stock from grafts in an attempt to create plants that can thrive in the Yukon. Do check out their website for more details about his apple tree and dwarf conifer projects!

It’s quite a spread they have on their 44 acres, only 4 of which have been cleared, with several green houses in addition to an off-grid home. I had a fun time exploring and playing with the four dogs. Oz is much smaller than are his siblings!

John on the shore of the island coming to the mainland

John on the shore of the island coming to the mainland

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a cozy two bedroom house with a root cellar and a summer porch

a cozy two bedroom house with a root cellar and a summer porch

Sarah and John found the washing machine in the bush and turned it into a planter

Sarah and John found the washing machine in the bush and turned it into a planter

pretty flowers

pretty flowers

more pretty flowers

more pretty flowers

all sorts of leafy greens

all sorts of leafy greens

apparently this cabbage is still quite small!

apparently this cabbage is still quite small!

apparently this cabbage is still quite small!

apparently this cabbage is still quite small!

tiny tomatoes (YUM!)

tiny tomatoes (YUM!)

green beans (notice the one with a bit taken out of it *g* YUM!!!)

green beans (notice the one with a bit taken out of it *g* YUM!!!)

internet set up

internet set up

Oz at home (check out the KVN&M website for pictures of his three siblings!)

Oz at home (check out the KVN&M website for pictures of his three siblings!)

high bush cranberries

high bush cranberries

pear trees

pear trees

apple trees

apple trees

just a small portion of the spread

just a small portion of the spread

valley...

valley…

cantaloupe

cantaloupe

grapes!!!

grapes!!!

corn

corn

looking down the length of the greenhouse

looking down the length of the greenhouse

summer squash

summer squash

drawf conifers (mutated trees are grafted onto healthy root stock in an attempt to create a hardy Yukon-appropriate landscaping tree)

drawf conifers (mutated trees are grafted onto healthy root stock in an attempt to create a hardy Yukon-appropriate landscaping tree)

close up of the drawf conifer

close up of the drawf conifer

the pear and apple habitat rather looks like a spaceship :)

the pear and apple habitat rather looks like a spaceship 🙂

stunning fungus

stunning fungus

another rooster

another rooster

rooster

rooster

In order to get all the work done on the property, they welcome WWOOFers–Willing Workers of (or World Wide Opportunities on) Organic Farms–every summer. I am going to explore WWOOFing as an alternative to camphosting.

I had a wonderful time exploring ‘the farm’ today, after having heard about it for so long!

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Chocolate Chip Cookies and Beer

One of the dancers from Gerties commented on my post where I shared pictures from one of the shows and asked for copies of the photos.

Tonight, I finally burned them to a disc and dropped them off at the casino for her. Since I was there, I figured I might as well have dinner and bought a slice of pizza, a big chocolate chip cookie, and a glass of Yukon Gold. There is just something about the combination of the sweet cookie with the slightly spicy beer! I’ve gone to Gerties quite late on occasion just for a midnight snack of a cookie and beer, sometimes going for chocolate chip and sometimes for macadamia. Doing so is a nice change from all that ice cream. 🙂

I didn’t hang out long since I need to be up early tomorrow. The next couple of days aren’t going to go as planned. I was supposed to be off again tomorrow afternoon through to Thursday morning, but the manager took off for Whitehorse and I’m covering for her. This means I have to be in the office for 9:30 tomorrow and Wednesday mornings! I’m quite happy with the arrangement; the extra responsibility will be just what I need to shake up my routine a bit. Plus, I’m looking forward to getting a pineapple!!!

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A Time For Everything

This Klondike summer has been not nearly as fun as my first one because it has turned out to be work-centric. But, for once, I am working my tail off and seeing results; the season promises to be a prosperous one! I didn’t have much work this winter and so I got to play, with the renos and the traveling. This summer, though, I’m practically swimming in contracts and working crazy hours to get everything done. It’s a time of Plenty that I know could quickly turn to a time of Not Enough. I’m in squirrel mode.

My plans for the fall and winter are slowly taking shape and I hope they come to fruition in February. I know I’m being coy, but this announcement is too major to be taken lightly and I want to do it properly at the right time. Suffice it to say that all is well in my little corner of the full-time RVing universe and that all will be revealed in due time. 😀

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Somewhere Over the Rainbow

There isn’t much to report these days beyond the closing of the Top of the World Highway due to washed out sections between the border and Chicken. I saw pictures of some of the damage and it looks like the apocalypse, with the road stopping at the end of a wide chasm. The road on that stretch is very sandy and unstable, so add in the unseasonably rainy weather we’ve had and you have a recipe for a lot of spoiled vacations. Some folks are extending their stays in Dawson, others are avoiding the town all together. We’re busy as ever, but as we head into the biggest weekend of the season, we have to wonder if it’ll be a bust.

As for me, I am working my tail off, having taken on another contract. There is a lot going on behind the scenes, but it is much, much too soon to be making announcements. All I can confirm is that there is a pot at the end of the rainbow. The next few months will tell me if it is filled with gold or pyrite. 😀