Assiniboia

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Co-Oped

Nearly first thing this morning I headed to the post office. I got to meet the post master and received a key for my box. She asked me to return the key when I leave. I laughed and said that I hope to have that mail box for at least 30 years! She gasped. I think that my owning a lot in town wasn’t enough for her to believe I was planning to put any roots down here at all.

I don’t know yet what I’ll do with my mail in the winter, but I gave C&C access to the box when I filled out the paperwork just in case having them check it in the winter ends up being the best solution. I really don’t get any pressing mail except the odd royalty and commission cheque. Jody deposits those for me and I’d have to come up with something similar here.

The important thing is that this is to be my mailing address for as long as the post office here exists. I am sick and tired of having to make an address change! I’ve successfully redirected my mail in the past, so if I go anywhere else in Canada for any length of time, I can get my mail without having to change anything. It’s just trickier to the States; even if I could get mail redirected there, I wouldn’t be able to deposit the odd cheque. I’ve got six months to figure out the best solution.

I then drove into Assiniboia for groceries. Wow, what a madhouse since the store was closed yesterday for Victoria Day. There were crazy traffic jams in the aisles, plus their meat freezers went out over the long weekend, so there were a lot of unhappy carnivores.

I was able to find what I needed and am pleased to say that the produce at the Assiniboia Co-op is most satisfactory; very fresh and tasty even at this time of the year. I even found a good pineapple for $2.99. C&C told me that once their garden starts producing I should shop at their place since they give away the bulk of what they grow, but in the meantime, it’s nice to know I can get good tomatoes and leafy greens. I also discovered I picked a good day to shop since it was scratch and save day. You are guaranteed 5% and can get up to 25%. I was quite happy with the 5% as that was better than nothing!

Western Canada has a chain of stores under the Co-op name. It’s really hard to get information about this brand since each Co-op is independent. Locally, I am under the Southland Co-op. It was $10 to join, which bought me 10 shares and I am now a part owner of the grocery, hardware, and convenience store, as well as the gas bar! The only advantage I see to this is that I will get a share of the equity based on how much I buy locally in a year and I may occasionally get a token cash rebate. If I’m here for the rest of my life and shop here for six months ever year, especially with what I’ll be spending on fuel, this could really add up. At age $69, I would be eligible to get my equity in cash. So for $10, it seemed silly not to join.

I need to get a couple of hours of work done, then I will head back out into the yard and keep working on my leaves since there is very little wind today and I will also move more pallets.

I’m rather glad I don’t have Miranda parked ‘permanently’ yet this summer as I’m getting a chance to see if the corner I reserved for her really is the best. Indeed. It is very shaded, which will be good in the summer, but the passenger side will get all the mid to late day sun; perfect!

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Quick Supply Run

I was running low on gas this morning. Being more than 30KM from the nearest gas station, I didn’t want to worry about getting stuck! Mondays are usually a slow day for me, so I headed into Assinboia for gas and a few groceries to check out the grocery store.

Well, I am not impressed. They didn’t have a number of items I consider to be pantry staples, like cocoa. Prices were okay, though. I will have to do a Walmart run every few months after all.

Assiniboia felt FAR, but it’s really not. It take about 20 minutes to get there. There’s just a lot of big open country between the village and the town.

I think that once I get internet at home, I’ll feel more settled and okay with being so far out that going to Assinboia more than once or twice a week would be excessive.

The wonderful Andy Baird helped me figure out what I need to get online at home. It’s all available on Amazon, but none of it is shippable to Canada. I normally get around that by shipping to my friend in VA at no charge and then paying her to ship out to me. I decided to buy through Future Shop and have shipped here, which should be a little faster, although they say 10 to 25 days (!!!). It was also $180 out of pocket (OUCH). I did think about just driving up to Regina and getting what I need today, but then I would have had to add the gas expense as well. I’ll post details once I’m up and running. *all appendages crossed*

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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!

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Dealing With Growing Disillusionment

I’ve had a lot of time in the last six months to think about what’s going to happen when it’s time to leave the east coast this fall. I have had a lot of thoughts rattling around in my brain that have been difficult to articulate precisely. These thoughts have been about the collision of my dream for a full-timing life and the reality of it.

My dream of full-time RVing is an American one. It falls apart in the face of Canadian reality. It is impossible in Canada to have the kind of freedom I wanted RVing to give me. There are a number factors which have led to my growing disillusionment with the full-time RV lifestyle in Canada:

-The Cost: living in this country is expensive and you don’t gain anything by being an RVer because Canada doesn’t have nice open tracts of land where you can spend months on end. I’ve stayed in places where RV park rent was twice the monthly payment on my house.

-The Constraints: It’s impossible to travel freely around Canada if you want to abide by the laws governing health care, vehicle registration, and insurance

-The Climate: There is no decent place to winter in this country.

My two months in the US last year confirmed that for me to continue RVing, I need to be able to travel in the US for a good part of the year. My expenses drop by 50% when I’m there. I can’t work there, so I need to spend the other part of the year in Canada to work and save money. But I can only do that if some nice folks will let me park in their yard or their driveway, otherwise all my income disappears into rent.

Since even before I hit the road, I thought of buying some land to use as a home base. The more I realised how much Canada was constraining me, the less I wanted to buy land to play by the rules. But going to the States changed my attitude. I can get that lot to satisfy the US’s concerns about my having ties to Canada. Now that I have satisfied my Canadian bucket list, I wouldn’t mind going back to the same place every year for four or five months to work without worrying about paying rent or overstaying my welcome.

Having traveled the breadth of this country, I knew that the only provinces where it made sense to buy land were Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Every other province is too expensive and too restrictive, with rules governing how long the lot can stay empty and forbidding turning them into RV pads.

Manitoba’s real estate prices have jumped 158% over the last six years. Saskatchewan is ripe for a comparable boost as it now boasts the only truly affordable acreages along the US border. The word on Bay Street is that now is the time for savvy investors to buy Saskatchewan property and that that investment will pay for itself shortly, just as those who were wise to buy in Manitoba a few years ago have made good on their investments.

So that’s why I decided to meander through the Saskatchewan countryside yesterday. I was checking out several possible pieces of property.

Today, I drove back out to Assiniboia to make a formal offer on the ideal piece of land and a backup offer on a slightly less suitable lot. And that’s all I have to say about that at this time.

Who doesn’t know what I’m talking about
Who’s never left home, who’s never struck out
To find a dream and a life of their own
A place in the clouds, a foundation of stone

Many precede and many will follow
A young girl’s dream no longer hollow
It takes the shape of a place out west
But what it holds for her, she hasn’t yet guessed