Alaska Highway

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Waitin’ On the Milepost

I received word from Amazon a couple of days ago that my 2010 Milepost is on its way. It’s somewhere between Mississauga, ON, and Richmond, BC, right now.

My 2009 Milepost is falling apart from use. It was my best friend during my first Klondike summer and I can’t wait to see what sort of updates will be found in the 2010 copy. I’ll transfer my 2009 notes to the new book… but I’m not yet ready to give up my 2009 copy.

Even though I’ve been to the Klondike and back, I can’t imagine traveling through BC and the Yukon without a current edition of the Milepost to warn me about upcoming grades or to help me find a turnout to spend the night. Some criticize the Milepost for being too commercial, and it is a good idea to combine it with more objective campground reviews, such as Mike and Terri Church’s book, but the fact remains that there is simply no such other comprehensive guide to the north.

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Planning My Second Klondike Summer

I can’t believe that it’s already time to start planning my trip back north! I’ve ordered Terri and Mike Church’s book that I regretted not having last year as well as the 2010 Milepost.

Planning my route north this year is such a different experience since I am not about to set off into the unknown!

The ferry to Prince Rupert is probably not going to happen and there’s no way I’m taking the Sea to Sky highway again, so it’s pretty sure that I will be going to Prince George via Hope and highway 97 like I did last spring. From there, I’m really undecided as to whether I’ll take the Cassiar like I did in the fall, or the Alaska highway like I did last spring. I’m leaning towards doing the Alaska highway again and then doing the Cassiar in the fall. Have I fallen prey to routine?! 😀

While I’d love to stop off in favourite spots, like the Chasm, again, I’m hoping that the Church’s book will help me see this trip with new eyes.

For the little I did this winter, the season has flown by exceptionally fast. I didn’t see much on Vancouver Island, but other things that happened more than made up for that. I mean, I was in the right place at the right time to give my business the boost it really needed to take off. Financially, I won’t see the results of that until May, but that’s perfect since that’s the month I’ll be putting in the fewest working hours. It seems that I will simply need to return to Vancouver Island and the BC coast at some later date to do more ‘island hopping. As it is, I do plan to go to Victoria for a long weekend in late March or early April, so there is more tourism to come!

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Weather-Made Decisions

Last night it was so cold I should have turned on the furnace and I woke up to a frozen water hose. Tonight, the temps are dipping to minus eight and the high tomorrow will be zero. I am therefore leaving and hope to be on the road by two (it’s 12:30 now), just need to get the darn hose thawed and the tanks dumped. I’m pretty excited as I’m about to enter new territory. I should be back online when I hit Prince George.

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Life Without Sewer

I’ve entered my third week of life without sewer and I’ve decided that it sucks. 🙂 My black tank can last for over two weeks, but if I take even a short shower each night, I can’t go longer than a week with the grey. I took advantage of the dump station when I moved up to the restaurant, so my black tank is still fine, but the grey is full again. *sighs* Here is how I’m dealing with the situation:

  • Using Less Water: I only shower twice a week, Navy-style, and bathe in the sink the rest of the time
  • Using the Black Tank’s Extra Capacity: I do the dishes in a large mixing bowl and throw that water into the black tanks. Same thing when I bathe in the sink.
  • Using a Bucket to Dump: Since my sensors are useless, I only know that the grey tank is full when it backs up into my shower. When that happens, I dump a couple buckets worth of water and haul them out to the dump station. This gives me just enough space in the tank to last a couple more days.
  • Not Getting Too Comfortable: I leave the rig in a semi-packed state so that it only takes fifteen minutes or so to pack, unhook, and go dump when the black tank is full.

My grey tank contains nothing that is environmentally damaging, just some biodegradable detergents. I’m sure that it’s more damaging to the environment to fire up the ol’ engine and drive the klick round trip from my site to the dump station. But the fines for dumping on the ground are scary and there is also the threat of jail time, so I choose to remain law abiding even if the law does not make sense in my situation.

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Rain and Sleet, Oh My!

This morning was the first time that the sound of rain was music to my ears upon awakening at Nugget City!

I was at the house by nine and spent about an hour and a half doing the plaster work. I returned to Nugget City after to get some cleaning products so I could wash down the walls before painting. Once that was done, there was nothing to do but wait for the plaster to dry so I could sand it, so I headed home for a leisurely hour-long lunch.

Since I’d cranked up the heat in the room, the plaster was dry enough for a second coat when I returned. I sanded a bit and applied the second coat. That done, I painted the two walls that hadn’t needed any plastering. What a difference a fresh coat of paint makes! The colour is a bit of an apple green and very lovely, if a tad retro, against the orange curtains. I think it looks great!

Tomorrow, I will go sand the plaster on the two other walls, wipe them down, and finish painting the room. I have at least enough green to do one coat, but I hope to squeeze a second coat out of that gallon. I’m also going to bring some glossy white to do the trim and a few touch ups in the bathroom. Time is of the essence, so the owner decided to have me paint right away instead of priming first, especially since this paint job is just a stop gap measure until the room is properly renovated.

Painting with that lovely green shade is making me eager to apply a brush to Miranda’s walls. Soon, soon… 🙂