Cats in an RV

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Crossing Over

My ferry options from Horseshoe Bay were 8:30, 10:30, and 12:30 if I wanted to arrive in Campbell River in daylight. I decided to aim for the 8:30 and be in line for the 10:30 if I arrived too late.

One of my many RVing rules is that I don’t drive in unfamiliar territory at night and/or in inclement weather. In order to get to Horseshoe Bay for 8:30 I would have to drive in the dark. I also woke up in Squamish to a downpour.

Having done the drive to Horseshoe Bay in the toad, I felt okay with taking Miranda out in those conditions. It was slow, slippery going, but I was reasonably relaxed and I refused to look at a clock.

I’m disappointed that I finished the Sea to Sky highway twice in such downpours as to negate the possibility of taking pictures worth sharing.

At any rate, I made it to Horseshoe Bay just as daylight was starting to break through the rain. It’s downhill from the first exit all the way to the toll booth and I was a nervous wreck by the time I stopped there because even with gearing down and pumping to compensate for the slick pavement, I could smell my brakes. Oh, I know it was a normal, new brake smell, not a something’s wrong smell, but I just wanted to get on that boat, disappointed that my relaxed mood had been spoiled. I was very grateful that I had come ahead with the toad and knew ahead of time which lane to be in with an RV.

My rig was measured and deemed to be 50′ long, not the 45′ feet I had guesstimated!!! I had used the BC Ferries website to figure out how much it was going to cross to get over and had calculated that a 45′ long over-size vehicle with one person would cost 275$, but wasn’t confident about that number because the math seemed very convoluted. So, I had a mild heart attack while waiting to know how much my passage would be.

Well, I got some good news! My vehicle combination was longer than expected, but I’d done the math wrong and it only cost me 193$ total for my fare. Imagine how pleased I was!

From the toll booth I was indicated to park in the Nanaimo lane and close my propane tanks. That done, it was about 8:20 and boarding for the 8:30 began.

A BC Ferries employee guided me to the correct boarding lane and it wasn’t a long wait before I was able to get onto the boat. Doing so was easy as the longer vehicles board at ground level in a straight line. I applied the parking brake, said goodbye to the catkids, grabbed my previously-packed bag of snacks and magazines, applied the parking brake to the toad, and headed up to the passenger deck. We were under way in minutes, pulling out at 8:35. I was impressed.

The ferry was huge and beautifully appointed, with lots of seating and a few restaurants and shops. I spent the two hours alternating between walking around, listening to a guy strum his guitar, and occasionally braving the wind, rain, and fog to stand outside on the deck.

I love being on the water and immensely enjoyed the trip from the BC mainland to Vancouver Island.

At about 10, an hour and a half after departing from Vancouver, drivers were instructed to return to their vehicles. I didn’t know how much time I had before having to leave, so I just unapplied the parking brakes and positioned myself to be ready to drive at a moment’s notice. Neelix came over to let me know he was fine, but Tabitha ignored me. I discovered an hour later that she was down with a bout of sea sickness. 🙂

It took only a few minutes before my lane started to debark. I followed the vehicles ahead of me out of the ferry terminal and then the signs announcing Campbell River. There was no convenient place to stop within Nanaimo, unless I wanted to drive around the parking lots of big box stores, so I just drove out of town, through rain, until I got to a pullout on the highway where I could take a bit of a breather.

Taking the ferry wound up being super easy and a much less stress-inducing experience than I would have expected. I think that in the spring I would like to take the ferry from Port Hardy to Prince Rupert and from there the Yellowhead to the Cassiar.

From that pullout, it was an easy 100km stretch to Croft’s place. He and his wife helped me get squared away and then we had the requisite ‘getting to know you in person’ chat that stretched long into the evening. 🙂

Taking the whole trip into consideration, it was a good one, but that last little bit has made me glad that I can stay put for a while.

I’m looking forward to the next stage of my adventure.

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Shit Happens

Shit happens.

I am disabling comments for this post and will not welcome emails about it, especially from people with recriminations and after-the-fact suggestions for how I should have dealt with the situation without them having been there. I know this sounds harsh, but the only reason I’m even sharing this story right now, when my heart is still in my throat, is that it’s part of my story.

It happened, it’s being dealt with, I’m alive, the cats are alive, my RV is fixable, and I’m going to have one hell of a story to tell my grand-children (should I ever have kids, of course).

Let’s just say that all the preparation in the world and all the doing of the right things in the right order did not stop my brakes from crapping out on me in the middle of the worst hill in British Columbia. Had someone not been blocking the first ‘runaway lane’ I encountered, I would have been fine, albeit shaken, but the lane was blocked (the car better have been in the middle of an emergency of its own). So, I had to do what needed to be done to get around two hairpin turns to the next ‘runaway lane.’

I arrived there at a higher speed than I would have liked, but safe, and except for cooked brakes and smoking tires, all wasn’t bad.

Then a tired exploded and burst into flames and made me grateful that I take fire safety seriously and had a fire extinguisher.

Yesterday was Thanksgiving, so everything was closed. I hunkered down, endured one of the longest nights of my life, and was able to call for help this morning. I was grateful last night to have access to a hot shower, good food, and heating. Imagine how much longer the night would have been otherwise. Being close enough to a town with cell service was yet another blessing.

A tow truck arrived promptly at 8:30 today and took me to a garage in Pemberton, north of Whistler, where I will be comfortable until I can get new brakes and replace the tires. The estimate should be forthcoming.

A special mention needs to go out to my mother who is helping me manage this crisis. I’m a very proud person and it’s not easy to ask for help, but I suspected that it would take more time than I have to get access to my emergency funds, so I made call. Merci, mom!

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Oh, Internet! How I Have Missed Thee!

I’m online!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The owners can now monitor internet usage and told me that there is tons left for September, so I’m welcome to surf to my heart’s content today. All well and good, but I couldn’t get on. So, the server was rebooted and, voila!, I’m online!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, let’s recap the past week…

Tuesday No. 1

I had a lazy morning in Teslin and pulled out at about 10:30. The ride to Nugget City was easy, but through rain. There is a rest stop right before the RV park, so I pulled in there at about 1:30 to have lunch and read. By the time I rolled out, the sun was out, so after a quick bit of hugging and hellos and rolling into my old spot, I was at work… and covered in primer. 🙂

A big past time out west is Texas Hold ‘Em Poker. I’ve been curious about the game; it was popular at Pacific Border and tournaments are a big draw to Dawson. The owners here play two nights a week and I’m welcome to sit in and watch, which I did Tuesday night. It’s not poker as I know it and I’m not sure it’s a game that can be learned from observation only, but it was fun to watch.

Wednesday No. 1

I did a first coat of Trem-Clad on the garage door and then spent the afternoon with my hands in the dirt, weeding and preparing the flower beds for the spring.

Thursday

Did a second coat on the garage door, weeded, and then watched all of Gone With the Wind while I backed up the iMac, wiped its drive, reinstalled OSX, and restored my files.

Friday

Woke to rain that, thankfully, cleared by my start time of 10AM. Weeded in the morning, then put on the third, and final coat of paint. It was a pretty cold day. Spent the evening watching a four-hour long Civil War era western miniseries (True Women).

Saturday

Spent the morning weeding, then began to apply stain to a huge fence.

Just after I got off work, a really big man dressed in camo knocked on my door. He informed me through the window that he was my neighbour for the night and had some fresh Kenai salmon for sale. I’ve seen this a lot over the summer; fishermen hocking their catch to anyone with whom they cross paths. He explained that the salmon is cleaned and filleted, vacuum packed, and frozen right on site. I decided to take a chance and agreed to buy one pound, for 15$. He came back with some of the reddest salmon I have seen in my life. I opened up the package and the smell was perfect, very fresh and ‘salmony’ without the nasty old fish smell. I baked the whole pound right there since I couldn’t separate the frozen fillets. I had a whole half pound for dinner, just baked to perfection and drizzled with fresh lemon juice. The rest made two fine lunches, mooshed up cold with sour cream, spices, salt, and a squeeze of lemon, then served over crackers. What a treat!

After dinner, I started to read Gone With the Wind after convincing myself that I couldn’t very well spend another four hours watching yet another Civil War-era western (Dances With Wolves)! I looked for a hard back copy of Gone With the Wind for years, scouring antique shops from Maine to Savannah, finally finding one in San Francisco. At more than a 1,000 pages, it’s heavy, so thank goodness Tabitha likes to sit on my lap when I’m reading as she gives me a good place to prop up the book. 🙂

Sunday

It was a good day, bright, but cold, and I could smell snow. I continued to work on the fence until I ran out of stain. I then went to work on the steps, had dinner, then went to observe the poker game.

Monday

Snow fell in big fat flakes all day, so I just stayed in my jammies most of the day and drank too much coffee as I continued reading Gone With the Wind. It was my first real day off in months and I enjoyed it immensely, snug as a bug and impossibly cozy with two cats in my lap and a shawl over my shoulders.

Tuesday No. 2

I awoke to a leaden sky. I’d read that expression many times, but don’t believe I’ve ever actually seen such a sky before. Knowing there would be no painting that morning, I dawdled and decided to go into town early to check my email. Followed a frantic hour-long search for my car keys!!! I tore the house apart and went through the snow outside, finally finding them on Miranda’s bumper covered with almost foot of snow! I must have left them there the last time I went to get something out of a basement compartment.

The drive into Watson Lake was easier and shorter than remembered, mostly because a long gravel stretch was finally paved! I did the email thing and then popped into the grocery store for black bread and gyoza. I’ve decided that the grocery store in Watson Lake is my favourite in the Yukon of all the ones I’ve thus far visited. Products are much fresher than at the general store in Dawson or the Nisutlin Trading Post in Teslin, and there is a greater variety of products than can be offered by the huge grocery stores found in large cities like Whitehorse.

Back home, I continued to read, then went to work at 4:15, since the sun was shining brightly and the fence was clear of snow. I did two and a quarter hours of work and called it a day, coming home to finish Gone With the Wind.

Wednesday No. 2 (today)

I awoke to a clear day and decided to get an early start at 9:30. The fence was done by lunchtime, three hours later. I stained some posts in the afternoon, but it was getting cold and there were a few snowflakes in the air, so I finished early, knowing that there are a few long days ahead of me if the weather will just cooperate.

I am now off to reply to the many comments left over the past week and to catch up on my emails!

To her had come that pleasant intoxication peculiar to those whose lives are a deliberate slap in the face of organized society – the gambler, the confidence man, the polite adventuress, all those who succeed by their wits. She said and did exactly as she pleased and, in practically no time, her insolence knew no bounds.

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Good-bye, Farewell, and Amen

It’s a strange atmosphere here this week, frantically busy even as the tourist season is shutting down. We’re hosting the road crew paving Front Street, so the motel is bursting at the seams while the RV park is eerily empty. Nights are cool and days are sunny.  People are leaving in droves by RV, helicopter, motorcycle, truck, car, even horse. No one’s left by garbage truck yet, though. Points if you get the joke/reference on that last one. 🙂

Dawson is quickly shutting down. My favourite restaurants are closed, including the ice cream parlour. It’s very sad to go into town on a sunny afternoon and not be able to get a cone of Rolo ice cream to eat while I watch the ferry go back and forth across the Yukon!

At work, the staffing calendar marks Saturday as my last day, with a big frowning face with tears running down its cheeks; the manager’s attempt at making me feel guilty even though I stayed three months longer than planned!!! I’ve had four jobs since I left last year. One failed miserably, one was tolerable, and two were winners. I have high hopes for my winter on Vancouver Island.

I still have some preparations to make, but for some reason detrenchment this time around is feeling very easy.

Today, I took advantage of the manager’s very generous offer of the industrial washers to wash all my bedding. While that was tumbling around, I cleaned the ‘bedroom’, getting rid of a mountain of books and magazines, dusting, vacuuming, mopping up water on the sills with my Bissell carpet cleaner (for which I have discovered another purpose), and getting rid of the curtains seeing as I discovered that the window-side of them was mouldy!!! I’ll do without proper curtains for now seeing as a complete makeover of that area is in order this winter. The cats were delighted with the new open space and spent the afternoon spread out on their blanket enjoying the 180 degree view of the park.

The generator is probably fixed; a fresh tank of fuel will confirm this. I’m ecstatic!!! Learning how to do proper maintenance on this thing is making me eager to learn how to do the oil changes on my vehicles as well.

The next big RV chore on my list is to flush out my water system with chlorine and then fill the onboard tank completely seeing as I hate the water in Watson Lake. 🙂 It’s pretty bad here (overly chlorinated) but that’s better than the iron-rich water down south that stains everything!

Inside, I’m doing a major cleaning and purging so I can take advantage of the Free Store. I already have a huge bag of clothing and sundry items to take there. I’ve been donating extra books to the RV park book exchange seeing as I’ve made full use of it this summer.

Sunday, I’ll pull out when I pull out. I hope to get to Whitehorse, but I won’t push myself. I’ve been working six hours a day seven days a week and I’m beat. I might make it to just shy of Whitehorse on Sunday, allowing me to get into the city early enough Monday to run errands and be on my way again. There won’t be another decent grocery store until Prince George, so it would be wise to stock up especially since I’ll be in Watson Lake a couple of weeks.

My bank account is much too lean for the journey ahead, but I will make do. Things will be so different next year when I leave Vancouver Island knowing just when my next pay cheque will be. I can finally budget properly.

This new life of mine is slowly coming together. My Klondike summer might be drawing to a close, but a new adventure is not far ahead and this satisfies me greatly.

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Too Much Fun in Nugget City

My new friend Amber Goodwin, one of the daughters of the owners of Nugget City, took some pictures during my stay and sent them to me last night. Some of these were too fun not to share, even if they are a tad embarrassing. 🙂

First,here is one of my favourite pictures ever taken of Neelix (great shot, Amber!):

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Now, here I am in my oh-so-fetching painting garb the day we raised the Nugget City flag:

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Here I am ceremoniously holding the paintbrush I used for the first coat on the deck:

(this is the shell I bought for my Chilkoot trip!)

(this is the shell I bought for my Chilkoot trip!)

And, finally, too much fun:

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Amber is starting out as a graphic designer; please check out her website www.ambergoodwin.com. She whipped up a nice cover for my ebook! Thanks, Amber!