Week 29 March 24 - 30, 2020

March 24 - 30, 2020

On March 22, the Premier of the Yukon, asked for Yukoners returning to return as soon as possible and to go into social isolation or quarantine for 14 days.

I departed from Desert Lake early Monday morning and had a short visit with my sister before driving northwards. I got all the to Quesnel before I had to stop for sleep. On Tuesday I drove to Fort Nelson. I stayed at the Bluebell Motel which was the same place I stayed in the fall when I had mechanical issues with my pick up truck.

 A rest stop on the Alaska Highway. I'm on my way.

 Another rest stop, I'm getting closer.

Isn't it beautiful?

Wednesday, I drove home. Stopping in Watson Lake at the weigh scale - they've blocked the highway so travelers can check in and receive some information about the protocols in place to fight the pandemic. My friend M gallantly went into the store and bought me some fresh meat and flour. I was so grateful.

I got home to Tagish around 8pm, and it was still daylight. I said hello to the tenants and crawled into Mobius to sleep.

It's been a peaceful week. I've moved into the TTH, which means 'Tiny Tiny House'. One of the first things I had to do was to replace the original fuse box with a breaker box so my electricity fully worked.

Last year when I started working on the remodel of the TTH, I found that I had an electrical problem I couldn't fix. The light worked, but the plug did not. I tried rewiring the plug, using new wire, junction box and a new plug in. That didn't resolve the problem.

 This week I removed the fuse box, making sure that I had turned off the power.

I was given a breaker box out of an old camper trailer. I used that, being very careful to follow the wiring. And then I had safe power in the TTH.

Then I made a shelf for my TV and computer. You know me, I need the basics.

While my friends who are renting the main house and I've had a few conversations we haven't actually done much visiting. We are all on self isolation and we're being serious about this.  Still another week or so to go.

I'm finding my daily rhythm. I am sleeping a bit later, staying up later. During the day I have a few daily chores: emptying my buckets of used water, bringing in fire wood and fresh water. Other than that, I'm designing some future projects for me. Mostly it's mental gymnastics and day dreaming. Things like a back yard shed for a friend, a possible outdoor shower house here and my plans for the gas shack.

These are my plans for the kitchen counter and table for the TTH. I was fortunate to be able to buy some full sheets of MDF from a friend. This will be better than the table I am using right now. 

I've also been cooking hearty meals for myself. Given that it's still winter here, tacos and pizza just don't give me enough healthy calories and fats to keep warm when I'm outside. Now it's things like stews in the slow cooker and experimenting with it. I cooked pork chops in the cooker tonight and it was so good that I'll be using that recipe again.

Homemade beef stew and bannock.

Slow Cooker Tangy porkchops, this is good recipe.

My buddy C is learning what it's like to live so close to nature. Over the winter, when it was extremely cold, he needed to use the electric barrel heater to warm up a vehicle and when he grabbed the cord the plastic covering of the cord broke in several places. Today, I removed the broken cord and attached another. Unfortunately the cord I used was the wrong size, so, when I get a chance to go shopping I'll buy a proper replacement.

The temperatures have been quite cold, the daily range has been between - 10C and - 20C. And because of that, I decided not to heat Mobius. I removed all my food and things that I need in TTH. It's kinda sad to see Mobius sitting parked, but soon the weather is going to change and after the spring melt I'll be working on Mobius and other projects.

Is the road trip over?

Short answer, No!

I'm definitely going back on the road, but for the next while a lot of plans have been postponed and are just going to wait until this covid-19 pandemic has run its course and we see how the world is.

Cheers.

Week 28

March 17 - 23, 2020

Not much to report this week. We started hearing strange things about a pandemic, covid-19, coronavirus, social distance, self isolation, panic buying and states of emergency.

To do my part the best I could - I got to Oliver, found a great little RV park - Desert Lake RV on the shores of the Tu-cel nuit Lake. I spent most of the week there inside  Mobius watching movies and generally just keeping to myself. I also monitored my symptoms - what I had are just stress reactions and nothing to do with difficulty with breathing and fevers.

My view most of the week...I watched 4 - 5 movies a day, while playing games on my iPad.

I was fortunate that I was able to sneak in a couple of brief visits with my nephew and his family.  They are doing really well.

On Sunday - the Yukon Territorial Government did a online news brief - all Yukoners still out of the Yukon need to make their way home as soon as possible, there are 2 confirmed cases of covid - 19. I think that the governments of the territories and provinces will eventually close the borders and limit the movement of their residents. As scary as this sounds - I listened to a news interview with a young Chinese man who has just spent 2 month living in a lockdown situation. He says that it meant he reconnected with his family and that more people survived and that doing the strict lockdown was essential. I am hoping that our leaders, all of our leaders, will also learn what is working in  China and Italy and lock down Canada to stop this pandemic.

After the news filtered down - I made a quick decision it was time to go home. I got up early and left Oliver and stopped briefly in Penticton to pick up some of the supplies I will need to live in a quarantine situation.  Then I went to Kamloops to get some more supplies and also to visit with my sister S. We both felt weird because we couldn't give each other a hug.

March driving - sun shine, rain, wet heavy snow, and low laying clouds. Stopped halfway between 100 Mile House and Williams Lake for a few minutes.

While in Kamloops a friend in the Yukon called and asked if I could travel with her in-laws who were travelling back home after some medical (non contagious) treatment. I contacted them and we'll meet up in PG.

I drove from Kamloops all the way up to Quesnel, it was a total of 630 km driven today. I was too tired to drive any further. I rented a hotel room.

Not a lot of pictures this week. My sister S has told me that I didn't take enough pictures during this whole trip.  Next time!

Week 27, March 9 - 16, 2020

Week 27, March 9 – 16, 2020

I wrapped up my visit with my friends on Vancouver Island and boarded the ferry back to the Mainland on Wednesday. 

After being back in Canada for 11 days, I finally had a chance to eat tacos! I was going through withdrawals. My friend T and I went to a local Taco Del Mar – not the best tacos in the world but good enough!

Originally my plan was to spend about 2 weeks getting in visits with all my Vancouver based friends and family. But, after only 3 days I had had enough of the panic shoppers and the attitude of thinking only of themselves that I left the Lower Mainland. I was able to get in a few visits and deliver some tea towel hangy thingies to friends who had won them from participating in my little Facebook contests.

After escaping the big city I spent one night in Hope. I gotta tell ya, after all that crazy panicky energy in Vancouver it was a relief to head to a small town where the energy was much more relaxed. I found a great little motel – Park Motel on 4^th Ave. If you need a spot – that’s the place I would recommend. The owner/operator Denise is super friendly and full of interesting little stories. The room was perfect!

Mountains seen from a Hope Gas Station. Pretty big change since leaving the desert.

Next up, was to drive the Old Hope-Princeton Highway to Oliver and stay at an RV park on Tuc-elnuit Lake.  Originally booked for 7 days, but I was able to extend it 10 full days. I am basically going to do what most people should be doing – self isolation. I’ve been watching movies, checking out YouTube and playing games on my iPad.

BC mountains!

 BC mountains in the spring! Beautiful!

 The view from my back door. This is Tuc-elnuit Lake. Currently the noisiest residents are the Canadian Geese and other transient water birds.

Tuc-elnuit Lake.

Week 26 March 3 - 9, 2020

Week 26 March 3 – 9, 2020

This part of my trip is again amazing and fascinating as I spend time with friends and family – I am in awe how random my collection of friends is and how each of them is uniquely beautiful and remarkable in all that they do.

Throughout this entire trip I have reconnected with friends – many I have seen within the past few years, and some I haven’t seen or visited with in decades but we’ve reconnected and pretty much picked up right where we were those many years ago.

I spend a week with a very special friend G and visited with his daughter T and her children. It’s a very busy household with 5 adults going off in different directions. I have been helping out by cooking a couple of meals and taking G out. We just drive around, look at the scenery that is so diametrically opposed to the desert scenery I had grown accustomed to. The forests are dense, with lush undergrowth, and the trees are huge. And then there is the ocean, the salty smell of the water, the tug boat horns, and the water birds fighting over fish eggs and seaweed.

For the weekend I drove a couple of hours north to visit D n D. Again a very chill visit, I did have the honour of riding in a Tesla Model 3. I was enthralled with the hands free driving, the 0 to 60 in 2.9 seconds acceleration and just the sleekness of the interior. There is a tablet type screen that controls everything, there are no typical gauges in the dashboard and it’s soooo very quiet. It’s things like this that impress me regarding technology.

yes, Tankie went for a ride...

this is the front boot....in a typical car there would be an internal combustion engine...we're fancier....

And of course on Sunday we changed the clocks again…springing forward one hour. The good news is that the Yukon will never have to endure this bit of silliness again. Curious to know if BC will follow suit.

While in Comox I did wake up to wet heavy snow – just an inch or so and it had melted away in a couple of hours. Mobius is insulated well enough that I had been sleeping without the heater on overnight, but the overnight temperatures having been dropping to below 0C or 32F and I have been leaving it on. Yes, worrywarts – my truck is ventilated well enough that I don’t have to worry about CO2 and I have a monitor in the truck.

24 hour difference.

I also added another 12 volt Euro light inside Mobius. The light is on the wall above my bed and lights up the entire space.  This set up is temporary – when I get home in May I will be doing all the major finishing which included cleaning up my electrical wires and setup.

Today, I returned to Mill Bay for a couple of days. I cooked one of my favourite meals for the family and everyone enjoyed it – clam chowder and bannock.

I will be returning to Vancouver and the Lower Mainland in a couple of days!

Week 25 February 25 - March 2, 2020

Week 25 February 25 – March 2, 2020

Well, I am back in Canada now! That was an amazing trip and it’s not over yet!

I have travelled over 20, 000 kms since buying Mobius, the Nomadic Handyvan and I think I am just getting started.  I spent about 3 ½ months in the United States, and I met some amazing people who have become very dear friends. I will be returning to the US in October for round 2.  Over the next 6 months – I have some jobs to get done, I have some work to do on Mobius, the Nomadic Handyvan that I want to have done by the end of summer.

I spent 3 weeks with my cousin Jenn and her amazing family. It was a great time to hang out, cook for her and do some sewing!

Jenn introduced me to Rico Tacos - I went there every chance I could!

I left my cousin’s place in Portland, crossed the river and then I was in Washington. I drove to my friend CK’s place in Olympia and he hired me to replace railings on his breezeway deck. I spent time taking the original railings apart so I could use the upright balusters and just replace the upper and lower railings. I managed to save most of the balusters – a few were just too rotten to reuse. I attached the balusters to new horizontal 2X4s. When reattaching the railings to the posts. I discovered that the original L brackets were held on with ¾” rusty screws.  I used new 1 1/2” deck screws that won’t rust and will actually hold the railings in place if someone were to crash into the railing. As promised CK took me out for tacos. I think I have eaten tacos in almost every town I stopped in while on this trip.

The original railing...there is some definite rot happening. Time to fix things up!

The first panel of railing is out and now time to take it all apart and rebuild!

My temporary work bench in the sunlight!

The first panel is back in - new upper and lower railings and all of the original balusters.

Time to do it again, and again and again!

There it is...all secure. CK and family will paint these when the rain stops. But in the Pacific Northwest Coast - does the rain ever really stop?

After spending a very enjoyable time with CK and his family, I headed towards the Canadian border. At the crossing, I barely had time to show the crossing guard me passport before I was welcomed home to Canada. I drove through Surrey and headed to visit my friends CJ, T and L in Maple Ridge. It was a quick visit, and we went to a delicious Mongolian Grill near their house. Then I made my way to G and J’s in New Westminster. I spent the night, knowing that my truck was safely parked in front of their house.

I left New Westminster early this morning and headed for Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal and caught the 10:15 sailing to Duke Point.  Getting on the ferry was less stressful than last year because at 26 feet and 4 inches – Mobius, the Nomadic Handyvan lines up with other RVs and the semi truck and trailers. I didn’t have to drive up onto narrow passageways….it was a straight onto the ferry.

Next up, my visit with family in Mill Bay and a cruise up to Campbell River to visit another friend. It’s gonna be a good week!

Getting closer to Vancouver Island!

Week 24 February 18 - 24, 2020

Week 24 February 18 – 24, 2020

Wow! My last week with my cousins in Portland…and it started with a disaster!

On Tuesday, Jenn and I were at a crafty night with her friends in the downtown area when Jenn’s partner called saying the basement had been flooded with sewer water. We rushed home to find that there was a definite bad odour coming the basement. We soaked up all the nasty water, washed the floors several times and by 1AM we were exhausted. Jenn contacted her brother who said he’d be over in the morning to assess the damage.

We discovered that the special sewer pump had failed and sent the water flooding into the basement instead of sending the water up to the main drain. K fixed the problem and we decided that the flooring had to be pulled. K worked furiously and removed the sink and vanity, the toilet and then removed all of the flooring. He asked if I would be able to remove the tiles in the laundry room.  And that is exactly what I did on Thursday.  When K returned on the weekend it was decided that we may as well leave the basement floor as concrete until a later date. The sewer problem has been fixed and the damage has also been repaired.

I did a lot of the cooking over the week, again. I made my infamous beef stew, some clam chowder and Italian Flatbread. Jenn and I did a combo meal, she made Thai noodles, and a veggie dish and I made my chicken fried rice and her friends AR and A came for the meal and loved the food that we had cooked.

I have been starting to prepare for the next leg of my journey. In a couple of days I will head up to Olympia to spend the weekend with my friends C, M, and W.  C has contacted me asking if I would be able to help rebuild a section of railing around the deck. I am looking forward to it.

I have been continuing to sew more tea towel hangy thingies and some reusable grocery bags. The teal towel hangy thingies are for the people who have won my little contests on Facebook and the grocery bags are part of an order that I need to have done by the time I arrive in Whitehorse on April 1^st.

I have come to realize that this journey, this road trip doesn’t really end for me, as I will continue to be living in Mobius, the Nomadic Handyvan over the summer, and I am already planning my trip south next fall. I now know that I need to leave the Yukon later in the fall, to be able to enjoy more time down in the desert and also I won’t need to feel rushed returning home next spring. And this has been part of my goals for this first trip as a snowbird or a nomad…is learning what type of real planning I need to do, to meet people, to learn how people live full time in their RVs or vans and also to learn what I need to do to make Mobius, the Nomadic Handyvan more livable.  To tell you the truth she is pretty livable now, but I am going to be adding the finishing touches, the flooring and panelling and the like. I have also discovered that now that I have been on the road for 1/2 a year that I no longer watch tonnes of YouTube videos about other people's builds and impressions of being nomadic.  I guess I have found my own niche and don't need to see what others are doing.

 A typical reusable shopping bag.

 Customizing a reusable shopping bag that was mis cut.

More tea towel hangy thingies

 Tacos at Rico's Tacos. Went there twice in less than 24 hours!

Week 23 February 11 - 17, 2020

Week 23

February 11 – 17, 2020

Wow! Have been in Portland, Oregon for a whole week.  It’s been a blast hanging out with my cousin Jen and her family.  It’s been one of those lazy relaxing haven’t done much but got things done type of week. And, I haven't taken many pictures!

I have been sewing, making a bunch of tea towel hangy thingies, some reusable shopping bags and I also need to finish a couple of ribbon skirts and a ribbon shirt.

I also went back to Springfield to help my friend Sky and her roommate with replacing some lighting fixtures. It was an easy job and a nice drive out.  I enjoyed helping them and hope to see them on the road next fall. More nomads!

On one of Jenn’s days off of work we went to the ReStore by Habitat for Humanity and I found 6 boxes of flooring made by the same company. I got the 6 boxes for the same price as 1 box of flooring at Home Depot. So, that was a major score for me!  I have one box which is a different width than the rest and there are 3 different colours. I think this will look really cool in Mobius, the Nomadic Handyvan.  I won’t actually get the flooring into Mobius until this summer when I can dismantle and move all the furniture out of the box and lay down a solid floor then it will be time to add the front walls.

While I’ve been staying at Jenn’s I have taken over the cooking duties – so far no complaints.  I have cooked pizzas, sweet and sour chicken balls with fried rice and yesterday I made a huge pot of my famous stew.  I am taking today off from cooking, as there is a lot of leftover food to choose from!

My plan is to stay here until next week, and then I am off to Olympia to visit my friends there and they’ve asked for help with a railing rebuild.  I am looking forward to it!

A quiet and reflective week – it’s good to have these once in a while.