Travels With Miranda

Sitting here in the middle of my field (sorry, that one never gets old), I am enjoying a fast internet connection with sufficient bandwidth that I can watch the new Audi commercial starring dueling Spocks without worrying about overages (Goooooo Bilbooooo!). I can’t help but marvel about how quickly things have changed.

It was about this time five years ago that I really began to research in earnest how I was going to live on the road, and one of the biggest components was getting online. I was chagrined to finally admit defeat. The only way I could get coverage just about anywhere was with a satellite dish, and that was several thousands of dollars to invest just getting set up, never mind the billing costs.

But within only about a year and a half, Bell and Telus joined to update cellular service across Canada. Suddenly, there was service just about everywhere. Mobile bandwidth devices were pricey and the plans outrageously high, but the investment was now only a few hundred dollars. Less than two years after conceding that I would never under the existing circumstances have a mobile internet connection, I got a free mobile internet modem in exchange for taking over a contract. It is not hyperbole to say that this changed my life. Suddenly, I could work freely from the road.

Something similar happened almost exactly two years later, friends gave me an internet modem for use in the U.S., which cost a pretty penny to set up but offered more bandwidth, and suddenly I had internet coverage in almost all of Canada and the U.S.

And just a year after that, I’m sitting in the middle of a field in rural Saskatchewan, a field that just a few months ago didn’t even have cell coverage, with a new Canadian mobile bandwidth device, which only cost me $50 (plus $180 for a booster, still cheap compared to a few years ago) and I am experiencing not only the fastest internet speeds of my life, but also the biggest and most affordable bandwidth allowance I’ve yet seen.

I really think that cellular connectivity is the future of the internet and I am excited to see how the technology will continue to evolve in the coming years. It is likely to get even faster and cheaper.

This afternoon, I need a quick clarification on a job I’m doing. I knew that if I headed out to the field where I get reception, I’d get sidetracked. I decided to see if I could get a signal with my Mifi up in the air.

I actually got it to lock onto the network a couple of times at ground level, but not long enough to do anything productive. I used packing tape to attach my awning pole to my broom, then put the Mifi into a baggie and taped that to the awning pole. Finally, I climbed up the ladder and one-handedly taped the broom to the ladder (quite a feat I tell you).

It actually worked! I got one bar (I can check the connection through my computer) just long enough to get the answer I needed and send a couple of emails! I brought the Mifi down and it was very hot, so even if I had had a decent connection, this was NOT a good temporary solution until I get the booster.

But what this tells me is that the booster is going to work for me and that I didn’t just throw money out the door.

Now, here’s hoping that the 10 to 25 day shipping estimate is overly conservative… It really hit me today that getting online a couple of hours a day really does make me more productive, but also impedes that productivity.

The best solution for me is the one I’m going to get, internet at home, but with limited bandwidth. That said, I can do a hell of a lot more for 15GB than I could with 5GB! I have no idea how I managed that long with so little connectivity, although after years of relying on public wifi, that much better than nothing. 12GB this winter was really good, but not always quite enough. 15GB should serve me well, and at just $10 for each additional GB, I’ll have some breathing room.

In other news, I think we skipped spring and went straight to summer. My first night here, I FROZE. I had lots of blankets on the bed, but didn’t left the furnace on too low and didn’t wear warm enough jammies. My second night, I was comfortable, but the rig was icy in the morning. My third night (last night) I finally had the smarts to put on the flannel jammies again… and was way too hot. I woke up covered in just a sheet and the furnace hadn’t even cycled on all night.

The days here have all been HOT, at least 20C by noontime. It’s only going to get worse. I may find myself dreaming of AC at some point. But the wind definitely helps, and is not too violent down in the valley.

Finally, I forgot to mention something in my last post. Avocados here are 99 cents, almost double what I paid in Texas. If they are as tasty, that will be a bargain.

I just renewed for a third night here at Dakota Magic. If I really just wasn’t in the mood to drive, I would have gone anyway because I know that that’s just an excuse for not wanting to face the border crossing.

But I’m being really productive and making good use of my FHU, so I can justify another night. This morning, I defrosted the freezer and washed it and the fridge, then made an inventory of the food on board. I found bacon! It will be demolished shortly when I go make lunch.

It looks like it might rain, but if it doesn’t, the next project is the cab.

Besides that, I need to put away yesterday’s laundry (almost dry, YAY), wash out Neelix’s litter box, and then I’ll be good to go. There’s really nothing to do now to prepare for the border besides making sure I don’t have any illegal food on board, have a full alcohol inventory (one Texas beer that I am saving for the first crazy hot summer day), and that I know how much I need to declare.

I hope internet in Saskatchewan will be decent (although I will settle for existent). I get a very low signal in North Dakota, so I keep getting disconnected. I might not have found the connection in San Antonio to be so bad had I remembered my online experience in North Dakota last spring.

There is just something about a sunny morning that is absolutely invigorating. It can be super hot or super cold out, doesn’t matter. I makes me bounce out of bed energized by the possibilities of the day.

Since this is my last chance to be on FHU for a bit, I have a long enough to-do list that I may end up staying a third night. The number one priority for today is laundry, and then getting the black tank emptied and rinsed. Tomorrow could then be a rest day since it’s another really full day to Minot.

My border and arrival plan keeps changing, but I think I finally have it down. The big thing is Canadian internet. I thought I was going to have to go to Medicine Hat to buy the only internet device with a decent bandwidth package, but… things keep improving.

Bell now has several devices with that ginormously generous, won’t hear me bitch about it, bandwidth package, at least one of which, a stick, doesn’t need 120V power the way the Turbo Hub does. Moreover, it’s ZERO down for a 2-year commitment AND I could buy it at a number of points along the Canadian route to my property, including in Estevan, Weyburn, and Assiniboia!

That changes everything as far as my reentry plans. Now that I don’t have to drop the RV and go to Alberta, I’m in no rush to land. So if I pulled out of Hankinson Thursday (three nights here total), I would get to Minot Thursday night and then Friday it would be about an hour and a half to the border at Portal and another 45 minutes or so to the Walmart in Estevan where is a The Source store within walking distance at which I could buy my internet device.

In Estevan, I could make sure both my computers can get online and also stock up on supplies (fresh goods that wouldn’t make it across the border; I’m also getting supplies in Minot). And then Saturday, I would have a leisurely three hourish drive to my property.

When I bought the property last year, there was cell coverage in Assiniboia but not my village. Coverage maps now show full coverage in southern Saskatchewan. So I am hopeful I will have internet at ‘home’ with a device bought in SK.

This route does mean that I will likely have to purchase fuel in Canada for the final leg of the trip. But I did more research on the Scobey/Coronach crossing and really don’t think it’s a good idea to cross there. For one thing, they close early, so I’d be racing the clock to arrive from Minot. For another, 22 cars a day in the height of summer is a big rush for them. So I’m worried that I would be providing them with a bit of ‘entertainment’ if you catch my drift. And I would be automatically suspicious for crossing there with my Alberta-plated vehicles as it is a crossing used mostly by locals. I’ll feel more comfortable using that crossing when I am plated in SK and can declare the village to be my home base.

There is a Saskatchewan snow melt map making the rounds of the internet and it is really impressive. Looks like there is almost no more snow in that province! AND the risk of flooding is just about gone! Woohoo! These warm temps should give my property just enough time to dry out enough to not be a festering marsh by the time I arrive.

Next thing to figure out: how I am going to deal with grass. Hopefully it will be a local teenager (I don’t mind mowing, but I’d rather not have to buy and maintain a mower). And I hope no one gives me flack for not taking care of the lawn last year. Ah, all shall be revealed in just a few days…

Finally, a bit of a semantics lesson. I’m having a hard time coming up with the right word to describe ‘my property.’ It is not and will likely never be ‘home.’ Home is MIRANDA. Full-timers get that, but most other folks don’t. Home is also wherever Miranda is parked. Ergo, while Miranda is parked on my property, my property will be ‘home.’ But I can’t say it enough, I am not ‘going home’ this week.

I have a name chosen for my property, but I won’t reveal it until I land and get a feel for the neighbours. Needless to say, it’s another Firefly reference.

Last night was perfect hibernating, I mean sleeping, conditions. I got nine straight hours. WOW!

I had a bit of a hard time finding the movie theatre in Columbus yesterday. I saw the sign by the road telling me I was in the general vicinity of it but could not find the building. I circled around the plaza for a bit until I saw some teenage boys holding soft drinks and popcorn bags come out of unmarked doors to what looked like a strip mall. I parked and walked through those doors to find a tiny mall with a few stores. I had to run a craft fair/Tupperware party gauntlet before I finally found the cinema.

It was your typical small town cinema, a couple of theatres and reasonable enough prices to make popcorn a treat, not a ridiculous indulgence. I ended up going for the 3D showing, but I won’t be doing that again. I had seen ‘Brave’ in 3D and was totally immersed, but with Iron Man 3, all I really got from the 3D glasses was blurriness at the periphery of my vision. Otherwise, I had a fun time as the movie is hilarious and makes up for the second one. I’m glad I saw ‘The Avengers’ in Hampton Roads, otherwise Iron Man 3 would have made almost no sense.

I got in and made my first real meal at home in AGES (pork chops, broccoli, rice) and then I settled down to watch another movie.

It’s another slow morning, but I’ll be doing a good cleaning blitz before I head out to meet P.J. I haven’t been spending much time at home and it shows.

When I’m just passing through an area like this for a night or two and don’t need my full office set up, I usually hang out in the living room and leave the office packed. I really don’t spend enough time in here when I’m parked long-term and I don’t know why. The arm chair is so much more comfortable for watching a movie than is the bed in the back of the study.

L gave me a 19″ TV to use for watching movies or as a bigger screen for my laptop because the tuner went out on it and it’s no good to use as a TV (a case of one person’s trash taking up storage room in the garage being someone else’s useful treasure). I was going to mount it in the study, but now I think I would be better off doing so in the living room to motivate me to use this space more. That will cut down on the ‘where’s your TV?!” comments that I get from most folks visiting the rig. I do need to get an adapter for it as Macbook Pros don’t have an HDMI port, and the older ones don’t carry audio from their mini display port, so I need some sort of audio cable, too.

One way that I have made the living room more comfortable is that I got rid of one of the two night tables I had bought as storage for the living room and have FINALLY found the perfect place for the remaining one.

This way, I get a cat perch and I still have a surface on which to put a cup (that black surface pushes back into the night table). I used to have it laid out so the short side was against the wall, which meant the ottoman was blocked and I couldn’t stretch my legs. Neelix’s cushion (and it’s always been his and purchased expressly for him, Tabitha never had any use for such luxuries) moves around depending on where I am in the rig. So that night table is usually clear to receive bags of groceries or whatever else is coming into the RV.

Some time ago, while looking for something completely unrelated, I found my night stand on Amazon! I paid $10 for two. Amazon is selling them for $125 EACH!!! And, yes, it’s EXACTLY the same thing! If you look at the reviews, there is another RVing using this same unit since it matches standard RV ‘golden’ or ‘medium’ oak cabinetry perfectly.

Time to turn the furnace back on and get started with my day!