Travels With Miranda

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.

Ah, this is the kind of travel day that would be normal for me if I was an American and could just travel at a leisurely pace all the time.

After an incredibly lazy morning, I got packing just before noon, when the temps hit +5C and the wind had died down a little. It was chilly, but tolerable, for dumping and hooking up the toad.

I pulled out at about 12:05 and drove to Shelby, where I had identified through Google Maps a gas station that would be an easier in and out than the ones I’d pass before. I took on 47 gallons of gas, so I was definitely running on fumes! That put my MPG for the trip from Wichita at 5.8. OUCH!!!

My GPS is useless for finding campgrounds, so I just left it on map to show me upcoming roads, and I navigated with a Post-It that indicated my turns. I’m glad I only had an hour to drive because it was incredibly windy and I could only move at a snail’s pace. The only good thing about driving in such conditions is that my biceps get quite a workout.

I had absolutely no trouble finding the Loup Park campground. I haven’t quite figured out this place. It’s carved into a hill and power posts appear to be scattered willy nilly. I’m much too long for any of the obvious sites, so I parallel parked along a secondary loop. If it was summer and busy, I would have likely tried somewhere else as I feel a little in the way, even though the road is clear, but for two nights in early May, I am fine. Getting myself leveled was a bit of work, but I finally managed it. Oh, I just saw the sheriff go by and he ignored me, so I’m obviously not blocking anyone.

I need to show off my latest MAJOR, life-changing improvement to my RV. TAH-DAH!

The cubbies traveled that way, rather than turned to the wall to keep the drawers from moving. I can do that now because the drawers are finally secured! It was one of my neighbours at Hidden Valley who came up with the solution in mere seconds when everyone else had failed!

The answer was… Velcro!

The beige blobs are dried Gorilla glue that I used to adhere the Velcro to the surfaces. I knew that the stuff really expands, so I put just a drop, but it was still too much. In other words, I had to pry my drawers open once everything was dry. Go easy on the Gorilla glue, folks!

I’m off to find the movie theatre. I just realised it’s Saturday afternoon, so I’d better arrive early. There is a 3D showing at 3:30 and a 2D one at 4:00, so I should be able to squeeze into one or the other. I can’t believe I saw Iron Man 2 in Dawson City!

And finally, OMG IT’S %%@#$%&@)( COLD HERE!

That post title really has sent me into ‘crazy cat lady territory’ hasn’t it? But it’s true. Neelix and I have always been more of polite roommates than companions. Since it’s been just us, he’s stepped in to take Tabitha’s job of Chief Cuddler. He even asks for my lap now! He’s a great comfort.

My last post sure did stir up some comments! I would like to clarify that even though no payment is expected and that I am unimpressed with Strombsburg’s inflexibility, I am going to be leaving some money in the donation box, just not as much as I had planned to ($2 vs. $5 a night). That will more than cover the services I have used.

Even though I have permission for four nights, taking me to Sunday, I’m moving out tomorrow. I’ll be going about one hour up the road to Columbus where there are a number of free parks with no donations accepted (although I would leave one if there is a collection box) that allow a seven-day stay. I wish I had known about Columbus earlier on. I would have stayed in York Wednesday and arrived in Columbus on Thursday. Oh, well.

Columbus puts me an hour closer to the border and 17 miles closer to Omaha, so I will still be able to meet up with P.J. and her hubby as planned on Sunday.

Monday, I plan to haul ass to the casino in Hankinson and reassess the weather. If it looks clear, I’ll make it to Minot on Tuesday, and Canada on Wednesday, but I’d have two extra days in case I want to hang out longer in Hankinson to catch a crab leg buffet.

My mother called today to catch up and had the same thought I did: that I can land on my property, even if it is spongy, if I lay my levers perpendicular to the tires to get them to absorb the weight of the rig. If I do that, then I am going to try the Montana entry point that’s right at my property rather than the bigger one at Portal, ND, which will save me beaucoup bucks on fuel. I can drop the rig, then make a grocery and internet run with the toad the next day.I can’t believe I’ll be in Canada no more than a week from today. Where did the winter go?!I’m off to reread earlier blog posts to remind myself that until I pointed the rig north from San Antonio, I was having an awesome time! Yes, some pictures of palm trees would be just the ticket right now!

Oh, I feel battered. What a horrible good day on the road.

I impressed L, B, and S with my toad hookup skills this morning, then took off around 10:00 or 10:30. L lives right off of a highway, so I barely had any work to do to get going. I also had full tanks of gas and propane, so my only job today was to get to Stromsburg.

I was only about 70KM out of Wichita when the weather hit. Just spittle at first, but really bad wind that had me wrestling the steering wheel. I had left Wichita in a medium-weight long cotton skirt, sandals, and a tee-shirt. Two rest areas up the road (less than an hour of driving), I had to add leggings, socks, closed shoes, a fleece sweater, and a windbreaker/rain coat!

The original plan was to spend two nights at the Ottawa State Fishing Lake near Minneapolis (yes, both still in Kansas) just north of Salina and I was already wiped by the time I reached that exit! But I knew that I had to stay on the main roads and get to a place with power and internet so I could stay on top of the weather.

I stopped at every rest area to check the rig and take a breather, but the freeway eventually ended and I was going nowhere slow, so I pushed on resolutely all the way to York.

There, I pulled into the Walmart for some supplies. L made sure I was fed all the time I was in Wichita, so having to cook again for myself is going to be a tad brutal.

It was really tempting to just overnight in York, but Stromsburg and its donation campground was just 20 minutes away. It made sense to make that final effort and get squared away so that I can just relax tomorrow.

A few minutes from Stromsburg, I discovered that the line between ‘ice pellets’ and ‘hail’ is very fine. Was I glad to see the railroad crossing sign as we enter town as I knew the entrance to the campground was my next left!

This is a nice city park with power (up to 50A). There are faucets but not right at the sites, and there is a dump station. The only negative is that we are right against an active railroad with a train that whistles.

I unhooked quickly, backed in, and immediately started both the electric heater and the furnace!

Today was noteworthy in three respects.

First, it was my worst gas mileage day EVER. I am just at the red line and have gone less than 400KM! When I get fuel, I will note how many gallons I get so that I can calculate just how bad the gas mileage situation was today. I am generously estimating 4 to 5MPG. Yes, I’m hauling a heavier toad, but I was also going straight uphill the whole way, plus there was all that headwind. In closer to ideal conditions, the toad hasn’t been affecting my gas mileage noticeably.

Second, today was the first time I ever hit anything backing up with Miranda! No B.S.! Until today, I have NEVER so much as grazed anything backing up. I went back one foot too much and the very top edge of the RV went into a tree branch. I can tell there is some damage to the fiberglass, but nothing that is particularly depressing me. I’ll just slap a piece of Eternabond over the area when the weather clears up and no one will be the wiser.

Third:

That white stuff on the ground looks suspiciously like snow.

I will likely be quiet in the next few days since I have projects to do and there isn’t much in the area.