Insurance Freedom, Permit Liberation - June 16
I arose to the heat of the sun in the Dryden Walmart parking lot and scampered my way into the front seat of the car to get my ass, and the car, in gear. I demolished the kilometers on my way to on of the Manitoba Public Insurance offices in Winnipeg in order to start what I could only assume would be a two hour affair of figuring out documents, making phone calls, and making jokes about my desperate situation and laughing with the people behind the counter. Almost immediately they said they couldn’t do anything for me. Uh, duh, shit. I gave ICBC a call once it had opened for calls and asked about getting a temporary permit and insurance. Unfrotunately, they only offer out of province insurance binders to supliment the permit you get from the other province. They don’t do over the phone registration or permits. I went back to the desk and they said they could help me out. They managed to rangle me up a five day permit which included insurance that I stick to the windshield of my car. Woo! Score one for the good guys!
To celebrate my achievement I went to the nearest Starbucks for a tea and some Wifi time. I got that out of my system and then went to the public swimming pool. I had a nice sauna and shower to freshen myself up after the lack of sleep I had given myself from the night before. To be honest, the whole sleeping in a car in a parking lot and paying about $5 to get clean isn’t that bad. It’s super cheap, you don’t have a check out time. What’s not to like. Oh yeah, I remember. A bed. Security. Privacy. Whatever, all luxuries I can’t afford right now.
Since I had the time I decided a trip to the famous Human Rights Museum was in order. I spent a good four hours in that intricate building, though you could easily spend a day if you wanted to watch every video and read every information snippet. I definitely recommend this place. Even the architecture of it is something to see. After the museum I headed back out on my trip to Regina, just for the experience. One note about the drive: bugs. There are so many bugs up in Ivy’s grill right now. Holy crap. I was warned but I don’t think I ever put two and two together. I snuggled up in another Walmart for a sleep and made plans for Saskatoon berry pancakes in Saskatoon. Again, should be a fun day.
Berries, Farms, Walks, and Lake Plans - June 17
Early morning rise as always, I brushed myself off and headed out after a quick bite from my tiny yet existing pantry of food. By the time I arrived in Saskatoon, it was still acceptable to order breakfast so I got my Saskatoon berry pancakes and was happily surprised. Tasty stuff. I liked them so much that I got the name of the farm that Grainfield’s buys their Saksatoon berry stock. During breakfast I told me friend from last year’s Squamish festival that I would be arriving tonight. Unfortunately, she said should would be out of town at her friends’ (another girl from Squamish) cabin at a lake but I was invited to come if I wanted to. Score. I figured I spend one night in Edmonton and then head out to the lake.
After breakfast I went to the farm and had a look around. This farm makes everything out of those things. There was Jam, jelly, BBQ sauce, vinegret, syrup, soap, body wash, champagne style drink, etc. I grabbed of few of those things from the list including the champagne so I would not arrive empty handed at the cabin. The drive to Edmonton after that went smoothly. Ivy is just killing it. I’ve had this car for over 10,000km now and I see no signs of slowing. I’m super happy with this purchase.
I got into Edmonton, found my Walmart location and drove downtown to see the city. I took a peek at the tiny night market which was underwhelming but there. I wandered the streets for a while before heading into Denizen Hall for some beer and video games. They have Bluebuck, that is all. After I had almost finished my second and final beer, having lost my money on pinball and other arcade games, I spotted a familiar face in the bar. Low and behold I recognized the face of a guy I used to see at the golf course I was a member of when I was in high school. This is a separation of about 10 years so he did not recognize me with the beard and short hair but eventually remembered me and my brothers thanks to our lovely unique last name. Fun fact, his name is Dryden which also happens to be the name of the last town in Ontario that I slept in. I chatted with him and his friends for a while, leaving for the “street party” I had heard about from the sound guy at the bar.
The street party was lame so I walked around, got some sushi dinner and made for my slumber space at Walmart. This was probably one of the sketchier lots I’ve slept in all trip. There were lots of drunk people walking through and at one point in almost the early morning two people walked by and one of them said “I was in jail for one and a half months.” Out of context, that is a little unsettling.
Whyte Farmer’s Martkets - June 18
I got going around 7am this morning so I could fit everything into the day that I wanted before heading to this cabin for some fun on the lake. I drove out to a swimming pool and did the usual then headed to Whyte Avenue to check out what the big deal is. The street is pretty cool but I’m not much of a shopper and I don’t want to do much shopping now that I’m nearing the end of the trip and I am aware of the amount of money left in my bank account. I got to one end of the avenue, grabbed some fruit and things for guacamole because that’s definitely one of the things I learned to do on this trip. Plus, I was sure the people at the cabin would appreciate a snack. I walked back down the avenue on the other side of the street. There are lots of different shops, something for everyone I bet. Unfortunately, since I woke up so early, most of the shops hadn’t opened so I didn’t go into any of them, which is fine. I got to the other end of the avenue, not the actual end, just what I consider to be the end of the shops, and found the farmer’s market. Farmer’s markets are great. I got some breakfast, a bubble tea, listened to live music, and took ganders at all of the things people brought to offer.
After the farmer’s market, I went to a mall and got myself a beard trim to clean myself up a little bit. Don’t want people from Alberta thinking people from BC don’t know how to take care of themselves now do we? I also filled up my growler at a local liquor store. So cool that they do that here. I wonder if that’s now a thing in BC and I just haven’t been around for it. Anyway, it was convenient but it took a long time to do because there was only one person working the store and I asked him to tap a keg of Jerkface 9000. While I waited I faced their entire wine and spirits display because, you know, that’s fun. After that I was on my way to the cabin which took basically no time.
I don’t think I should go through every little detail and event that occurred during my one night stay at the cabin but I met a lot of people and we had a lot of fun. Four out of five of the girls that Tyler and I met in Squamish were there. Fun fact, they actually came to a Fickle Youth show a night or two after meeting us. I absolutely love these kinds of friendships and their attached stories. Other details, banana boats in a fire are delicious. It is a partially hollowed out banana with chocolate and marshmallow on top. So good. The water was super cold but we still managed to play a bunch of catch while wading and also some general shenanigans on an old stand up paddle board. We spent the night playing Who Am I and making jokes. This is a great group of people and again my luck has brought me to a place where I can enjoy myself with amazing company. That’s all I’ve got to say about that.
Temporary Farewells and Rockies - June 19
Early rise for everyone, despite going to sleep around 2am because the cabin has a lot of windows and the sun shines in quite well. Everyone spent the morning help clean, cook, or create atmosphere which is what I did with the music. I also got the chance to make some guacamole. Four avacados were harmed in the making of that guac. Everyone thought it was too much. I took a look at it after finishing making it and thought “Nah, it’s probably not quite enough.” It was demolished within 20 minutes. Eventually people actually started leaving and so came my time to go. Fortunately, I got to go for some ice cream at Sylvan lake with a few ladies that were headed south to Calgary. The ice cream was good and the company was even better but mother nature had other ideas. We had sat down on the windy shore of the lake and the weather got worse and worse so we walked back to our cars as the rain began. We said some quick goodbyes because I planned on going to Calgary where they all live.
I then drove myself to Golden, BC, got some dinner, and asked a cool Australian guy in the Petro-Can if there were some free camping spots. He told me he’s in town for the “season” but I’m not sure what season that he was talking about. Maybe he said the word “off” before that but I’m not sure. Turns out there are plenty of spots, also cheap laundry, and free showers that he’s found. I drove up to Cedar Lake and parked in the boat launch area for the night. I watched my favourite movie, Roxanne with Steve Martin, and called my dad for “Father’s Night”, as I called it.
Ivy, I Thought We Were OK - June 20
I woke up on the lake feeling refreshed and ready to tackle the next drive out to Calgary after sorting out my insurance and such. I went to ICBC, got almost all the way through the process and came to the realization that I had forgotten about the vehicle inspection necessary when bringing a vehicle from out of province. Great. I got the inspection and grabbed some breakfast while I waited. When I went back to the shop they told me that there were several things wrong with the car. After a long process and lots of calls made, they told me the price for the fixes and that I would need to wait a day or two for the work to be done. My outlook on this right now is this: what can I do? Basically, I need this stuff to be done or else I have to somehow sell an unregistered and uninsured car somehow and bus around for the rest of my trip. I decided that I’ll just get the work done and try and complete the trip without burning the rest of my money. Should be good.
I pretty much spent the rest of the day skipping stones and read HP. It was actually kind of a nice time to be honest. It was hard to keep the whole money thing off my mind though. Unless I get into some work quickly when I get home, I’ll have to sell the car, hopefully for at least as much as I bought it just to keep my head above water. Who knows what will happen, life is an adventure! Stay positive! You can do it!
Here are some photos for your viewing pleasure. I know how you get bored reading this stuff sometimes.
Near the end of the day I went to a bar and had some food and beer, a little bit more beer than last time. I feel it was necessary even though I have to watch my money even more closely now. After dinner, I walked up Kicking Horse River until I found a spot that I liked that was far enough out from cars and view to set up camp. The spot I found had a few fire pits around it so I knew it was at least a half decent spot. I read HP until it got dark enough and got to sleep thinking about which of my personal belongings I can sell when I get home to make a little money.
Here’s a fun video I made while setting up my camp:
We Did It! Let’s Get Out of Here! - June 21
Early rise, skipping stones, walking back to town, and eating some cheap breakfast were the activities I completed with my morning. I popped into the shop to ask about progress and they had already started with the repairs which is good. I basically spent the entire day doing the same thing I had done the day before. I spent a lot of time in the coffee shop with my laptop doing absolutely nothing, which now feels like a bit of a waste but I was pretty low on motivation do to my situation so, you know, it happens. I got myself some food from the local grocery store and had lunch on the river and continued with my book reading. When the time came, about 4pm, I went back to the shop to hear that they were almost done! Instead of waiting, I got them to give me the passed inspection papers so I could get the insurance and plates done.
The process for registration and insurance took a little while but I eventually got out of there with a shiny new plate. I arrived at the shop and got to do the least fun part of the process, pay. I then gave the people behind the counter, three lovely woman that had been dealing with me, the unopened bottle of Saskatoonberry champagne. They had done a lot of work quickly and I felt the need to thank them for what they did to get me out of the shop as quickly as possible, for a little money as possible. Granted, it was still a lot of money but sometimes you need to love your enemy, right?
After I could wipe my hands clean of the situation, I hopped into Ivy and got right on my way after a fill up of gas and a new feeling of joy. The drive to Calgary took about three hours and it went completely smoothly. I arrive at my friend Sean’s place around 8pm and we spent some time chatting about adult things and life over a couple beers before we decided it was time for sleep. We’re mid-week now so I felt that was appropriate. Here we go. Calgary. Time to make the most of a $20 a day budget!
Climbing, Subs, Beers, Friends - June 22
I arose to the sound of some pretty intense construction outside which isn’t much of an issue because getting up with the sun for the last week means that I was ready to be up at 7:30am anyway. I had breakfast, did some laundry, and actually played a video game for a bit of time, something I haven’t done since my days in university. Turns out I’m not good at them anymore and that’s fine, I don’t plan on making a habit of it again. After a sufficient amount of time I got in the car and went to the climbing gym my friend Amie had invited me to for the afternoon. Amie, Maren (a German girl in Clagary as a nanny that Amie met while cimbing), and I spent the afternoon scaling walls. Though I must admit that the girls were much better at it than I am. At least for now. Six months of non-climbing will definitely knock you down a few notches on the scale of how fit you are for sure. It was almost a little embarrassing going up a 5.9 at the end of the climbing and falling. Oh well, I will be in shape soon enough once I get back to normal life. I can’t wait for that.
After a little bouldering we walked downtown to get some Vietnamese subs. Apparently they’re pretty popular here but I don’t think I’ve ever had one. We sat on the rocks near the river and scarfed them down, enjoying the sun, the peace and quiet, and then, at different times, the spicy peppers in the sandwiches that made each of us appreciate the drinks we had. After walking back to climbing gym we all parted ways. Maren walked for an avacado shake, Amie biked off home to prepare for work, and I walked down a street (Oh man, I’ve got to do it) Amielessly (buh dum, tiss!) for a while. I then came back to the gym and used their Wifi to get directions to some of the places the girls had suggested to me. Seeing as it was about 4pm, however, I decided I’d rather go back to Sean’s clean up, get some dinner, and plan my stay in Calgary a little better, or at all for that matter.
After Sean got back from work, we spent a little time doing nothing and we went out to Craft Beer Market because I wanted to see if it lived up to the one in Vancouver. It does. While there we met up with James! This was a cool surprise. We chatted and eventually went next door to a popular bar/restaurant in Calgary called The National. There we had a few steins and talked about the other people in the bar that James might or might not have known. Thanks to that night, though I did it of my own free will, I will have to dial back on the spending money thing for a few days. But it’s OK, I’m sooooo good with money.