Movin on & Heritage Day

Some of the equipment outside the museum

Yesterday we took in some of the Heritage Day fun at Muskoseepi park, just a short bike ride (or walk) south of the campground, along the excellent trail system.  There is a large playground and splashpad there with lots of green space to just run around.  Bear Creek runs from the reservoir and by following the walking path beside the creek, just south from the playground, we found the Heritage Museum. 

 We hadn’t originally planned to go in, but there were many Heritage Day activities happening, and entry only cost $10. The museum gallery has many static displays about the history of the

area, including all about the dinosaurs which roamed the region. There are many fossil finds in Northern Alberta, and I learned that approximately 30% of the collection at the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller (which we've been to a few times) comes from the area. Construction is underway for a new dinosaur museum near Grande Prairie – the Phillip Currie museum (I think).  Sounds like a great idea to me! The Heritage museum also contains a variety of time period buildings and equipment outside, either moved original structures or rebuilt replicas. The one cottage on site was quite interesting as it was an exact replica, whose construction was overseen by the lady who grew up in the house. The door, however, was from the original house – nearly 100 years old. Wow. Downsizing into the trailer, we are now living in a much smaller space, but the pioneers lived in even less. And they made do just fine.

We all went on a brief wagon ride, watched a demonstration of how the settlers drilled wells with water & pipe, visited the petting zoo and had some freshly churned ice cream (yum!). Then we wandered our way back along the path to the campground.  Well, tried to.  Lily is quite the speed demon without her training wheels.  She went straight to the campsite, and after we caught up to her she got a bit of a talking to about safety and staying close to the rest of her family. 

We moved northwest from Grande Prairie today, but not before getting some of our needed errands done. After hitching up the trailer we headed south in town to the Eastlink Centre, which boasts a large indoor swimming area. We had a coupon, so decided to check it out.  Score! It had a fun play structure for the kids, a waterslide, tube slide, tube river (complete with rapids!), big dive tank, lane pool and a FlowRider where one can try out surfing or body boarding (for an extra fee). Everyone had a great fun time & Bob and Morgan tried out the FlowRider. We all found it rather hilarious to watch Bob try to surf (at his expense). Sadly he never did manage to stay upright for more than a couple seconds. 

After wearing ourselves (at least myself) out we began our drive towards the Alaska Highway. The road was good, and the kilometers passed by. To the north and south were some strong looking thunderstorms, but we managed to avoid any rain until we got to Dawson Creek. The Alaska Highway actually begins here, at Mile 0. We didn't stop, in part due to the rain and in part because of the hour.  The area is rich in history of how people settled the area and the massive construction feat that is the Alaska Highway.  We have been visiting smaller museums and displays throughout our journey north, and I think everyone had taken in enough history for a few days.  I think the short visits actually are more memorable though.

Shortly after we left Dawson Creek, the sky cleared and the rest of the drive was under sunny(ier) skies.  The country around here is beautiful.  It ranges from cropland that looks strikingly like central Alberta, where I grew up, to a seemingly endless sea of trees.  We decided to stop in Taylor for the night at Peace Island Park. Fort St. John is only 20 km away, so it’s not a bad place to make home base if we want to explore a bit around here. We’re starting to get the itch to get further north though.  I don’t want to rush through this part of our experience, but I also need to be in Whitehorse on Aug 21^st so I can fly back to Calgary for an orthodontist visit.  It’s 918 miles from Dawson Creek to there. Decisions, decisions…

Murphy's law

I'm sure that somewhere Murphy's law states that if you are traveling on the Sunday of a long weekend you will get a flat tire.
Or maybe it's the new curse of the McDonald's that seems to be forming around us. Bob says that there must have been an ancient clan war resurrected (he & Morgan have been playing Clash of the Clans on the Ipod, so he may have a skewed view). Both times now when we (truck & trailer) have pulled off the highway to go to McDonald's for lunch, poof! Flat tire. Last time was the trailer tire. This time we picked up a screw on truck tire. I heard the hiss when I hopped out of the driver's seat and knew pretty much instantly what was up. We had just picked it up and the tire was still nearly full, but it was losing air fast, so we moved a few blocks away to an empty lot in order to better assess the damage.Of course, it being a Sunday afternoon of a long weekend, we were left to our own skills. There were three tire shops within viewing distance, but all of them were closed. No worries - Super Bob to the rescue. He found the tools, jacked up the truck, and got the tire swapped out for the spare. It was time consuming, but not exactly difficult. Then we showed that darned McDonald's who's boss by going to Pizza Hut instead.

But not before I encountered the next effect of Murphy's law. Somewhere else in the fine print the law states that you will remember to stow everything else, but forget to secure the breakable object that will make the greatest mess.
The road from Valleyview to Grande Prairie gets quite rough, and my dad had warned me about it last week when he was up this way. It's not rough in the continual bumpy sort of way, it's rough in the repeated dips in the road that get the truck & trailer bouncing and oscillating. That made for ideal conditions to open up the one upper cabinet that we hadn't secured closed and send it's contents flying across the main living area. Unfortunately that was the cabinet where all the "adult beverages" were stowed. When I opened up the door to the let the cat in while we changed the tire, the aroma of liquor hit me. Uh oh. There was spilled alcohol and broken glass all over. Now, this may not actually have been Murphy's work so much as us pushing our luck. I mean, really! We should have known better than to store all the bottles up there. I'm actually quite amazed that only a few actually smashed. The majority were still intact. But that small amount sure made a big mess! It changed our camping plans just a little bit, since we needed supplies to clean everything up.  

We booked ourselves a campspot right in town (city actually) for two nights at the Grande Prairie Rotary Campground. We're in the pull-through spots which are open and close to the highway, but we're really close to all the amenities, including a large walking trail/ park system and the campground has excellent wifi (something I've been missing since moving from the house) so it works out well overall. This evening Bob went and purchased a small vacuum to suck up all the tiny shards of glass, and I'll try to find a steam cleaner to rent in the morning to get all the sticky, smelly liquid out of our carpet. Nothing like a bit of domestic cleaning in the middle of an adventure to put life into perspective.

Hopefully Murphy is done with us for a while, cause I'm sure done with him!

It ain't always rainbows & buttercups

So far, I've painted a fairly contended picture of our travels. And often it is. Like this afternoon when we went to Williamson Provincial Park, on Sturgeon Lake, just a short drive west of Valleyview.  The day was overcast, but reasonably warm. There is a day use area with a boat launch, playground and small beach. The water was clear and not too cold and aside from a bit of goose poop, the beach had nice sand to play in. We brought our lunch and all our beach toys and the kids had great fun making sand castles and playing. 

The sun came out a bit in the afternoon to warm things up a bit more. The boat launch was very busy with traffic coming and going constantly, and the small campground was full to bursting.  Many families came to the beach to splash and enjoy the day, which meant that my kids got to interact and play with other kids. And practice their sharing skills. We left there in late afternoon and headed back to Valleyview to find the Splash park (and wash off some of that sand!). Morgan found the skate park nearby and took his scooter over.  He wasn't very successful on the scooter though and ended up just sliding down the ramps on his behind.  Back home for supper (after sundaes at the local Burger Baron – mmm, dessert first is always a good idea) and a quiet evening.  All in all, a good day.  Well, except for the start of it. 

Remember how I started this post? Sometimes it’s all happiness and rainbows, and sometimes, well, sometimes it’s not. Bob and I work well and support each other as a team when it really counts. But we also have very differing ideas about how we want life to be and how things should go, and neither of us is great at keeping our cool in the face of resistance. At least with each other, we don’t. We butt heads over lots of things, and often end up disagreeing – sometimes loudly. Being tired, stressed or feeling out of our element makes it harder to stay calm when something doesn't go the way we want it to. We don’t always communicate our expectations well either during those times. 

Those who know us well have seen this from us, and I’m sure our neighbours have heard plenty. The great majority of it is just blowing off frustration, but occasionally things get broken, like the door that was slammed too hard this morning. Bob’s voice gets very loud and carries very far when he’s frustrated. I’m sure mine carries just as well, and we both tend to stomp around and sulk like two-year-olds. Not something I’m proud of. It is behaviour I want to curb, not just for my own sake, but for the whole family. Our children yell and argue and whine and persist because they have learned it from their parents. Who are probably two of the most stubborn, pigheaded people on the planet. All of that seems to have been magnified by living in 360 square feet where it often feels like we’re piled on top of each other, with nowhere to escape to. Last week was particularly trying, and I felt this theme of a blog post coming on many times. But it’s a bit embarrassing to admit one's shortcomings, and put it out there for anyone to read.

And frankly, I wouldn't, except it’s a part of who we are as a family (at least right now it is), and this wouldn't be a true account of our travels if we didn't acknowledge the bad along with the good. While I know we’re not the only family out there to who is lacking in internal harmony, and our troubles are pretty minor in comparison to what they could be, I’m not particularly happy with this part of our family dynamic, especially at the moment.

Sticking ourselves in a box (literally!), living in closer quarters all the time, downsizing to one vehicle, changing nearly all of our routines, and leaving behind friends, family and the comfortable, familiar environment we call Airdire has placed more stress on the family unit than we all really understood would happen. The children act out, we act out, and everyone gets a piece of the backlash. But part of this journey, for me at least, is to break old patterns and create new ones. Create a different kind of life. (Note, the overall point of this trip is one of those things Bob and I disagree about. Somewhere along the way I can hope we find a middle ground that allows us all to be content).

Despite all this doom and gloom talk, Bob and I are still firmly on this journey – together. Sure, we aren't always going to agree, and we’re only 4 weeks into this new life – still finding the sharp edges and raw spots and trying to find our new groove. But what keeps us going, and will keep us moving forward, is the knowledge that we can do this. This journey will be an amazing growing and learning experience. Disagreements and all.  

A week in review

View from Valleyview Info Centre

We've now left Stony Plain and are in Valleyview at Sherk’s RV park.  Valleyview is about 3 ½ hours northwest heading towards Grande Prairie. We were kind of aiming for Grande Prairie, but decided we’d gone far enough for today.  Since it’s a long weekend sites aren’t super easy to find, and we figured we might have better luck a little further out. The campground is nice with a little playground across from us, and very reasonably priced with full hookups. Hooray!  The road here was pretty good and the views are lovely.  The ribbon of highway cuts through the trees and everywhere around is green. Quite pretty. I think we passed through the Swan Hills on the way up, and it’s a bit like entering the foothills. No mountains though. This is the main Alberta route to Alaska, so the highway was fairly busy too. 

We didn't get away until 2:30 or so, after letting the kids play at the playground & splashpad there. Some days it’s really nice having the house with us, as the kids got soaked!  It was a good idea to give them some play time before getting in the truck for a long drive.  I didn't hear one complaint out of them the whole time. 

 Our week in Stony Plain went by quickly, and we didn't get everything done that we wanted to, but we did make some progress. We visited friends, did some fun activities, and organized the trailer more. It was wonderful spending time with our Stony Plain friends, the Blasko’s.  I actually got to see an adult movie (without kids!), and we all enjoyed the opportunity to join in their block party and feel like part of the community.  

 They directed us to a potential spot to pick Saskatoons, are we hit the jackpot. We picked some huge berries from shrubs that were completely untouched. A yummy haul, although Morgan wasn't too impressed by the picking process.  He did enjoy stomping on the ant hill and riling up all the ants though.  I had a Saskatoon bush in my yard in Airdrie and I was missing my chance to pick the berries this year.  I’ve had my berry fix now, so am happy.

We visited my sister, Erin, and her boyfriend in Edmonton.  Kris’ daughter is similar age to Lily and they had a great time playing. The kids all went in the hot (actually cool) tub for a while to pretend they were fish.  My two do a very good impression.  They all needed a bath to warm up afterwards and all crammed in it together.  Silly kids, but they had fun.  It was wonderful to visit, and although we had just seen them all the previous weekend, it didn't feel like long enough.  Guess electronic visits will have to do for a while now.

We didn't connect with others that we were hoping to, but I guess that’s how life goes sometimes.  I forgot about the long weekend, and many people had holidays and plans for this week before.  There’s something about this weekend, right in the middle of summer that makes me forget that it’s a holiday weekend.  I forgot it last year too – not sure what that means!  However, lately I have noticed that I’m paying less and less attention to the date and remembering what day of the week it is. It just doesn't mean the same thing it used to, without the work/school schedule to reinforce it. 

We got some of the shopping done, but not all.  Some of our projects were completed, or at least set in motion, others got put on the backburner, and several new ones have appeared.  I can tell that the trailer maintenance will be a continual thing.  Somehow I thought that moving into the trailer and not working would mean I’d have all the time and energy in the world to get things done, but so far it hasn't panned out that way.  I don’t know if my expectations were unreasonable or I’m just being lazy (I suspect a bit of both), but I find I’m (we’re!) not as effective as I thought I would be. 

We didn't want the kids to feel like this week was all about mom & dad doing projects, so we took them for some fun activities too. Morgan chose to go to RopesQuest in West Edmonton Mall.  We were there this past April, but this time the kids spent way more time on the ropes.  I’d say they were daredevils, but I went on with Lily last time, and the scariest part was the stairs between the levels.  This time Bob went to supervise Lily and I took pictures.  Lily wanted to go swimming, so we went to the pool in Spruce Grove, which is only a few minutes from Stony Plain.

We finished off a decent week with a good move. Packing the trailer went well, and the hookup was probably the best we've done. Backing into the campsite tonight also went smoothly.  We’re getting it figured out – yay! We’re starting to figure out a system that works for us (and reduces the yelling and hair pulling - our own, not each other’s).  We knew it should get easier with time, but it is nice to see it actually happening. Tomorrow we’re going to check out Sturgeon Lake, and hopefully find a beach or play area for the kids (and us).  

Modify!

A few things about the trailer just weren't working for us. All of them, we probably could have lived with if we were just camping a few times a year. But we aren't camping and the band-aid solutions that might work for a few weeks are not going to cut it. This is our home and I am not interested in band-aid solutions. 

Time to modify! This week is a perfect time to tackle a few mods. We’re past the frenzy of moving in, don’t have any major urge to sight see (we lived in Edmonton for 10+ years) so can focus on really making the switch from vacation mode to “living”.  Plus, our friends here in Stony Plain have a garage full of tools and were willing to lend us some. Thanks guys!

Number one on the list – the cat box.  We have a cat. We have chosen to bring her with us on our travels, and that, of course, means we bring her litter box. So far it has sat beside the dinette for lack of a better place. That got old about 3 days after moving in. Definitely not ideal, but it had nowhere else obvious to go, until I opened up the panel under the tv. Voila!  Plenty of unused space just asking to be repurposed. Bob built a platform to protect some of the electronics, and sealed off the back, which was open to where the furnace & hot water tank are housed. 

 I’m sure Munchie would love being able to hide back there, considering she doesn't have any hidey holes in the main area, but I really don’t want to have to crawl around through the underbed to fish her out. And guaranteed she’d go down there right as we’re getting packed up to travel. Anyway, the cat box fits perfect, and best of all, is no longer out in the open. We do need to be careful moving it around though, as this space is also where all the wiring runs to the fuse box. We've intentionally left the front panel off for now. I want to see how much space Munchie will need to get in & out before making it look pretty.

Next up – the kids room.  The dinette in their room has the typical under bench storage.  There’s plenty of room underneath for toys or whatever, but getting into it meant dismantling that side of the bench.  The kids would do this and then (of course!) the cushions and plywood would be left out, along with all the toys.  What a mess!   An easy solution – open up the side.  This was a pretty simple job with the small jigsaw.  But so satisfying.  Ideally I’d like to install a pull out drawer (like the pull out pot drawers you can buy, but solid instead of wire), so that space would be more like a toy box. 

Bob got a new TV for the main area. The old one’s picture wasn't that great and this week we discovered that it can’t pick up over-air digital signals. He had brought along his 18” monitor, thinking it could replace the TV, but it has no inputs for the Wii or HDMI, and that all runs through the TV, not the blue-ray player, as he thought it might. So he wandered over to the local The Source store and picked up a 24” TV.  It doesn't quite fit in the housing, so now he gets to modify that too! (Gee, talking electronics really hammers home the difference between camping trailer and house –for me at least.)

There are still many other changes to make, and I know it will be a continual work in process.  A lot of it is typical home stuff -  hanging pictures, finding places for everything (shoes!!!), and moving things around so they’re in the most logical (or convenient) spot. There’s a fair bit of trailer maintenance to do too – resealing, killing rust and repainting the frame. I also want to change out some (or all) of the lightbulbs for LED ones. And then there are things that are specific to living in an rv.  The “wiggle” is one that will need to be addressed at some point. People move and the trailer moves. I think it bothers me most of all, since I already have some issues with my ears. It’s not comfortable feeling like I’m rolling in the ocean when I am on solid, dry land. If I wanted that I would live in a boat!

Sure, we’re missing out on some fun activities here, and this week feels extremely slow and lazy compared to last. But what we’re doing right now is every bit as important as exploring and learning. With every change we make, and every “household” task we do here, this feels more and more like our home. Which means that when we get back to exploring we can do it as a family, ready to face whatever the outside world offers up because we've got our own comfortable place to come back to each day.  

Achoo, achoo!

This is the sound I hear from my daughter every day. She has never shown any allergies before, but since we've moved into the trailer she sneezes.  A lot.  At first we thought she had a cold, or was sensitive to the pollen, but I started noticing a pattern. Anytime we’re away from the trailer she stops sneezing.  We return and she starts up again. And this pattern has been repeated enough now that I’m confident something in the trailer is bothering her.

This is an unexpected and definitely unwelcome result of our move into the trailer. My little miss is already having a hard enough time with the transition into our mobile lifestyle.  She certainly doesn't need this on top of it!

But, I guess I shouldn't be entirely surprised, considering the trailer has been gathering dust, and who knows what else for years. Every time I wipe down something in here, it comes away grubby – dusty, dirty, and greasy. Yuck! Obviously our new home needs a deep clean. Walls, floor, ceiling, all the blinds and valances, fabrics, cushions. Everything!  

My main goal right now is to make Lily comfortable and get rid of whatever is making her feel unwell (plus having a nice clean home).We’ll look at the remodel aspects of it later (J heh heh heh)

If anyone has suggestions on what to do, products to use, or what to remove, please send them my way. 

Some thoughts on “Home”

We’re parked in Stony Plain until Friday.  Long enough to rest and relax and hopefully get some “admin” type things done. We also need to figure out our route for the next leg of our journey. This should be a good spot to do that.  It's close to a major commercial center, friends (who have tools!), and familiar enough that we know where to find what we need. The campground has many longer term stays and so is pretty quiet.  Their showers are hot, clean and free, which makes me very happy. J Bob has always bugged me about my long showers, saying I take Forever! Ten minutes is not forever!!!  But, it was a consideration that I’d have to give those up when we moved into the trailer.  It’s nice to find that’s not totally true. And it makes for feeling more at home.

This brings me to an ongoing family discussion from since well before we moved out of our house. What is home?  Is home a physical place that doesn't move (your address; your house – which technically we don’t have anymore)? Is home where all your stuff is (regardless of if you’re there or not)? Is it where you are? Or is it something else entirely?

I feel that home is wherever we (and the stuff we have with us) are. Every time we have traveled (albeit we have never gone very far away) I find myself saying “Time to go home” and I mean to wherever we are setup at that moment.  It could have been a hotel room, the grandparents, someone’s house, or in our own trailer (or tent trailer before we bought this monster). 

Bob says he’s moved enough in his life that he’s home wherever he is.  In his words “Maybe that means I’m adrift. But with the internet and cell phones nowadays people can get a hold of me wherever I am”. 

So Bob and I view it relatively the same way. The trailer is now home because that’s where we and our stuff are. That’s not to say the change isn't a bit uncomfortable at the moment (and that we don’t squabble as we figure out our way into this new life), but we know it’s a work in progress. 

The kids are having a harder time making the adjustment. Lily feels that home is a physical place. Home to her has always been an address, and there has only been one. We moved out of our house in Airdrie almost three weeks ago and I’m pretty sure she’s missing that stability. In those three weeks she has been to 3 different campgrounds and in front of my parent’s house. Today she said “This isn't our home. This is our trailer. Homes don’t move. If we stayed in this campground and our trailer didn't move, then it would be home.” 

Morgan has been telling everyone he meets that we now live in the trailer and are traveling around North America, but I've noticed that he has shifted his story from “We’re going to travel for a long time” to “We’ll move into another house soon”. I haven’t actually asked him directly about what “home” means to him since we moved, but will have to soon. He’s gone to bed for the night, so will ask him in the morning.  edit: I asked him and in his words "Home is shelter and family and happiness".  I asked if the trailer is home and he said "It will be."

Both are acting out more, misbehaving, and giving “attitude”. I know it’s in part due to the changes that have occurred in their lives. There have been several days this past week that I have wanted to have a monumental tantrum worthy of any three year old, complete with stomping my feet, throwing things around and screaming and yelling and pouting. So, how can I blame my kids for the same?

Sure, it all sounds so simple on paper, before it all actually happens. Reality is a bit different - we've just upended our whole lives and given them a good shake! In the frenzy of preparation, there isn't really time to think about after.  But now that we’re here (and still in transition,) right now, nothing feels “normal”. We’re all realizing that it’s going to take a lot longer than a few weeks for everything to settle again and find our new groove. Until it does we’ll just have to muddle through as best we can.  And figure out how make the trailer become “home” for all of us.