We continue westward, saying farewell to probably the last social encounters we’ll have on this trip. Fitting that it was to Trisha and Ralph because they are among our longest known Altoiste friends.
The drive along the Trans Canada Highway is nothing short of spectacular. There are vast fields of wildflowers running along the fields by the roadway. Every so often, you come around a bend and see bodies of water ranging from lily filled marshes, to huge expansive lakes. I’m telling you, from the perspective of a native Californian, the sheer amount of water in this area is just crazy. Forget oil pipelines, let’s talk H2O.
All the while, we were both relentlessly searching for moose.
We did take a side trip to the famed and hallowed halls of Canadian Tire. There, we were able to fill our propane tank, purchase a torque wrench, and reject a whole host of screen shelters. I’ll be honest, I’m having an awning/screen room crisis. I have been for four years though actually, so it’s nothing new. I am still in search of the perfect combination of things that will create shade when it’s hot, shelter when it’s raining, and bug protection when it’s buggy. But it can’t be a pain to put up or take down. Or fall down when it’s windy. Or…. get wet. … or block the view out the windows… or be huge to haul. I think I may have to ultimately admit that I’m looking for competing features and can’t actually achieve this awning nirvana. I am moving closer and closer to developing a line of huge sombreros with bug netting hanging off them. They’ll be really nice though. Probably blue.
The road out to the park was ok until it disappeared and became gravel. Actually, that’s a lie, there were patches where the potholes were pretty serious, making the gravel sections nice in comparison. It was worth the effort though, as this park feels genuinely naturey, and yet, has electric hookups. I will say though that the power pole is pretty far away. This is now the second time we would have used a 50′ extension cable if we’d had one. Still waiting to use the 50 amp to 30 amp converter, portable grey water tank, or cute blue plastic cup I got to hold margaritas.
We lazed away the afternoon and enjoyed the pitter patter of a late afternoon rain. It’s been a while since I’ve heard the rain in Dory and this is a pretty nice place to enjoy it.
Still looking for moose.
Total miles: 147.8, 17.1 mpg, 4 hours 9 min. Site 36. Electric hookups, but the pole is pretty far away and shared with the next site.
Wow! I totally agreed on finding the right portable room for our 1723. In just over one year of ownership I’ve used it 4x and I am not impressed with the Pahaque design. It seems to fall short on a number of fronts. I had considered surveying Altoises owners for alternatives. Keep me posted on alternatives designs.
I’m finding any design to just not quite do it for me. The truth is, when we’re doing a lot of jumping I’m probably not going to put up anything outside. I’ve looked at all of the screen room type things and I’m not feeling like putting up one of those either. I think I’ll just invest in bug repellant clothing.