I was so excited to finally reach Canada! Thrilled to spend most of the summer in lush greenery that might not fry my brains with heat. The border crossing was easy as I babbled endlessly to the man about how excited I was.
That changed rather quickly. I realized right away my phone had no internet. Do they not have internet in Canada? I was advised internet/wi-fi would be difficult to find especially as one travels more north, but WHY? It made Canada sound like a third-world country and I know they aren't!
Then I realized I had no cell service...what do I do if my van breaks down? Or I get in an accident? Or I hit a moose? WHY don't I have cell service?
I reached Nelson, a city I had visited about ten years ago without a laptop and without a cell phone. I did just fine back then, but I also remember I did some serious research before this road trip so I knew where to go and where to stay. Nelson used to have a little parking area, covered by trees for boondocking. Not anymore. They still have the glorious food co-op in the middle of town, but they sold me moldy blueberries so I was a little disappointed.
I felt stranded in a foreign country. I found the visitor's center and the woman said when she goes to the states she either has to pay extra for roaming at $15 a day (!!) or buy a new sim card or buy a new American-based phone. I remember my Canadian friend Michele complaining about having to buy a new phone when she was staying in Arizona for the winter. OMG!
The visitor's center let me use their internet and after two hours of research found several free campsites. (I also took note of the wildfires in the northern area of the province and to the east...hmmm.) I was a little concerned the reviews were 12-15 years old!!? Were the campgrounds still free? I decided to head to the Sandon Ghost Town up in the hills. Beautiful little town with a hundred year old power station, museum, old buildings, and a huge collection of electric buses the town is storing for preservation. The store/information center was closed, but there were incredibly friendly people sitting at a picnic table nearby who I found out live and work there to maintain the town. Very chatty and informative regarding the area and history. No one else is there to camp and the camping fee is now $15. Damn.
This was my first paid camping night in six months! I resent being charged so much to just park my van! By this time it was nearly 8pm and I was exhausted from a very stressful day. They also had free internet! OK! I give up! I spent a very quiet night in a beautiful historic town.
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I spent the night really pissed off at the primitiveness of Canada and pondered if this excursion into foreign territory was worth the effort. The landscape was as beautiful as Montana or Idaho. Do I need to see more trees?
I thought I would stay the morning in Sandon, but I awoke early and decided to head back to Nelson doing what I later found out to be the "loop" through Kaslo.
On the way at 6am, I saw my first moose! He was standing in the middle of the highway. When he realized I was approaching (100 feet away), he started running. Running moose are not attractive with those gangly legs kicking to the sides. It was comical. Eventually he jumped off the road and headed into the woods. He was a lot darker than I expected, almost black. Very cool.
When I reached Nelson that morning, I headed to the co-op to buy some supplies, then the visitor's center to use their internet. I found if I park right in the front, I can get wi-fi outside. Then I visited the Ford dealership nearby. The van is running rough. I made an appointment to get a tune up, oil change and new air filter for Tuesday which meant I had three days to kill. I went to Walmart and the woman in electronics told me to check with Verizon to see what they could do about cell service. I didn't realize even without cell service, I can still call Verizon! I sat in the Walmart parking lot in 88 degree weather for THREE HOURS red faced and sweating profusively. After being transferred to five different people, I started crying. I have a plan that provides service to both Canada and Mexico at no extra charge. They got the cell service working, but not the internet. They can't figure out how to add roaming. So the last person attempted to reload the phone, had me turn it off and she said she would call me back in ten minutes. She never did. I still did not have internet on my phone.
At the visitor's center using their wi-fi, I discovered recreation sites often have free camping. Sometimes they are just trailheads. I found what looked like a great camping spot with six sites right next to a lake. Hmmm...it's Saturday which is always a risk, but it's far enough out in the boonies maybe there would be a spot? I drove about 60 km then another 21 km on a rocky dirt road out into the woods that seemed to go forever. I finally found it and it was packed...every site taken. Damn. Now what do I do? Without internet, I can't find another. I considered for a moment just parking on the side of the dirt road which seemed to work until around 5pm then all of a sudden every pickup in the province was racing by throwing dust all over.
My frustration and stress hit an all-time high. If I leave now, I will arrive in the US of A in time to cross the border. If I find a place to stay along the way, I might, but I still would not have internet. I left heading to Washington. I had not planned to enter Washington having lived there most of my life. Washington isn't a bad place, and as soon as I was on Washington soil I felt like I belonged. Washington's gas prices are about a dollar more than anywhere else in the country! Washington also requires you have a Discovery Pass if you want to camp free. (It costs $35.) Since I didn't plan to visit Washington and I don't plan to stay, I didn't want to buy one. So after several frustrating stops checking out campsites, I headed to Coville arriving at 9pm and stayed at the Walmart. Eggs at this Walmart are only $2.96 a dozen!! Everywhere else in the country they are over $5.00!!! Hooray, Washington!
Colville is a darling little town with all kinds of amenities and cool shops! There is a rodeo in two weeks. They also have camping at the fairgrounds but it cost $15 for plain or tent camping. Tempted to stay, but I don't think Walmart would let me stay that long. Most importantly, returning to civilization and I once again have cell service and internet!!! What a relief. Walmart has free wi-fi. I will have to return to Nelson for my Ford appointment, but I've decided between the cell phone difficulty and the wildfires, I will stay in the USA and venture into Canada only when I get to Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. Maybe my phone will work by that time?
No photos. Too much stress to even consider taking photos.
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