Oh Canada! Nova Scotia

Northern Maine is nice and cool! Maybe a little too cool or damp as there was condensation on my windshield in the morning. That is not good! I worked for a few hours then made a run for the border at Calais. No line which was surprising! It pays to pick your border crossing carefully. Canadian border agents are so nice! Unlike the American agents, I've never met a mean or snarky Canadian border agent.

I headed through New Brunswick. Not much to see from the freeway so I dipped south along a little highway to Fundy National Park, but only to drive right through going to Alda which is right on the coast. If you don't stop in the park, they don't charge you, BUT Canada has some kind of national park promotion going on and the national parks are free this summer until September 2nd. I stopped at The Lobster Shop and ate lobster roll and seafood chowder all gluten-free! So good!

I so rarely eat at restaurants I had to take photos. I have never had a lobster roll (above). It's just a lobster sandwich. Normally they are on rolls, but they only had gluten-free bread. They are expensive ($29 for lobster roll, $19 for chowder, CAD) which is probably why.

Arrived in Halifax around 7pm or about nine hours behind the wheel. Another butt-numbing driving marathon. It's really windy which means there are few mosquitoes. Perfect weather...low 70s and sunny. I stayed in the Cabela's parking lot. There were two RVs and another van. I like not being alone even if we don't ever speak to each other.

Nova Scotia Provincial Flag

The next morning I drove in circles trying to figure out where Siri wanted me to go. She took me down closed streets and a closed freeway entrance and gave me a street name that was no where to be found. UGH! I finally made it to the Ford dealership in Halifax. The charming young man at the counter got me an appointment IMMEDIATELY! Wow! The mechanic did a diagnostic check (besides the oil and filter change) and his assessment...all my problems are because the OVERSIZED TIRES! Along with a lower gas mileage and the speedometer is off, in other words if it shows I'm driving 60 mph I'm really going 65 mph. Why didn't the Nelson Ford people know this? Why did they sell me these tires? It seems the transmission is trying to compensate for the oversized tires which is why it struggles so much. So he adjusted the transmission to match the tires. Didn't even cost anything, well, other than the extra diagnostic charge. Such a relief!!! I just hope it works because the tires are still on the van.

I attempted to find parking in downtown Halifax so I could visit the visitors center. Yeah right. I gave up. Instead I left for the Fairview Cemetery where the Titanic victims who were pulled from the sea are buried. I drove all over Halifax and then found the cemetery was right across the street from the Ford dealership! Heck, I could have walked over while they were working on the van!! I find I am NOT good with online instructions, Google Maps, and verbal directions. I want a map to hold in my hand so I am visually oriented to where I am. 

The story about one of the few identified buried victims, Michel Navratil, was fascinating. He was from France, and it seems he kidnapped his two young children and was taking them to America. He was a second class passenger and a man so was unable to board one of the few lifeboats, but got his kids on one. His oldest son realized much later in life that his father was buried in Nova Scotia.

I searched for other Nova Scotia visitors centers in the area and drove to the coast to Peggy's Cove on the southern coast:

Peggy's Cove has a wonderful visitors center that gave me all kinds of information. When I asked where to find free camping/parking, she said, "You can park in our parking lot!" What? There are signs that say "No Overnight Parking". She said they put those up because too many people were parking and burning campfires right on the parking lot! They didn't want it to be a free-for-all campground for a bunch of stupid people. So here I am. There is one other van. It's a perfect 67 degrees and sunny.

Ants on a hill...there is no getting away from the tourists.

I love turquoise houses! Other popular colors are bright blue, dusty light blue, and aqua! Yum!

Great hike to the water's edge...

The water is so clear!

I got up the next morning early and went for my walk in the fog. This is the time to see anything with no tourists lurking about! Just me and the professional photographers hiding in the rocks. LOL!

There is a little women's artists' co-op in town called "Hags on the Hill". Outside it has an elderly mermaid carved in wood. I love her:

Then I headed east on the coast. The great thing about Nova Scotia is these little roads are right on the water, unlike Maine where there were no views of the water as I drove. With the mild temperature, the windows were rolled down and the ocean air smelled so good.

My first stop was the Swissair 111 Memorial. The passenger jet with 229 victims crashed in the water off Peggy's Cove and fishermen in the area helped to bring in bodies. It seems the entertainment center wiring caught on fire and filled the plane with fire disabling the flight controls. I can't imagine the horror those people went through in their last moments of life. I can't imagine having to be the ones to search for bodies. There was a bunch of diamonds and a Picasso onboard worth millions of dollars.

I continued down the Lighthouse Route through gorgeous villages like Chester and Mahone Bay.

Love this porch!

I felt really relaxed and less stressed now that I know Big Blue is fine and just doesn't like her tires. I'm trying to slow down and take my time since I hope to stay here through August to stay cool. On the drive I passed this beautiful church and needed a butt break so I couldn't help but take a photo...

.

And then horror struck and I did the inevitable....I ran over a living, innocent if not stupid, critter. Damn! My record was so clean even after driving through Alaska, Montana, Wyoming and the Yukon where wildlife warning signs were posted all over, the critters were all over the roads and too many of them kept jumping out onto the road. This little guy, a chipmunk, I think...let's call him Alvin...just came out of no where and ran in front of my van.

I've read when this happens don't swerve in front of oncoming traffic, don't slam on your brakes so the guy behind hits you, just coast and hope (pray) for the best. This has worked for me until now. I felt a little squish and he was gone. I felt so bad! For hours I kept second guessing myself, Maybe if I would have swerved just a little? Or braked slightly? I've driven 40,000 miles in the last eight months so it was bound to happen, I just hoped it wouldn't. There are too any chipmunks in Nova Scotia racing across the highway...some not so alive now. A few days later a shrew ran across the highway and I did a slight swerve. No squish this time.

I stayed overnight in Port Medlow's lighthouse parking lot. Sunny, 74 degrees, breezy, and beautiful. Very quiet. I was going to stay in the parking lot of another lighthouse, but I read when the fog rolls in the fog horn goes off every five minutes. LOL! No fog horns here.

I spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning the refrigerator. I decided not to freeze anything and use the whole space as a refrigerator this way more salad fixings can fit and maybe I'll eat more salads! It also takes less energy.

I visited the local historic cemetery and learned about "death head" imagery on tombstones. The winged skull symbolizes life on earth is short-lived and death will always win.

It is on the oldest tombstone in the cemetery dated 1783:

I also went to a community history tour which was just an exhibition of old photos in two different buildings. The first building was the "The Warehouse: A Community Event Center". It was basically an old mechanics garage. It had  bit of a musty smell, but tolerable. The other building looked to be from the 1700s, maybe an old community meeting house? The windows looked like arched church windows. I walked in and I was immediately suffocating by the mold so I left.

The next morning I did my early walk in the fog and from a distance I saw what I thought was a dog in the road staring at me. But no barking. Not wishing to wake the neighbors so early, I stopped. I noticed said dog had a bushy tail and two others frolicking nearby. They were FOX! Mama fox watched me closely while the teenagers ignored me completely. I kept walking toward them and I heard her give a little yelp and all three disappeared in the bushes.

The weather here on the coast during the day is fantastic: low 70s, sunny, beautiful. At night the fog rolls in along with the dampness that makes everything outside and inside the van feel wet. I keep the ventilation fan on all night for condensation anyway, damp or not. I was putting my windshield cover up for privacy, but I discovered that creates condensation so now I just hang a towel from the van's headliner. This makes me wonder if most buildings in Nova Scotia or just on the coast are filled with mold. I used to live on the coast of Washington State and I know it's common there. The fog burns off around 10am.

Tried to drive the Lighthouse Route, but I kept ending up on Hwy 103 which is boring until I started ignoring Siri and just went the route I wanted through Liverpool, Sable River, Lockport and Shelburne. Stopped in Shelburne to walk the historic Dock Street right on the water. It reminded me of England. 

Next I visited Hawk Beach near Clark's Harbour. The beaches here are a little "wild" - out in the middle of nowhere. I envisioned jumping in the water for a nice swim. The temperature was only 70 degrees and I think the water must have been about 40 degrees.  I strolled down the beach in the water instead. No jumping. No freezing. The ocean air smelled heavenly.

Love this purple house!

I want this Sundae Bench in my future backyard!

Even the porta potties are pretty!

Once one gets to the west coast the choice of routes changes from Route 1 more along the waterfronts which is called The Evangeline Trail and the highway is 101 which is the boring in the bushes option.

Yarmouth was nothing special. Lots of stores. Walmart doesn't want overnight parking. Blah. Situated just a little bit off the coast, Yarmouth was hot and muggy! I high-tailed it back to the coast, but there were so few camping options! I ended up driving a lot further than I expected and parked on a road between Belliveaus Cove and St. Bernard that dead-ended at the beach. I'm always worried in these little communities if the locals might get nervous with strangers, but I was left in peace. I met two lovely women the next morning out for a beach stroll and they said many people park here for a night. They don't care.

This is in the Clare District that is predominantly French so there are Canadian and French flags all over. There are several massive churches in the area. This first one is Sainte Marie Church in Church Point. It is the tallest wooden church in North America. I had to take a photo through a chain-linked fence so it's not good.

This one is Sacred Heart in Saulnierville:

The coolest one was this Romanesque looking monstrosity, but by the time I took these two photos I was thinking, I am taking too many photos of churches AGAIN! So I stopped.

Next I headed to Digby. Someone told me it was cute. I wasn't impressed. 

I headed to Bear River because info lady said it's on stilts. It is, but it's so small. The tide was out so the stilts are easily seen, but when the tide comes in everything is deep in water. Very quiet little town. They do have some great art galleries.

Then Annapolis Royal. This was a cute town with a nice waterfront promenade with historical displays so you can read and learn about the history. It had a nice health food store.

They also have Fort Anne National Historical Site. Not only are the national parks free this summer, but also the national historical sites. I timed my travels perfectly. Very nice museum in the Officers' Quarters with a Powder Magazine, a "Black Hole" and a Cemetery. There were lots of placards with history...and grass moats.

Then I headed to Kejimkujik National Park & National Historic Site. I did the Mill Falls hike because it was short and it was already afternoon. 

What I didn't realize is you can swim!! See the kids in the background? So I did the hike and I was so sweaty from all the forest mugginess I didn't even bother to put on my swimsuit, I just took off my hiking boots and socks, and got right in with my clothes! OH! It was so wonderful after too many days with muggy sweat clinging to my skin. The water was deep and cool, but not cold.  I smelled a bit like pond scum after since the river has a lot of algae that looks like brown, grassy seaweed. It also gives the water a brown haze so I tried to sponge bathed it off and washed my hair. It felt so good to be sort of clean!

I drove the loop up to Kingston and camped behind the Walmart. I had to seek out mall management but no one was there so I asked security and he escorted me to his boss. She was hesitant although I told her a lot of people have said they were given permission just instructed not to park in directly front of the store. She had me park BEHIND the store. I was alone and I felt isolated in a creepy way. Didn't look like there were any lights until it was dark and then the whole place was lit up like an airport runway with bright lights all along the walls of the stores!

The next morning headed east along the northern coast of Nova Scotia...and then my trip went to hell.

To be continued...

Welcome Back to the Fucking USA

I headed east toward Alberta, Canada. Stayed at the Wapiti Lake Recreation Site just off Highway 3. Lovely site. NO MOSQUITOES! I even took my bug screens off the van. Nice cool breeze, but it's supposed to be scorching tomorrow.

I thought about driving across Canada on the southern border. First, because I had hoped the weather might be cooler. Most people I've talked to have said the states are a lot hotter. I've been watching the temperatures and I don't think so.

Then I got to Alberta and after a few miles of glorious rock mountains (see photo above), the landscape starts looking like Northern Montana or central North Dakota. Flat prairie fields of yellow, dried-up grass or agriculture. Boring. I thought I might as well do the USA route to the east with better access to food and Walmart boondocking. So I headed south from Lethbridge along Highway 4. I was practically the only one on this highway all the way to the border. I think other drivers knew better than to cross at this location.

I've crossed the border nine times so far. Never had a problem, never a delay, and never an inspection. I only encountered one American border agent acting like a bad-attitude asshole. The border at Coutts was huge. Most of the borders I've crossed have been small with a building that is about the size of a large shed.

This Montana asshole border agent was bathed in cologne. He started by asking the same questions: Where are you from? Where are you going? Where did you come from? Normally the next set of questions are along the lines of, "Do you have any alcohol or drugs? Do you have any weapons with you?" Instead he asked, "What do you have in your van?" It threw me. Does he want a list of every item in my van?? So I looked at him quizzically and asked, "Do you want me to list everything?" At that moment his brain seemed to ignite, a light came on in his eyes, and he said, "We do random inspections and you've been selected." Did he not like an answer I gave? Did he not like my tie-dye t-shirt? "Drive to the left, park, and someone will come out and do the inspection." I was kind of excited. I just saw this as an opportunity to write another blog post!

So I drive to the left. Not sure where to park so I just park. And wait. Every border I've been to has signs that read, "DO NOT EXIT YOUR VEHICLE." So I wait. And wait. And wait as instructed. I tend to be one of those people who has too much respect for authority and will follow directions in detail.

Finally I got sick of waiting so I left the van and went into the building. This was a risk. If I wasn't supposed to, would they arrest me? The woman at a desk behind the counter asks if I am the person who is the inspection victim. (No, she didn't say it that way.) Duh. I tried really hard to be quiet, friendly and civil, but I said loudly, "I had no idea what I was supposed to do! He said turn left, park, and someone will come out."

She says very assertively, "He told you to come in." Now I did not want to argue with a border agent who is about to inspect my vehicle. I've heard they can have you empty all it's contents and make your life a living hell. However, I don't appreciate the insinuation that I am old, hard of hearing, or have no memory. Don't gaslight me, bitch!

I tell her I'm glad she's doing the inspection and not the asshole. (I didn't call him that, but I was thinking it.) She asks, "Why?" as if she's caught me in a confession. I say, "Because he's bathed in cologne, I'm deathly allergic to it, and I don't want him near my van." She was fine with that and perhaps took it as a warning.

I continue to wait at the counter...I have no idea what the fuck she was doing for so long. After about ten minutes, she comes to the counter with a form and asks me questions: Where are you from? Do you live on a farm? Where did you come from? Did you spend time on a farm? Did you go hiking? Was the ground dry or wet? Do you have firewood? Seeds? Antlers? (WTF!?) Do you have food? This is in addition the normal questions: do you have weapons, drugs, cigarettes, alcohol, money...I have food. What kind of food? It seems food is worse than weapons or drugs. She reads a list of foods and I respond with either yay or nay. I'm so glad I didn't buy an avocado! I almost did! But I did buy chicken and a red pepper. Food I just bought when I was in Idaho because you can't really get good food in Canada.

Time for the inspection. She follows me out to the van. She's very friendly, cheerful, and conversational as am I. I ask her the proper procedure: does she want to enter through the front door, back or side? She says it doesn't matter so I go through the side since it has the biggest door. She tells me she needs to see the chicken package to ascertain if it's a problematic company or production location. I say, "But it's not in the package. I took the pieces out of the package to freeze them in single serving portions because I am single." 

Oh no. Bad move. She explains about the bird flu epidemic in the states and says some companies that do business in Canada are boycotted in American even if they are American companies! So weird. She will have to confiscate it and the red pepper. I tell her the chicken is organic and expensive. I asked if she can eat them because I hate for them to go to waste. She says no. I bet they do eat them. I bet they keep all kinds of goodies for themselves. I only had half of a red pepper.

I lifted the frozen hamburgers and asked if beef was OK. It was. She also said it was really good I confessed and gave them up because if I hadn't and they searched and found them, I'd be facing a hefty fine. I just said, "Had I known I couldn't bring chicken back over the border, I would have never bought it in the first place!"

I thanked her, we discussed the wildfires on Highway 2, and then she said I'm good to go. I think it's weird she didn't search herself and left it to me. It makes me wonder if my disclosure on cologne allergies kept her from getting in the van or making too much of a stink. (Pun intended.) She did have a bit of a smell on her, but it was windy and she stayed upwind.

The next two hours as I drove through Montana I was a dangerous driver, distracted from ruminating all the would a, could a, should a scenarios, and extremely pissed off. I wonder if she would have let me flip a U-y and return to Canada to stay until I ate my chicken? Why didn't I ask if I could make dinner in their parking lot, cook the chicken, and eat it right there? I had the receipt. Maybe it had the company on it and if I showed her she'd let me keep it? None of these options were presented. What a waste of money!

My anti-Trump friend thinks the USA is a pit of sleaze and double dealings. I just hate they took my chicken.

Just over the British Columbia-Alberta border, before
Alberta got boring

My First Hotel Stay in Twenty Years!

Lake Kootenai

I headed to Nelson, British Columbia, to get Big Blue repaired. This is the fourth time to Nelson so I took a different route north on highway 3A just for the fun of it. This involved another ferry ride across Lake Kootenai. Free! Beautiful!

Big Blue is needing a repair that would involve two days so I had to find some kind of accommodation. I thought maybe if I could find a free campground that was close to town, I could just set up a tent, but Nelson, BC, no longer has many free camping spots. I refuse to ever do AirBnB again after my horrible experiences in Tucson, so I thought I should scope out the various hotels in the area. There were a variety of small hotels, old hotels, hostels, chain hotels, and resorts. I visited a few and asked to see a room. What I was doing is inspecting the lobby, halls, and rooms for intolerable stink. Mold, mildew, air fresheners, chemical cleaners, pets, smoke, formaldehyde, lingering perfumes, bad air conditioning units, etc. Some of the hotels refused to let me see a room. No problem, bad customer service person! Your hotel is crossed off my list! 

Only one passed the test: Prestige Lakeside Resort. My god, I have expensive tastes! Or maybe just an expensive nose! The lobby didn't smell of anything. Neither did the room. Still I worried. Maybe it doesn't stink now, but maybe it will two months from now when I return? Maybe they just showed me the good room?

Prestige Lakeside Resort, Nelson, BC

I made a reservation with Expedia because I thought they gave better prices!? I even made the mistake of falling for the insurance scare so I bought $16 worth of insurance although I'm pretty sure if I did have to cancel, I doubt very much they would have covered anything. "Oh you didn't read the fine print? So sorry for you!" What a scam!

So stressful not knowing what I was getting into! Worried my repair appointment might be cancelled at the last minute. Maybe the mechanic would call in sick? Then what would I do? Would I be able to breathe in the hotel room? Maybe I'd end up sleeping in the resort's lobby? Or outside? Maybe this will not work!? OMG!

I arrived the day before, went to the resort to check the reservation. It was still there! Check-in isn't until 4pm and I had to drop off the van at 7:30am then walk to the resort. I asked if I could bring my luggage early and store it. Yes! And they suggested while I wait to use the hot tub! OMG! They have wi-fi and a little computer desk in the lobby so I could work while I waited.

The van appointment was perfect. The wonderful service manager even called the night before to confirm and make sure the time, date and services were correct. Everything was perfect.

I stayed the night at a rest stop that was up the highway about 7 miles and shared the space with a camper. Again, I like not being alone in these places.

The next morning I dropped off my luggage at the resort, took Big Blue to get her make-over, then hiked to the resort. They told me the price for one night was $249. I said, "When I booked it, the price was much lower!" I looked up the confirmed reservation and the price was MUCH higher, even higher than the hotel price at $289! Damn. How did that happen? Oh! The taxes, and extra fees for nothing, but still I don't remember this price difference? I was feeling really angry until I realized, Expedia gave me the USD price, but I was paying CAD at the counter. Whew! It ended up to be in USD $209. What is the point of booking with Expedia if the price is not discounted? I'm learning. I've never used Expedia. Never again!

I worked in their lobby for a couple hours waiting for the room to be ready, dipped in the hot tub which wasn't too badly chlorinated, but did stink, and swam in the pool (also slightly chlorinated). The room was finished and ready early! It had a slight sweet smell, maybe some kind of cleaner? I turned up the air conditioning, turned on the bathroom fans, and opened the one small window. It was fine!

First line of business after putting my belongings down, RUN A HOT BATH! Aside from river swimming, lake dipping, a few showers at campgrounds, and many sponge baths, this was my first real bath in seven months! It was wonderful!

This is the view from the rooms with balconies on the north side...the rooms rich people stay in:

This was the view from my window: 

Yeah...you get what you pay for! LOL! All I wanted was a great bath and a safe place to sleep! I got that! Five baths in 24 hours. Every time I went to the bathroom, I took a bath! I left the fans on, air conditioning on, and window open all night. Slept great, definitely better than being in the van. So comfy. I survived and it's good to know I can be safe in a hotel if I can find a good, clean one! However, I will do my best to avoid hotel stays in the future. I don't need the stress.

Big Blue got her "make-over" to the tune of $4800 USD! They did a whole lot of stuff and I like that they are watching out for me.

Eastward bound! I'm finally released!

Oh Canada! British Columbia on the Return and A Bit of Alberta

After the AlCan I headed east on Highway 16 toward Jasper National Park in Alberta. Beautiful drive! The scenery in most of British Columbia is a tantalizing green with such clean waters in their rivers and lakes!

The weather cleared through Prince George, but the further east it started raining. The mosquitoes were relentless. Still, all this rain makes for a very green landscape!

I saw another bear and a lot of very graceful deer. The deer here look almost like gazelles. Then I rounded a corner on the highway and came face to face with a deer with a huge rack of antlers! I really couldn't linger or take my eyes off the highway since there was a semi-truck in front of me. God, he was beautiful, a honey colored coat of fur and his antlers were fuzzy. He was like something from a dream just standing there on the side of the road!

British Columbia has signs for "Artisans". I always notice them because their decorative capital A looks like a tent. Underneath the A is what media they practice. I love it they honor their artisans. I don't know if this is done for the whole of Canada or just B.C. and I wonder what the process is for the artists to obtain a street sign?

I stopped in McBride. I still wasn't sure if I wanted to continue to Jasper and Banff National Parks. First, I don't have a Canadian pass so the cost might be too much. Second, it's raining. How much am I really going to see? Maybe I should just detour to Kamloops? But Kamloops is ugly. These are the decisions I'm faced with everyday and they often change my plans on the spur of the moment.

The McBride visitor centre had two lovely and very helpful women. They said, "Yes! Go see the icefields!" Yes, I'd have to pay but it's so worth it. Hmmm...a local woman who I met at the hot springs said she didn't think this park was very impressive.

I found a camping spot at Belle Mountain, a recreation site on a logging road only I'm tired of the dirt and parked at the base which gave me internet. It rained all night and in the morning I decided I'd drive to the intersection and decide then my plan of action. I started driving at 4am! I love driving in the morning when there is no traffic and often wildlife milling about.

I get 87 kilometers from Jasper which is about the same mileage back to McBride and I realize I forgot to get gas! There is a sign post that says the next gas station is 87 kilometers away. So I pull in to the gas station that is right there...they are closed! Most gas stations in Canada have 24 hour access and you just use a credit card. I'm in a panic. I only have 1/4th tank left. Will I make it? This was stressful watching the needle move. I did make it!

Jasper, the town, is delightful. Lots of really cute architecture and shops of all kinds, some gluten-free advertising, but I couldn't find food for the life of me. I walked around, got more Canadian cash, and then headed out on Highway 93 through Jasper National Park.

At the park entrance booth, the woman said, "There is no fee! They aren't charging until September 2nd." REALLY? She spoke French so her English accent was really hard to understand when she explained why, but I just thanked her and went on.

The first hour of the drive was through wildfire destruction, but it soon opened to greenery and the most beautiful lakes I've seen! Bow Lake, for instance, is turquoise! Some of the lakes and many of the rivers were various shades of aqua. Dazzling! When I got to the ice fields, I though the river was just dried up. Not very impressive. There was a Skywalk one could view over the cliff, but the parking lots were so crowded. The traffic at the beginning and then at the end in the lane coming into the park were bumper to bumper. I hate crowds! Every time there was a traffic jam, I assumed there was wildlife. I saw my tenth bear right on the side of the road as I slowly passed all the vehicles stopped to look. I hate tourists!

Alberta has really cool wildlife corridors over their highways.

I didn't do a lot of getting out because of the traffic. There is no guarantee I'd be able to get back on the highway! There was one pull-out with cars trying to cross to get in the opposite lane and they were stopped in my incoming traffic lane! Idiots! I didn't want to be one of those idiots so I just drove. I also didn't want to get out in the rain, and more importantly I hated opening my doors and letting mosquitoes in the van. I've been eaten alive! Canadian mosquitoes are worse than Alaskan!

I drove to the Radium Hot Springs because the visitors centre girls said they were wonderful, not crowded, and free. No, no, no. The parking lot was packed, the price was $15, and way too many people. It was a big tourist draw as was the hot springs down the road at Fairview. The drive to and from Radium was gorgeous.

I kept driving and driving through southeastern British Columbia at Cranbrook, over the U.S. Border, and back into Idaho. I was exhausted from such a long day, but I still managed to go to the car wash and clean all that dirt off the van.