September 9, 2005

September 9, 2005

Lorette / Winnipeg to Riding Mountain National Park, Manitoba

YEAR 2 DAY 84

 

Today was sunny and warm.

This morning after showering, I helped Joanne clean the windows outside the trailer, and I lubricated the bed slide. Both these jobs needed a ladder, so we took advantage of being able to borrow a ladder from Bud while we were staying in their yard. We're going to buy a folding RV ladder at Camping World once we're back in the U.S.. I did regular preventive maintenance on the truck, then hitched up to the trailer. We went inside the house to have a long, leisurely lunch with Sharon, Bud, and Andrea. After lunch we departed.

We drove on Hwy. 207 to TCH 1 where we stopped at the Petro-Canada service station at Deacon's Corner to buy diesel and adjust the air pressure in the trailer tires. It was difficult to manoeuvre the trailer into position beside the air station, only to discover that the compressor's maximum was 60 P.S.I.. The trailer tires take 65 P.S.I.. I had to drive out of the car & RV side of the service station, around the back of the service station, and back in on the commercial truck side. The commercial truck side of the service station had an air station able to inflate to 65 P.S.I.. Trans-Canada Highway 1 to Winnipeg's Perimeter Highway 100, south around the city from the east side to the west side, then back on TCH 1 to Portage La Prairie. At Portage La Prairie we turned onto the Yellowhead Highway 16 to Neepawa where we stopped to change drivers. Joanne drove from Neepawa to Minnedosa, where we turned north on Hwy. 10 towards Riding Mountain National Park. She drove all the way to the park. She has very little experience driving the rig on 2 lane undivided highways. She did very well. At the park entrance gate, I bought an annual National Parks pass, as we are likely to be visiting at least 4 more National Parks in the next year ; Jasper and Banff in Alberta, Kootenay in B.C., and Gros Morne in Newfoundland next spring.

As we entered the campground, we stopped to empty the holding tanks at the trailer dump station. The bathroom grey water tank was full from our 3 night stay in the Danelak's yard. We got set up in a campsite, then I did some maintenance on the kitchen grey water valve. While we were dumping the holding tanks I noticed it needed some maintenance.

I did some work on the computer while Joanne went to shower, then prepared supper. We had supper. I took Bo for a long walk. Joanne washed dishes. I did today's accounting and began work on today's journal entry. We went for a long walk around the campground, then drove into Wasagaming town site to see the business for sale that we're interested in, the Wasagaming Loondromat. At that time of the evening, at this time of the year, it's open but unattended. We were able to look around alone. Very impressive ! Laundromat, Post Office, Internet Café , Smoothie Bar, and ATM in a stand alone building with side and rear parking. Room to park our rig in the back.

DSK