Episode 3 – Getting out of Ontario

Day 6

I left for Thunder Bay around noon time. I woke up in the parking lot and it was so empty, I’ve never seen a Walmart parking lot so empty – with the exception of some people who looked like they were working. I went to the gym and did chest and biceps. Then to Tims to get some coffee and a raison bran muffin, then I took off. Initially I was going to go until a place just outside of thunder bay, but I decided halfway that I would fill up, and just drive all the way to Thunder Bay.

I stopped at a really nice scenic spot on the way which you can see in the video. I didn’t make a chest mounted view of getting out onto the rocks and getting really close to the water, only because the mosquitoes were so bad. Right before I made it to the city, I stopped at the amethyst mine. I didn’t make it to the mine because I thought maybe I went the wrong way, and since the road was so bad, I decided to turn back. I did however find a rock on the gravel road that looks like it has a bit of amethyst on it.

I made it to a Tims and uploaded my videos. Afterwards, I drove by a bar that I had a pretty good experience in when I was here about 7 years ago. I looked it up on Maps and the food looked really good. I figured, hey, it’s my birthday, I might as well treat myself, plus, if it closes at 2AM, that gives me some extra time to edit. However, as I drove by, I saw how busy the area was and I decided I would just camp at the Walmart. It was just my hunger I needed to satisfy. I fell asleep around 1AM. Expenses are:

Tims: $4.60    Gas: $58.35        Tims 2: $2.30    Total: $65.25

Day 7

I woke up at about 4AM for a total of 3 whopping hours of sleep. I tried to go back to sleep, but I wanted to clean myself up, and I had a lot of things to do. I was particularly grouchy, I digress.

I went to Tims, then a gas station to wash my car. I wiped as much of the bug juice that I could off so I could save a little at the car wash, and it’s a good thing. The car wash wanted to charge $1 for a bill to coin transaction. So, I decided to get some gas instead and get the change the regular way. When I went back to wash my car, I put in $3 and it started. I decided I would put in $2 more halfway through, you know, get the job done right. Instead of giving me more time, the nozzle shut off. So, I gave this pathetic excuse of a business one star on Google Maps. I figured it would be the safer thing to do, verses burn the place to the ground. I mean think about it, I put in more money, and in return, I get negative service. No phone number, no employees. Ahhhh!!!

After I got ripped off, I went to Tims to clean things up. I took basically everything out of my car. Things needed to be a little dehumidified. I need to get some things done: I took the front grill off, painted it black, zip tied the bumper, charged all my electronics, soldered the car aux male to 8mm DC female cable, and in general, got everything well organized, as it was getting a little out of hand. I had two or three pleasant conversations with people. I was in my own world, but everyone saw how busy I was. A crappy start to a day, but a pretty good center! West bound!

I got to Dryden around 6pm, phoned my mom, then went to Walmart. I had a nice time picking out my selection while shooting up a bit of conversation with the locals. After I got my beef, cheese, and streak spice, I went around back to fire up the bbq. It was an absolute amazing bbq: I captured some pretty good footage, made some great food, and enjoyed the peacefulness of tmy surroundings. However, ask I was cleaning up, I had kind of a panic situation because the propane was shooting out as I was trying to remove the extension hose. It was a lot more than I have ever seen, so I thought the connector had broken as I used a tool to properly secure the nozzle. It just kept coming out! I ran it over to the trade in at the gas station, and the guy took it off. It kept shooting out, but it did stop. He noticed the tank was pretty much full (I had only used it twice) but I already paid and I was out of luck.

So it pains me to admit how stupid of a mistake this was, but I have never seen this much propane shoot out of a tank, it was coming out from both sides as liquid. I even turned the tank off before I was finished cooking, so I don’t know how there was so much left in the hose (I guess my stove is pretty efficient). All in all, there must have been at least half a pound of propane still stuck in the hose and nozzle, it literally seemed like it was going to shoot out at full speed if I took the hose off. Silly me. Another lesson learned – I was I had already known this as I could have just opted for more expensive per pound, 1lb tanks, saved money (ironically) and room in my car.

After I ate and had everything cleaned up, it was already quite late. I tried to sleep, but it was unbearably hot, so I decided I would instead get an iced coffee and head out onto the road, let the car cool off, and see if I can make it to Kenora. I made it 15minutes out of town before I pulled off the side of the highway and found a really nice place beside a lake to sleep. Expenses

Tims – $7.35        Gas – $25    Got robbed – $5    Tims: $3.85

Walmart – $16.90        Propane – $33.90    Tims: $2.50

Expenses total: $94.50

Episode 3 – Day 8

I woke up to the sound of cars and trucks flying by, the soft rain, beside a beautiful lake. I had to go to the washroom, but there was a sign directly next to my car that said “no dumping” so I left for town pretty early. I got into Kenora and it wasn’t as busy as I thought it would be. First thing was Tims, then Walmart for some muffins! I got a 6 pack of variety muffins, some fancy coconut chocolate, some naan bread, and a sack of avocados. I literally downed 3 muffins with my coffee, and left westbound. I got gas, ate another muffin, made a short video of a lake, and left for Winnipeg. I asked some people for a natural spring, and I headed to a spot where I people said there may be one. They were saying that the spring sources have been tampered with lately. When I got to the general location of the one they thought was still there, a local told me it was gone. I confirmed this myself. I decided I would continue Westbound and find another one

I found one just east of Winnipeg. I asked the locals for directions and that was a good choice, as the location on the map was incorrect. This was a different kind of spring, the water bubble up from the bottom and it was in a ditch. I still got some water though haha, we’ll see if I use it to drink, as I think I made have kicked up too much sediment as I went into the water to get as close to the bubble/geyser as possible. I cleaned my sandals off, then headed to Winnipeg. I was only 25 minutes out.

My first stop was a planet fitness. I did my back exercise, then showered. Now I am here in, you guessed it, another Tim Hortons. So, I am consolidating my notes, and will be doing as much video consolidation as possible. I have way too much video data; it needs to be consolidated. I will be spending at least one day in this city in order to do at least a semi-descent job. I also need to do laundry, clean my car, try to fix the bumper again, and other things. A few hours after I’ve been here, I realized that I locked my keys in my car. How amazing, I get to use my CAA membership!

Tims: $2.50    Walmart: $18.10    Gas: $71.46    Tims2: $6.90    Total: $98.96

 

Day 4 forgots:

Dollar tree: 72% coco chocolate bar – $1.70

Day 5 forgots:

Early morning before I left Temiskaming: Tims – $2.05    Black paint for my car in Timmins – $8.41

After my article: No frills – $18.99        Gas – $59.95

Forgotten expenses: $91.10