Once I got settled in with groceries and started on dinner, I realised that I was feeling really unsettled. I couldn’t figure out why because the feeling didn’t have anything to do with being in the States. And then it hit me.

This is the first time since landing in Dawson in June of ’09 that I don’t know what my next step is going to be. Once I got settled in Dawson, I knew what was next: a Vancouver Island winter then a second Klondike summer; the fall in Osoyoos then the RV show. I didn’t want to make any plans for after because I didn’t know what doors, if any, the show would open for me. The only certainty for me right now is that I have guaranteed jobs in the Yukon this summer if I need them. I’m sitting where I was at the end of April ’09, staring at a gaping unknown, only this time I don’t have anywhere near the financial safety net I had back then. I put everything I had into getting the seminar and book ready and there really is very little left with which to pick up the pieces. I have no regrets. I finally made my mark on the world, and is that not what we all want, to leave something meaningful behind?

Being in the States for a couple of months is going to stop the financial bleed and give me time to focus on something other than sheer survival. I’m at a lovely park that is costing me a third of what I was paying in Osoyoos. Plus, all the parks in Vancouver said that a ‘month’ is from the 1st to the 31st, so I would have paid for 30 days and only gotten 21 (still cheaper than daily or weekly rate) while the folks here assumed that wanting to stay ‘a month’ meant staying till the morning of March 8th. Groceries are also much, much cheaper. Gas prices are a joke. Even though I can’t technically work in the US, the laws are clear that I can continue with my existing contracts with non-US clients and I’m pretty sure it would be okay to work on another book so long as I don’t market it until I get back to Canada. So, I’m really in a good place to pause for a bit and figure out the next stage of this wondrous, crazy life of mine.

As I said in my seminar, I started from scratch when I hit the road and I have to be patient as I figure out how I’m going to make it. I remain committed to the open road and know that many fantastic adventures lie ahead. I’m just a little discombobulated right now from the adrenaline of the last week. Settling back into a semblance of a routine is going to help. So is knowing that I’m going to Seattle this weekend to meet up with a longtime blog reader/friend and that I won’t have to factor an hour’s wait at the border both ways ‘just in case’ in my schedule!

I’ll finish off with a few random pictures:

Miranda parked in Tradex overflow at sunset

Nee this morning, enjoying some rare sunshine

Washington sunset

Washington sunset, redux