#53 A stab in my heart

Hey,

Today there is also an audio version again, so that I don't get too carried away here, especially since I can go into exaggerated detail on a topic, but you'll have to listen to it. 😋 So if you want entertainment for your car ride, cooking, bathing or jogging:

Here you go. It's only an hour and six minutes long 😂

https://bit.ly/3ZPAWzp

So on Friday I arrived in Tatla Lake and nothing exciting actually happened. Jenny and I chatted a bit and toasted my one year here in Canada. At that time, David was still in Alaska for a grizzly workshop. Since the last guests left on Friday morning, I had a free choice of cabin and chose the “Deer Cabin”. This cabin is one of the oldest here (around 1950) and is therefore decorated in a more rustic and minimalist style. This wasn't a big problem so I moved into the cabin and started the fireplace because once the sun goes away it gets noticeably cooler.

Saturday was still time to enjoy the day off. Clean up the car, do the laundry, visit Peter - who has already recovered very well from his heart attack - and paddle a little across the lake. It's always fascinating how clear the water is. The only disadvantage is that you can see all the big fish swimming under you and I don't like that at all (totally stupid, I know 😅) and that's one reason why I don't like swimming here. Another reason is hidden in the sand, in which you can sink up to your knees: leeches. They're not super small either, but are already several centimeters long. You can't see these animals because they hide in the sand, but if you poke them a little with the paddle, they quickly come out and then burrow back in and I definitely don't want such "worms" on my body. 😅

On Saturday evening I was lying in my bed and I knew that we (including the neighbors) had a mouse problem here, so I was less surprised when I saw a mouse running across the other side of the cabin. Honestly, it didn't bother me as long as she just walks there and eats the crumbs. But when she suddenly appeared next to my bed at the bedside lamp, I thought to myself that this was a bit too close and when I suddenly saw her running across my bed covers, it was time for work. My things were packed and I moved into the “Eagel Cabin”.

Sunday was my first day at work and I had to rebuild the terrace. The terrace? Yes, exactly the one I remade before my road trip. Jenny suddenly claimed that it was no longer big enough and that I had only built it temporarily anyway. No actually not. If I had known that Jenny wanted it bigger, I would have made it bigger from the start?! Once again a point that made me think... Oh Jenny...

So it was time to dig holes for the cement blocks, cut wood and enlarge the terrace. It actually took less than 48 hours and I had already sustained three good injuries. 😅 It's incredibly hot here when the sun is shining (we can easily reach over 30 °C) and that's why I don't wear my hiking boots (my only sturdy shoes) and walk along here barefoot. Unfortunately, Jenny only laid the wooden floorboards but didn't screw them into place. Some of the floorboards have now shrunk a bit and so I once kicked a corner and got a good wound there. The main thing was to get into the house quickly so that I didn't bleed all over the new floorboards. 😂 The other wounds are on my hand, where I got a cut and slipped off the screw with the cordless screwdriver and I relieved myself of a good little piece of skin on my index finger. 😅 Perfect start into the working world. 😂

David came back on Sunday and I actually wanted to show them both photos from my road trip. But David always needs some distance from people after a road trip and doesn't feel like talking too much, and Jenny has been so booked up the last few weeks that she also wanted some peace and quiet. I found it a bit unfortunate, but also completely understandable. So I spend most evenings at the lake again and treat myself to the sunsets here. ❤️

On Monday evening a nice thunderstorm came over us, which felt like it had rained out on Tuesday morning. It was so disgusting. Cold, wind and constant heavy rain, you really feel like working outside. Especially when the sun comes out from midday onwards, the temperatures suddenly rise to 20°C and it's just humid. In the end, the terrace took me almost three days. Really embarrassing actually. 😂

When that was over, I moved on to my next project...drumroll...the next terrace! HUHU, why not?

To do this, I first had to “dig” the area free. Since the bistro (the large complex on the right) was dug too deep at the time (I don't know how to do that), I have to add a few centimeters. To this day I don't know how Jenny plans to compensate for the height difference later, but that's not the real problem. The real problem is that this shitty area consists of 90% stones and no lie, at least every third hit with the pickaxe hits a stone. Now you can take a pickaxe and hit a stone with full force and then you will have a feeling for how much energy you put into the hit comes back into your arm and shoulder. This is not only incredibly annoying, but also incredibly painful after a while. In just a few days I have physically aged 60 years here, a massage would actually be right for me now. 😂 It's really really hard, especially when it never ends and you burn in the blazing sun.

I also asked Jenny why they didn't rent an excavator, as it would really be worth it for the size of the area, because after five days, embarrassingly, I haven't even finished the surface area of the terrace. The reasons why she doesn't rent an excavator were once again “Jenny typical” and once again something... well...

Since Jenny and David enjoyed their quiet time in the evenings, I went to Jordan's a few times. By the way, he almost completely sawed off half of his thumb three weeks ago (it's dangerous to live here😅). Annoyingly, he had to drive all the way to Willams Lake with this subtle cut he sustained with a circular saw because our doctor was here on vacation. He also showed me a photo of his thumb and let me put it this way: I could have done without it. 😅 Until a few days ago he was supported by his daughter, who was visiting and she picked up two cats on the way here, someone must have abandoned them. They were really sweet.

And that was actually my week, as I hadn't really done much apart from the terrace and digging.

Yesterday, Saturday, I went to Williams Lake very early. The temperature jumps are so dramatic... the weather forecast said it would be over 30°C, so I started the day with shorts and flip-flops. But it was only 3°C in the morning and I was freezing. 🥶On the journey I saw coyotes in addition to the cows and wild horses and then I was in town on time for the workshop appointment. I've had a squeaking noise in my car since my second place to sleep (this was between Pemberton and Whistler). During an inspection in Castlegar, the mechanic told me that it might be the left wheel bearing, which I should fix as soon as possible.

I wanted to have this repaired yesterday. After the diagnosis, the employee told me that I needed to have the left wheel bearing and something on the right side repaired. I have no idea what it was exactly, I just nod my head when I hear English terms like that. 😂 These two things would have cost around $400. However, he told me since I have a four wheel drive that it would be better to replace the parts on both the front and rear to ensure even wear. However, this would then cost up to $1200. That was the first shock and I really had to think about what I was going to do next. I told Sam (employee's name) about my future plans and that I had to go back to Germany soon anyway. He then said that it might be... It would even be good enough and I wouldn't have to force it to be repaired. I was about to agree to that when his employee came in and the two of them went to my car. Sam then came back with an expression on his face that made me tell him that it was probably more than $1200 now. After he agreed with me, I was allowed to go into the workshop and take a look under my car and what can I say: my drive shaft or cardan shaft is broken or is only hanging by a thread.

To make it short. Sam told me that the repair won't cost $1,200, it won't cost $2,000, it won't cost $3,000, but it could be up to $5,000. Do you know when you hear bad news and you feel really sick? I could have slapped the contents of my stomach straight onto Sam's counter, that's how bad I felt after hearing that news. With this news, all my further planning for Canada went up in smoke.

My theoretical plan:

Actually, after the workshop, I wanted to put my car up for sale online, but without a sales date, just so that people would have it on their radar. Then I wanted to start my second road trip in a week or two. This would have taken me to the Yukon and Northwest Territories. Up there, where hardly any people live and the wild animals feel comfortable. These would have been the places where I would have actively searched for grizzlies, cariboos, bison, etc. Where there is hardly any light and the probability of northern lights is very high. The north, which can now have temperatures below zero degrees Celsius at night and would therefore be an interesting experience for living in this car. The north, which would have meant very strong isolation due to its absolutely sparse population, and I could think about God and the world.

After this road trip, I would slowly plan my return.

I was really looking forward to this experience (the route was already partially in place) and these plans were “destroyed” yesterday. (So probably no Northern Lights for me 💔) It really felt like a sword thrust into my heart and Sam also noticed that I really wasn't feeling well with this news. 😅 He also told me that part of the shaft could be removed and then I would only have front-wheel drive. But I would never drive to the north of Canada with just front-wheel drive. 😂 I think even my car if it wasn't broken down would have problems, because the highways up there have a completely different "quality".

It was really shitty news, I can't say otherwise. In theory I could also say that I could come back to Germany tomorrow because the road trip was the only thing I wanted to do here before I leave and now I'm stuck here again.

On a 2 ½ hour drive you have time to think and calm down. 😅 I have to say that one or two things have happened to me in my life that even made my family wonder why it always happens to me. 😅 Back then I always swore a lot when I dropped something or something and my roommate once pointed it out to me. So in Germany I always tried to tell myself that you can't change it if, for example, a cup falls down. And so I thought to myself again while driving: Okay, you can't really change anything anymore and unfortunately that's the way it is now. Shit happens - so to speak and to be honest, in a year or two at the latest I won't care anymore. I will definitely not repair this car to this extent because on the one hand I don't have the money and on the other hand that would almost be the purchase price of the car and I don't see that. 😅

With all this bad news, you can still pull out positive things, which I'm really grateful for. If that's what really happened with the wave in Whistler when I hit a rock, then I rode my entire (!) road trip with this broken wave and I'm just incredibly grateful that I'm still alive Nothing happened with CJ and Kate. What an incredible guardian angel was with me.

And even though I'm unfortunately stuck here again, it could have been worse for me. I could have been stuck somewhere in the middle of nowhere or, for example, on my second farm. 😁 But here I have food, accommodation, money, dogs, glaciers, glacial lakes, wild animals, ... so I can actually be really happy.

Now it's time for me to plan how I'm going to spend my time in Canada. It definitely turned a lot of things upside down, but as I said, you can't change it and I have to make the best of it.

Oh and I almost forgot that, on my way back I also drove past a forest fire, which at 75 kilometers away isn't super close, but it's the closest forest fire to us. However, at approximately 1,306 hectares (September 3, 2023), this is a small forest fire that is already under control. However, some burn areas were only a few kilometers from the highway, so if the wind is bad there it could be closed. But because of the size, I don't think so.

Well, that's it for now and so I say goodbye and see you soon (still from Canada of course 😋)

Samuel ✌🏽