Running out of Water

It was hard for us to leave Banff National Park. Our experience allowed us to live a few days in the romantized version of “vanlife” and fulfilled our dreams of what we had hoped this adventure could be at times. But, there is always something new to see and we had a long way to go across the country.

Before we headed out we still needed to stop in the actual town of Banff. The charming mountain town was alive and crowded with tourists shopping and heading out to eat some of the delicious smelling food. We window shopped and had fun browsing through the souvenirs and gifts. We decided on a bag patch and a bumper sticker to add to our collection. We had bought an Oregon bumper sticker before we left, and we had already picked up one from Yellowstone and Glacier. Our goal was to collect many more throughout our journey and fill up the back bumper of our Wander Wagon.

By the time we officially left Banff it was already pretty late. We had picked up some groceries but after being in the mountains for a few days we were in desperate need of potable water and a dump station. We had planned to stay at a casino not too far out of the national park, which we thought allowed free overnight parking, dumping, and water fill-up. However, when we arrived we found the dump station and fresh water were both closed down.

Related Read: It’s a Dirty Job…RV Waste Tank Survival

Panic began to set in a little bit, our tank was literally dry right now and the idea of making it through the night without water made me nervous. Trying to solve the issue, we found a nearby campground and we were able to use their dump, and they did provide potable water, but there was a catch- we needed a hose.

We could have kicked ourselves! We had known many places require you to bring your own hose to fill up your water tank, but we hadn’t run into that situation yet and hadn’t bothered to pick one up from the store. Now it was late and we were miles from the nearest store and we had no way to get water.

Related Read: Conserving Water When You Are a Full-timer

I was really panicking now, and in hindsight I realize I overreacted to the situation. But, we rely so much on having access to running water. We need it to drink, to use our toilet, to wash dishes- everything that makes our current lifestyle comfortable. Now, we did have water in our water bottles and I’m sure the casino would have gladly filled them up if we needed them to, so we definitely weren’t going to die from dehydration. All we had to suffer through was a little added discomfort from not being able to use all of our utilities the way we normally would, and then we would be off early in the morning to find a hose and fill up our water.

Even still, for some reason this situation really freaked me out. It made me realize how much we still rely on our comforts and conveniences, and even though we live in a van we still have everything that we need. It made me realize that I could never be one of those wild souls who hit the open road with a bag on their back and thumb in the air. It made me realize that this minor inconvenience of a temporary lack of clean running water is an everyday reality for a lot of people and how hard that must be. Mostly, it made me realize we still have it so easy traveling in our van, and that we still take so much for granted and have much to be grateful for.

We made it through that night, even if quite grumpily, and the next morning we woke with the rising sun and quickly prepared to hit the road. We still had a bit of a drive before we would make it to a store and water fill-up, but we made it through that as well. What a relief it was to have the water tank completely full, the dishes cleaned, and a working toilet. Truly, it’s the simple things in life.