Since we left Vancouver Island on July 20th, we’ve been heading east across BC.
The ferry ride over to the mainland was much more enjoyable than the one from the states to the island. The weather was hot and sunny and we managed to spend the entire 90 minute trip on deck...some great scenery but no whales. Too bad!
Thought we’d camp somewhere near Vancouver but had no luck finding RV parks until we got out of all the downtown area and out past Port Moody to the village of Anmore. The campground there was 1K from the Bunzen Lake Recreation area so got in some good biking. Actually some of the toughest biking yet, we went on an old logging road that was gravel but had some deadly hills...one in particular that we could barely push our bikes up, riding wasn’t possible! Great workout.
Also dragged Dave back to Stanley Park in Vancouver which I thought was impressive, but he didn’t appreciate it after the hr drive thru lots of traffic to get there. Not one of our better days but hey, I guess they can’t all be good.
From there we headed to Merritt, it’s northwest of all the fires that were going on in the Okanagan Valley. Stayed at a park right on the Coldwater River. Nice place, lots of trees and not too many other RVs, apparently the wild fires have really hurt their business since traffic from east to west is taking a slightly different route as a result. The river was pretty low but that made it easy to walk along and on the way, there were a number of deep spots that made great whirlpools...and the temperature was perfect for cooling off and staying in for a while to enjoy the water flow.
For the past week and bit we’ve been in Revelstoke at our niece Natalie’s place. They have a B&B (not anymore, it’s been sold) and we got to stay in the loft for a few days before some weekend guests came. Nat and Dave did a great job designing the loft, it’s a very comfortable set up! So much bigger than the trailer!
The pic on the left is us at the big grizzly statue in the middle of Revelestoke.
We’ve done quite a bit of exploring here. Dave and I went on a 4 1/2 hr. sub-alpine hike to Miller lake with Natalie in the back country of the Mt Revelstoke summit. The scenery was incredible and the wildflowers were in full bloom so it was unexpectedly gorgeous! Got some great pictures.
Not so nice though were the bugs! They were the worst we’ve encountered on our travels so far. The deer flies were HUGE and incredibly annoying...plus we didn’t bring bug spray, DUH! Not sure it would have helped fend off those monsters anyways. Thank god for the bandanas we brought, they made the perfect fly swatters. because for some reason, they picked on Dave and I more than Nat! Guess they like the taste of the tourist blood better than the local flavor. Lucky us!
Dave and I also did an afternoon hike to Marion lake in Glacier National Park about an hour drive east from Revelstoke. Although it was only 3 hours round trip, the hike up was uphill all the way, a 425 m change in elevation....and it was one of the “easier” ones. There were a few hikes up to the Glaciers that were 4 hours one way, uphill and steeper than what we did. Would have been nice to get up there but not in shape for that just yet...working on it though!
We also had the pleasure of taking Jax (Nat and Dave’s 3 yr old yellow lab) with us on that hike and I have to say that I’m in LOVE! Those of you who knew Newton will know why when you see pictures of Jax. I swear it’s Newton reincarnated and he’s the sweetest thing. I’m really, really tempted to stow him away with us in the trailer when we leave but I know they’d miss him. We sure do miss having our own dog. Check out this ALBUM!
Dave and Dave have also been out doing some dirt biking on some back woods roads that is testing my Dave’s motorcycle skills but I know he’s having a great time. I felt a lot better about him being out with someone who’s a lot more experienced and who knows the area well. Especially with all the wildfires that are happening in Arrow lake area they were in.
We’ve been to a couple of local beaches, enjoying the opportunity to cool off and view the scenery, even though it’s been through a smoky haze by the end of our time here. Revelstoke is a very scenic area, mountains and rivers everywhere! Again, so much to see and do, so little time.
Check out the rest of the Revelstoke and surrounding area pictures.