from Castlegar

Castlegar RV Park & Campground

Site #16 - $32, p/w/s, cable, Shaw Open, Temp 15C

We arrived at 2:30 pm (but time change) and sat out until 7 pm before a warmed up rib dinner.

We are enjoying a lazy morning over coffee this morning. No reason to hurry as our next stop, Osoyoos is just a couple hours away. It was 15C when we arrived yesterday, so we were able to sit outside. Really liking what I'm seeing for the upcoming days!!

chilly camping

When you are camping and the temperature is 1C and dipping to -7C at night…??
Oh so thankful for a condo, with a fireplace.
Girlfriends have left and we are certainly enjoying one more night here!

Last Evening in Fairmont

The girls left this morning. They were up at 6 am and on the road by 7:15 am. With the talk of snow showers, we were a little worried about the highways, but all was fine. Crazy weather!

Ron didn't come over to the condo until after 9 am, so I had a few hours of quiet time. The water hose on the RV had frozen up last night. The temp was -4 out when he got up. Not ideal camping weather.

Ron arrived with his laundry and we did two loads before lunch. It is handy that the condo unit has a washer and dryer! It was back to the RV for lunch and now we are back at the condo again. We plan to hang here for the night. We have leftover spaghetti from dinner two nights ago. That will be our supper.

We will be checking out of here and the campground tomorrow morning. We plan to spend tomorrow night in Creston or Castlegar. And then it is on to Osoyoos.

The weather is warming up for the weekend. Yay!!

Back at the Condo . . .

I was the first one up this morning, so caught up on a few emails etc.

We have been busy. The girls did some walking and shopping yesterday while I sat on a bench with my iPod listening to a book.

We cooked a salmon for dinner last night and then went for a soak in the condo complex hot tub. The condo is decent with 2 large bedrooms - king beds and hide a bed in living room. Full kitchen, laundry and 2 bathrooms, so we are very comfy.

I am not sure plan for today.. lots of visiting taking place though.

Ron and I are in touch via Direct Messages on Twitter then we can connect with the walkie talkies. The campground is just down the hill from our condo.

He has been busy visiting with the yard keeper, walking, driving, biking plus he continues to update the family tree and scanning in more info.

Time for a second cup of coffee and I believe I hear some stirring.

Going Our Separate Ways

Ron and I did some sightseeing and scouted out the condo where I would spend the next few days.

After some misinterpreted text messages with the girlfriends, and one too early arrival at the condo, we finally connected. Just in time for happy hour. Us girls enjoyed drinks, dinner at the Farside Pub and Eatery and we spent the evening catching up. Good times as always.

Back at the RV, Ron finished cooking up the chicken stirfry I had organised for him and settled in for the first of five nights on his own.

Fairmont Arrival

Spruce Grove RV Resort

Site #242 - $38 (6+1 free), p/w, Internet, Temp 12C

We decided to drive the distance to the Fairmont. The campground office was closed, but we took our chances and set up for the week on a spot overlooking the Columbia River.

The Eagle has landed!

The weather was awesome and we sat out for a beer. That lead to a cocktail around the campfire. We didn't have wieners to roast, so we opted for barbecued sausage and sauerkraut. A great start to the season!

The 2013 Season Begins at Fairmont, BC

9:26 am - That would be the time we rolled out of the city for our first RV trip of the season. The sun was shining with a temp of 4C. We are hoping for an upward trend!

Our first night? Fairmont Hot Springs . I begin this trip with a girlfriend weekend. The five of us have a condo rented and we will be celebrating 2013. The year that we turn 60 (ouch). My friend Sandy leads the way with her birthday tomorrow.

Ron will camp and entertain himself for a few days. We will likely meet up at the hot springs a few times and he has a stack of movies and some reading to keep him busy.

We will be pulling off for lunch soon. Pincher Creek and the mountains are just ahead. We are seeing a lot of snow in those mountains and it is windy. Temp is now 12C though.

So, updates will follow - but maybe not much until next week . . . Let the good times roll!

Tuesday, and Home Sweet Home . . .

Horrific winds on Tuesday. Thankfully they let up a bit as the day went on. I was wishing we could go home, but Ron had paid for tonight. I spent most of the day reading indoors. Ron did lots of campground wandering and along with all the junk, um... trinkets, he found an 512 MB SD card. Someone is out 4 moose with young pictures and we have more free storage. Watched another movie "Unstoppable". Also had phone visits with Greg and Jeff and passed along some birthday greetings.

Still pretty windy on Wednesday. We packed up and were on the road home by 10:30. It is always a bit sad to unload and winterize. Our fall camping season was much too short this year.

Sunday, Monday

Sunday morning the day started off nice but unfortunately the wind came up mid afternoon and proceeded to get worse as the day went on. We shortened our campfire time and cooked indoors. A good movie night. "Source Code" it was.

We woke up to a calm beautiful day on Monday with temps hitting 18C. We drove to the Acquaduct National Historic site. It was closed but Ron climbed the fence to read the plaques and take some pictures. He was impressed by all the stats on this expansive irrigation system that was built by the CPR in 1913-14. We picked up a few groceries at the Brooks IGA and then drove through the Newell Lake Resort before heading back to camp. Another campfire evening.

Newell Lake near Brooks, AB

Kinbrook Island Prov Pk
Site #H121 - $27, p only, Cell, Temp 14C

The forecast is showing 14C to 20C weather for the weekend, so we make plans for our final 2012 season hurrah in the RV. These warm temps seem to be mainly in the Medicine Hat area, so we decide we can't venture too far. Kinbrook Island Provincial Park it is. We will have power, but no water, so we bring along a couple of 5 gallon jugs. We will stay until the water runs out or the weather gets too cold. Which ever comes first.

There are three units in the campground, and four more arrive after us. When we woke up Saturday morning we were very surprised to see a tent trailer beside us. A young couple with two young boys. They ended up staying only the one night as one of the boys developed a fever. So much packing and driving (from Calgary) for such a short stay.

We were treated to some awesome sunsets and enjoyed the beautiful fall colours, but mainly we just revelled in the peacefulness. Our last campout of the season. We road our bikes around the campground, through the cabin area and along the nature path. About the only nature we saw, aside from a few ducks, was an abundance of cow pies. One had to look down at all times to avoid disaster!

Our campfires were started early and be burned a lot of wood. Luckily the 'wood scout' came through with a successful find at the group campsite.