Nk' Mip Campground, Osoyoos

Nk' Mip RV Resort
Site #C7 - $224. (pay 6, 7 free) p/w/s/TV
Internet cost

Day 4 in Osoyoos. Time flies, having fun! Richard and Janice arrived shortly after us and we've been busy since.

The Homestead 

We have enjoyed propane fires, soaks in the pool and hot tub, lots of chatter, refreshments and some 'fine dining'. At home. We take turns with the cooking.

Cheers!

Dish duty 

Unfortunately Janice's bike slipped on the bike rack on the drive here and had a rough trip dragging on the highway... End result, a ruined tire.

So yesterday we hit a couple of bike shops looking for a replacement. No luck. Off to the dump we went. And damn, we were a day late. They had just finished doing their medal crushing, so there was no bicycle heap for us to "shop" at. The lady at the gate told us if we'd been a day earlier, we probably would have found something. She was most apologetic.

                   Bike shop employee sleeping on job 

We drove up to Oliver. No bike luck, but Janice found a 'new dress' at the thrift shop, so not all was lost.
The weather has been awesome. No electric heater and the heavy quilt is off the bed. Love it!

                                 Resident Peeler

                             Boys and phones... 

Today? Another bike hunt, another thrift store. And, the thrift store queen was rewarded once again!

Also, Janice had found a used bike advertised for sale back in Oliver so we hit the highway once again. On the way, we side-tripped through an old trailer park and former campground and we noticed a couple bikes thrown up on a pile of garbage. Richard knocked on a door but the garbage and bikes belonged to a different neighbour. However, as luck would have it, this lady had a couple bikes in her carport that she didn't want. How lucky was that?? So Janice has her new bike! Let the bike riding begin!!




We will likely hang here for 2 weeks, Richard and Janice for a week. Son Dave/Sabrina and Doug/Rina are arriving with their tents this weekend.

Midway, BC on the Kettle River

Riverfront Campground

Site #7 - $22 p only (#5 best)

Shaw Internet

Temp 14C

The rain followed us until just out of Midway. But things are looking up! Sunny and warmer today! This is our third stay at the Riverfront Park in Midway. It is such a neat little community and we like our little spot on the Kettle River. However, all but one of the power sites are occupied this weekend. It is not quite as peaceful or as enjoyable as when we have the place to ourselves!

Flowering trees and a great River view

We had a short fire after we set up camp yesterday, but we ended up cooking and eating indoors when the wind came up.

Today we did our bike tour around town and along the River. Not much changes over the years, but there is some new native artwork in one of the parks. We had trouble finding information on this. Anyway.. with a little help from Google: The "Gateway project" was a vision of aboriginal artist David Seven Deers. This "talking circle" is to be used as an outdoor learning centre for young people. The 'arch' or gateway consists of three pieces of Andesite, each weighing more than three tons.

Each rock in the 'talking circle' has a different native symbol engraved on it. Very cool! As is the raven within the circle which is sculpted from andesite and highly polished to black.

Also in the park is the "Entwined Trees". Midway is right on the US border. When the International Boundary Line was being surveyed in 1857-61, a major portion of the large Indian Band in the area moved to the Washington side. At that time, one of the First Nation's people entwined two sapling pines saying "Though divided we are united still, we are one".

We spoke to a fellow as we were leaving the park. He said his wife grew up in this town and remembers running between the entwined trees as a young child. Our history lesson for the day.

Back at the RV we enjoyed reading in the sun. This may or may not have included a margarita. And then more of that 'same old stuff'.... drinks, dinner on the barbecue and evening campfire.

We look forward to meeting up with Richard and Janice in Osoyoos tomorrow.

Yakity Yahk, BC

Hay U Ranch RV Resort

Site #16 - $30 p/w/s

Internet poor

Temp 13C

We are still waiting for warmer temps! Only 4C when we left Little Bow.

Ron realized when he washed his hair with 'no suds' last night that I had brought along conditioner instead of shampoo, so we stopped at Fort Macleod. He ran in for shampoo and I had took advantage of wifi time.

Night 2 was spent at Yahk. Another new campground for us. The setting was nice along the river. But once again, river campgrounds in BC come with the inevitable railway track.

However, we enjoyed a fire and the free wood supply. A moose wandered by across the river which was rather cool.

The two trains that followed? Not so cool! There were two trains overnight, but they were well timed with our pee break, so not too disruptive!

oh look.....  a train....... 

We left Yahk in the rain this morning and another 4C temp. Thankfully it wasn't snowing in the passes.

Oh, and that shampoo Ron bought?? Turned out it, too, was conditioner! Gah... another shop stop in Creston and hopefully we'll have squeaky clean hair tomorrow!

2016 First Campout - Little Bow PP

Site #32 - $33 p only

no cell, water still off

Temp 8C

The snow is gone. And so are we! We travelled a new road to a park we've talked about but never visited before. Little Bow Prov Pk located near Champion, AB - about 200 km from the Hat. It was 6C when we left home.

Little Bow is a nice little park, but like many we have visited, it was perfect because it's 'off season' and quiet. There were only two of us on Wed. night. We would probably avoid the place during 'high season'. Sites are close together and not very private. We were told it is already busy on weekends and is fully booked through the summer. Crazy! There is a nice little marina and beach, but mostly people come to fish the river.

  

We rode our bikes and had our first wood fire of 2016. Just us, the deer and the Meadowlarks. No cell service. No internet. Perfect! Ron did his usual "treasure hunt" after dinner. I choose the electric heater and my book.

Spring Camping 2016??

We've had a warmer than normal winter with very little snow. It has been an amazing spring.  Many days have been spent on the deck. We have made good use of our umbrella. Because, wow.. HOT HOT sun!

And so, on April 24, we bring the 5th wheel home and start packing.  Time to get camping!!

Except Mother Nature had other plans.  Crap! What happened to spring showers??

Final Nights at Dinosaur

Dinosaur Prov Pk
Site #11 - $31 p only, wifi, no cell, water on at store
Temp 14C

I'm a wee bit sad that camping 2015 is coming to an end. What a great finish to the season though.  We couldn't have asked for better weather for mid October.  Well, maybe... camping in AZ and California was pretty decent! But considering that we had decided not to head south, we couldn't have asked for sunnier warm weather!

pretty sunsets

We were 8 nights in the park. Where the Dinosaurs roamed. This wouldn't have been possible without a water supply, so we were very thankful for that. The quiet was amazing. Howling coyotes in the evenings and a few chirping birds was about as loud as it got. We came across a coyote wondering around the campground on one of our bike rides and we awoke to deer nibbling on the bushes outside our 5th wheel.

We drove to Brooks one afternoon for some grocery supplies, but mostly just lazed about and read.  Ron walked a couple of the trails. We had some awesome meals and drank a little wine (well maybe a lot). Good times! I was extremely thankful for the Internet connection as cell service is not available.

hikers on the hill

We were the only ones in the park for a couple of nights, but we were joined by a pair of pheasant hunters and their dog the last two nights.

life as a hunter

So this concludes our camping 2015.  Here's hoping we get to enjoy a few more warm days on our deck at home and maybe a propane fire or two!

a surprise sighting on the hill

October camping at Dinosaur PP

 

 

Here we are Day 5 at Dinosaur Provincial Park.  The weather is awesome for October.  Mid teens and warm sunshine.

Yesterday we rode our bikes around one of the hiking paths. The sign says 'No Bicycles' but that is the joy of off season camping. There is no one around to notice or complain.

Nights have been getting down to lows of -2C but we've kept it at about 14C indoors with our heater. Perfect with the flannel sheets and a heavy quilt.

When we arrived on Wed, there were about 6 units in this campground and if you can believe it, there have been three tenters.  The young lady across the way from us is a free-lance photographer from ON travelling alone with her big dog.  She has been out taking lots of photos with a huge lens.  Her next stop is Jasper.  Brrrr.... I can't even imagine sleeping in a tent this time of year. I like my heater, a comfy bed and a bathroom!!  This weekend, 6 more units have joined us. I'm sure I've mentioned that Albertans love to camp regardless of rain or cold!

 There are a couple of young ladies from U of Calgary doing a bat study in the park.  They have nets stung across the creek in the park and are checking them every 3 or 4 hours, even during the night.

We've paid for tonight and then will make the decision as to whether we will stay or move on. Many campgrounds are closed for the season other than the Prov Pks. Unfortunately water in most of them is unavailable now.  Here there is a tap on the main building that we can fill from so we haven't had to abandon our nightly shower!

Cheers! Barbecued Salmon, Roasted Cauliflower. Yum!

 

the rest of the story . .

We weren't so lucky for our remaining SK Landing stay.  Our 'plenty of sunshine' spot was also open to the wind that came up.  We ended up having one fire in the neighbouring pit with our truck and an upended picnic table blocking said wind.  The mild temp enabled us to sit out quite late however.  We burned much wood!

 



And toured about the park.

 Not so lucky on Saturday. Rain. Cold and wind. We spent the afternoon in SC visiting with mom and later Gail and Mike.  After picking up a few groceries, it was back to our 5th wheel for this:

No sitting outside at the fire.  There was another camping crew that was much tougher than us and who were huddled around a fire when we arrived home from SC. The weather looked better for the upcoming week, and we thought about staying.  However, we decided not to tough out the day and Sunday afternoon we were pointed home -- Rain and 2C on the thermometer.

We are looking forward to spending Thanksgiving with Jeff and family in the Hat.  And who knows, we may get in a few more camping days after Thanksgiving??

Fall Camping - Part 2

Sask Landing Prov Pk
Site #32 - $27 p only, free firewood (water off Sept 30, price change Oct 1 - $23)
Temp 13C, sunny and calm

Mom's new hip recap:  Hip replacement Friday morning. Standing Friday evening. Walker assisted walks on Sat and Sun. Aced the stair test on Monday morning and hospital discharge by 11 am.  How amazing is that? These medical procedures in 2015 are just mind boggling! Quick and simple!

After packing up the 5th wheel and driving mom and Jerry home that same Monday (Ron followed with 5th wheel) we were back on the road and soon settled at the SK Landing Provincial Park.  I can't even describe how beautiful the past 3 days have been.  Sunshine, warm temps, absolute quiet and not a breath of wind. So perfect.  We have been treated to a gorgeous moon rise (a continuance Sunday's Super Moon) over a ripple free River each evening. WOW!!

And so we have enjoyed late night campfires with the abundant free firewood, bike rides throughout the park filled with fall colours but no campers plus plenty of reading and relaxation.  Fall camping at its finest.

The park water was turned off yesterday, but our tanks are filled and we have paid for another three nights.  Alas, it doesn't appear as if the weather will hang in for the weekend, but we will do some visiting in Swift Current and our electric heater will keep us cozy.