2004 Spring Camping, Golden BC

Whispering Spruce
Site - $22.47 p only, water off

Bit of an upset starting out. Truck was lacking power. We stopped at Strathmore at a Heavy Truck repair. A clamp on the air intake had slipped off and it was less than 5 minutes to repair. We did have lunch in the RV while we waited 20 minutes for the mechanic to be free. So great timing and awesome luck that it was a simple fix. Note: It slipped again when we were in the Rogers Pass but a quick fix for Ron now that he knew the problem.

It was still 25C when we arrived in Golden but it cooled quickly as sun set. Ron had a good visit with our neighbour. He was from Vanc Island and was going to Calgary then flying to the Maritimes. We were on the road by 9:30 am.

Golden, BC

Whispering Spruce Campground - We spent a final night here before heading home to winterize the RV. Another great season wrapped up!

Abbotsford, BC

Abbotsford Camp & RV Park
Site #6 - $27 p/w/s, no fires

We went to Richard's for lunch and then drove into Vancouver for a pasta supper.



We picked up Uncle Walter at the airport at 10:30 in the morning and were headed back home by noon.

On Wednesday, we went sturgeon fishing but only caught one sturgeon. We have leftovers for supper and spent the evening with Richard and Janice.



Charlie, Jim and Jan arrived on Thursday. The retirement dinner was held that evening.

On Friday, the guys all went fishing and caught 11 sturgeon. If you can count that little fellow that Charlie caught. :)  Much better luck than we'd had previously! Us gals went for a walk along the river and did some shopping. I picked up a small storage trunk. We played a few card games and had beer can chicken for supper.

On Saturday, we drove in to Vancouver for roast beef with Kari, Gerry and Dave. We headed back east and home Sunday morning.

Cultus Lake, BC

Sunnyside Campground
Site #102, p/w/s, wood cost

This is nice large campground in a very pretty forested area along the lake.  Again, I suspect it is very busy and crowded in the summer. 

We went for a bike ride around the area. Richard and Janice came out for supper. We sat around the campfire and explored the campground. We had a lot of  fun 'dumpster diving' as many people had just chucked things on their last night of camping as the season had come to an end. Barbecues, pots, dishes, flower pots, etc. Janice had hauled out a large plastic kids pool and we were going to deliver it to them.  Ron subsequently discovered the leak and we re-trashed it before leaving.

Kelowna, BC

We parked in Doug's driveway for the two nights.

In mid August the mountain to the north had been through some severe wildfires as a result of lightening strikes and high winds. Doug took us on a driving tour of the area.

The resulting damage was mind boggling.  There would be one remaining sign or a complete house that appeared untouched in the middle of an entire blackened neighbourhood.  It was so freaking unbelievable - all the devastation. Very sad to see.

Back at Doug's we played some ball in the backyard. Doug, Ron and the kids went for a bike ride.

Christina Lake, BC

Schulli Resort
Site #9 - $23 (x3)  p/w cash only, no fires

This is such a great beachfront campground, but I'm sure it would be very busy, tight and crowded in the summer time. Also, I suspect the 'cash only' was saving us money from the prime season.  However, this time of year it's perfect. Very quiet and relaxing. We went for a bike ride around Christina Lake area and Ron fished for a bit off the dock.

Thursday we drove to Grand Forks for a few groceries.  That evening, we had neighbors arrive - Ron and Tymee LeBlanc from Calgary and Ralph and Sheila from Surrey.  We all really clicked and we spent a fair bit of time visiting back and forth with them.  We sat around the propane fire in the afternoon and enjoyed afternoon beers.  Plus we shared morning coffee.  We ended up staying and extra night because it was such a nice place and the company was so enjoyable.

On Friday, the other four went for golfing and Ron went to the par 3 for a round. 

Nelson, BC

We had a three quarter hour wait at the ferry but arrived at Jeff 's house about 3 p.m. We just parked out front of their place. We did a stir fry for supper and play dominoes until 10 p.m.

I wasn't real keen about sleeping on the street, but I did sleep okay. We were up at 7:30 or 8:30 our time and had breakfast and coffee with Jeff.  Jen worked at 7:30 so was already gone.  We were on the road by 8:45 am

Sparwood, BC

Mountain Shadows Campground
Site #4 - $21 (x2) p/w, sewer avail but didn't use

good cell and FREE WOOD!

This is still a great camping spot although it is close to the highway so there is a bit of traffic noise.

We went to Overwaitea for some groceries. The campground was virtually empty and we enjoyed some big fires with all the with wood that is available. 

We went for some hikes and bike rides. We drove up to Elk Ford coal mines and toured about the area. We had lunch at the Elkford Golf Club.

Bragg Creek, AB

McLean Creek Campground
Site # 37A - $20 p only, no wood, no cell

This is a nice campground with large camping sites. There was a sign outside the campground that said it was full, but a drive-thru revealed one empty spot. Lucky us!!

Note: Loop A closes Sept 21 Power in A & B only.  C & D or OHV sites only with no power remain open.

We did some biking around the campground. In the evening, we had a fire with the propane fire pit but it was pretty cool outside. It was only 4C in the morning when we left and it had poured rain during the night

Dinosaur Valley Prov Park, AB

Site #9 - $18 p only - wood cost, no cell

We took RR 884 which was a poor choice there was no gravel and it had just rained. We were covered in mud when we arrived.

The temperature was 9C but it continued to warm up and reached about 20C. It was perfect in our sight sunny and warm in the sunshine.

We rode our bikes along the driving trail and around the campground. The place filled up Friday evening and almost all the power sites were taken. The second night was much warmer and we set out around the fire late afternoon and evening.