Saturday night in Midway, BC

Riverfront Campground
Site #7 - $22, p only, Temp 16C, Shaw Open

It was raining lightly when we packed up and left Moyie Lake Friday morning. And then it poured once we hit the highway.  Sucks to be those biking tenters that we passed on our way out of the campground! Can't be much fun!?

There was still a LOT of snow in the Kootenay Pass. And fog. Yikes, that made for some tense driving.

Big time flooding was happening in the Grand Forks and Greenwood areas. People were out bagging sand and many of their homes were already sitting in the water. It was very sad to see. We have been through minor flooding issues. I can't even imagine how horrible it would be to have a river pouring in.

Our campsite in Midway is on the Kettle River. We have never seen the river this high before. We sat at our fire and watched all the logs and debris zipping by. Pretty amazing. There were huge dead trees floating by that would crash into the bridge just downriver from us.No doubts it can be a mean and angry river!

We will hang at this town over the weekend then head over to Osoyoos. We are disappointed that Richard and Janice won't be joining us this year, but they only return from Costa Rica on the 9th and Janice has other travel commitments for the 16th, so they were slightly time pressured. Next year!

Night 2 freeloading at Moyie

Night two of free camping! How awesome is that!?

We managed to stay warm enough without our little electric heater. Body heat and a warm quilt got us through the night.  It was 11C when I got up this morning. Boiling water for morning coffee always warms things up a few more degrees.

Another leisurely day of biking and reading.

The fish guys arrived with truck full of 'fingerlings' or baby fish and we watched them stock the lake with 25,000 little Kokanees.

Pretty cool! I wonder how many of these little guys will become fish food for the larger fish. Or as we were told, their biggest enemy, the loons! Who knew?

We started our evening at the fire. Then this happened. Umbrella out.

But then it poured. Just long enough to douse the fire and chase us indoors. So it was an evening spent reading.

Moyie Lake, BC

Site #21, n/s, Temp 20C, cell

Another hour on the road Thursday and we arrived at Moyie Lake Provincial Park.

Where we were actually looking for shorts and shade. Nice!! Turn on that heat!

We were here in 2006 and made a note that we must return. It has taken us this long.

A peaceful and very beautiful spot this time of year.

We had a moment. Ron pulled out his tablet to do some reading but the battery died.  The outside power outlet didn't appear to be working. After a number of 'resets' he finally moved to an indoor outlet. No luck. He figured his tablet must have crashed.  And then laughter. THIS IS A NON POWER SITE!! How soon one forgets. 

The campground hasn't officially opened for the season and we had a free night as we did back in 2006. Gotta love that.  They are however opening washrooms and cleaning so I expect they will start charging soon. There are currently 4 of us camped here.

So we enjoyed a bike ride about the park and met up with some of the local wildlife.

We also saw this very cool old car.

It was another great evening spent outdoors around the fire.  It was also wine and steak night!

Perfection! We had our first roasted marshmallows of the season. Yum!

And then we decided to stay another night!

Note: Sad news received that cousin Ross passed away May 4.

Round two, Sparwood

Well, we aren't moving too fast on this trip. Old age? Actually it's kind of nice when one has time and no deadlines to be somewhere. So, we decided to spend another night. It is a very nice campground and we have everything we need including wifi. Plus it was windy again today and probably best to stay put. So we puttered about. Gathering more wood --



Gotta love that free firewood.
Plus I did a bit of baking --

Homemade bread even when camping. Awesome!
And we managed to burn all that firewood while enjoying the great outdoors.

We would appreciate some warmer weather! (yes, I have been keeping an eye on those much warmer Medicine Hat temps.)

Thursday: We are enjoying a leisurely coffee this morning but will pack up and move on. We are thinking Moyie Lake Prov Pk. This will be dry camping - no power so no electric heater and certainly no wifi.

Sparwood, BC

Mountain Shadows Campground
Site #6 - $36.75, p/w *s avail but not needed, or charged, free wood, Shaw Open

Once again, we didn't drive very far. It did take us a bit longer to get there, however. We took the 'scenic route'. We stopped at Fort Macleod and checked out a campground there. Ron went in to register but asked to have a look at the site first. We looked, and left. I'm sure the kind lady was disappointed, but so were we.

On to Pincher Creek area and the Old Man Dam campground. The new to us campground looked quite nice. And then we see the gate and the "Closed for Season" sign is still up.

We had lunch at the Dam pull-off and then decided to take a drive around the Reservoir. Pretty views - great highway! And it was on to Sparwood. Another of our 'old reliable' stay-overs.

By 3 pm we were sitting around the campfire.

sunbeams and smoke
Yup.....this is the life . . .

Taber, AB

Site #44 - $25, p only, poor cell but avail window, Temp 13C

Well, we didn't get as far as we had originally intended. Foiled by our #1 enemy. Wind.

It was an easy choice to pull off at the Taber Municipal campground, just 120 km down the road. We've always liked camping there, plus it is one of the few places still offering free firewood! A campers jackpot!

We biked about the park, started an early fire, had a couple cocktails and truly had a great first night back camping.

Complete with a fancy dinner!

As we were leaving this morning Ron realized that our newly rotated tires hadn't had an air adjustment and were high in front, low in back. This probably made that driving in the wind even worse! Anyway, tires are adjusted and we are back on the road. Less wind and smoother sailing today! 

Are we there yet? Spring 2017

We have just come off a week of dull cloudy weather. With bits of rain thrown in.
Also? An entire weekend of watching curling on TV with the final Grand Slam and the World Mixed Doubles taking place.

"It's camping time." he says. 

Say what??!!

So between the curling games we have taken the 5th wheel for a tire rotation (which resulted in 2 new tires) and we have managed to load 'er up!
Tally ho . . . Where will we go?

Same old question every year.

Anyway.. We are down to packing up the fridge items and we will be off in the morning. Monday. Heading west on Highway 3.

And so begins another RV trip.

Last of Camp 2016

Kinbrook Island
Site #C113* good site! - $36 p only, cell
Note: Water until after Thanksgiving. Reservations still in use

We had a good stay at Lake Newell. We had an endless supply of wood as the park was cutting down trees in a loop beside us. Ron picked up a couple of logs from there.

He also found a pallet in another loop so he took his axe, cut the boards and hauled it back on his bike.




The fall colors and the sunsets are always beautiful in this park. Plus the weather was warm enough and we were able to sit out for some later fires. 

We always enjoy biking around the campgrounds and the cottage area.  They are adding a number of new campsites and have been working on the beach front.  Huge boulders are being piled along the boat launch to stop erosion. It was a little noisy with all the equipment running, so we were glad they took the weekend off.

And then it was Monday.  We debated staying longer, but we decided it was time to head home.  It's a tough choice when the weather was warm and sunny, but some areas are expecting snow on Wednesday, so maybe it's time. Even though this area looks like it might be okay.




One thing I forgot to mention. You've heard some of Ron's 'scrounger' stories and how he always checks campsites when people leave. Well, back at Prairie Oasis he found a partial pack of Smirnoff Ice coolers when the group of boaters had packed up and left. I really enjoyed those 7 bottles! Sometimes he really does get lucky!

Anyway, that's it for camping 2016. It always makes me a little sad to bring out the antifreeze for winterising.  And just look at these sunsets!!

BACK HOME:  Some good news.... Our roof was just completed this morning! Yay!!

Home 

Movin' On

We had a rather abrupt move today.
Ron went to pay for a couple more nights only to discover our site was reserved for tonight. Crap.




Of course there were a lot of empty sites, but when we have to move we prefer to just leave.

So we are now 60 km south, at Lake Newell.

The sun is shining, where it was cloudy at Dinosaur, so I guess we won't complain. Except no wifi. Oh yes, this is another one of those maple bug hangouts.  They are everywhere!!
Anyway off to find wood. 

Dinosaurs drawn to Dinosaurs

Dinosaur Prov Pk
Site #11 - $36 p only, wifi, no cell

Yesterday the park staff were around shutting off the water at the Prairie Oasis campground. It was left on in the laundry and I was lucky to get two loads washed.  It's always touch and go this time of year as to whether there is water in the parks.

alien skull in our campsite  -- or a rock  ;)

colours in Prairie Oasis

We also lost the use of the wifi for some reason. I wondered if someone hit a power switch when doing water, but we talked to an employee who checked and said everything appeared okay. He did a restart and the connection showed but disappeared again after he left. Anyway.. we chose to move on this morning.  Big winds and warm temps today.

It would seem we are not very adventurous this trip. We are hanging pretty close to home and are drawn back to our 'old haunts'.  Our first stop was in Brooks for some groceries.

And then on to Dinosaur Prov Pk. It always feels good to drive in and find your favourite spot just waiting for you! It is actually quite busy in the park and there are quite a few campers which is not really a surprise.  This place is busy year round! Apparently there is a Good Sam group from Calgary camped down from us. 

Leaf Busters at Dinosaur

Ron is already out hunting down some firewood.
Oh look!!!!  Success!!


Oh and some good news. The roofers started work on our condo yesterday!