Lundbreck Falls Prov Recreation Area and *HOME*

Site #53: $30 p only, poor cell but can get

We headed to Lundbreck Falls with the idea that we would stay only if "our" site was available. There are only two spots in this park that we would consider camping in. I know... fussy! As luck would have it, our site was free.

Our site is pretty private and is right beside the Crowsnest River just downstream from the Falls. The rushing water cuts out highway and train noise which could otherwise be a bit of a problem. The song birds are abundant. Probably due to all the chokecherry and saskatoon bushes in the area.

Our stay was pretty relaxing. Ron did a couple short hikes to the Falls and around the grounds. We had a Thurnderstorm and rain on Thursday evening so had to nix the fire.

Friday was sunny but very windy. We made the decision to spend one more night and then head home. We had toyed with the idea of Writing on Stone, but weekends can be busy. We took the opportunity to drive to Beaver Mines Lake area to check the camping there. It's a beautiful drive through these foothills with the mountains in the distance -- all the trees, rolling hills, pasture land, vivid greens -- very lush and pretty. There is some nice camping around Beaver Mines Lake and in Castle River area. We also drove up to Castle Mountain Ski Resort. There are a lots of new chalets, townhouses, beautiful big homes and a large area of permanent RV's. This area has all be re-furbished, re-built and improved with many new staging areas and trails for quads. They are hoping to see it become a year round resort rather than just a ski hill.

he came from walk bearing pretty flowers 💘

view of our campsite from upper area

Back at the campground we sat out and enjoyed Friday night cocktails and an evening fire despite the wind. We might have stayed an extra night, but when it was still blowing Saturday morning, it was an easy decision to head home. It is always a little sad to see our spring camping concluded for another year. but we are looking forward to some deck time in the Hat!

Kikomun Creek Prov Pk, Jaffray, BC

Site #29 - $35 n/s ($40 power) Temp 17C

Our last few stops have been pretty short jaunts between campgrounds. We are 'close to home', but putting off going there. So we ended up 89 km south of Wasa at Kikomum Creek Prov Pk which is south of Jaffray, BC. Somebody was camped in 'our' site (the nerve!) so we parked in a new loop overlooking Koocanusa Lake.



That campspot was rather unique in that they created 'hills' between the sites for privacy. It's was nice enough, but I do like our other spot better! More of that "forestry feel". However, the $35 charge on this no-service site is pretty steep and the highest we've paid in a Provincial Park so far. It may be our last visit here.

It was a warm calm evening and we were treated to the sounds of meadowlarks and some beautiful reflections in the lake.








Nice! We might have considered staying another night except for that $35. Oh, and cash only, which we were short of. Anyway, we enjoyed the stay and a fire until 10 pm. That wood Ron found in the group campsite was on them!

Wasa Lake, BC

Site #3 - $30 n/s, (cell, Shaw at entrance)

We always enjoy our stay at Wasa Lake in amongst the Ponderosa Pines. Plus it was a little warmer and a little drier than Yahk. The park attendants are too dam efficient however. They were out cleaning sites and taking any leftover wood before Ron had a chance to get to it. I did manage to find small armful of wood that I hid in the bush. Sure enough park guy was there to clean the site as I drove away on my bike. He took the one larger log that I didn't hide well, but he didn't find my other stash! We will enjoy burning it this evening.

We always enjoy biking on the paved path around this small lake. Thanks to the Lions Club for providing that!

And Sunday was Rib Night! Good food, good wine and good company!

Today, Tuesday, we are headed south once again. I believe to Kikomun Creek Prov Pk south of Jaffray.

Yahk Provincial Park

Site #17 - $21, n/s Temp 16-20C

We should have taken advantage of the internet while camped at Woodbury to check the Balfour Ferry schedule. We just missed a sailing and ended up waiting over 1 1/2 hours for the next boarding. Oh well, it's not like we have deadlines and we did have free internet while we waited.

It was lunch time when we arrived at Crawford Bay, so we pulled over for another break. That gave our fellow ferry traffic time to disperse and we had a nice leisurely winding drive along the pretty Kootenay Lake with no vehicles behind or in front of us.

We spent the next two nights at Yahk Provincial Park. Some of the campsites were roped off due to flooding concerns and the water was certainly high at our site. We left the truck hooked up in case we had to make a quick move. When the campground operator came around, she assured us that we would be fine. The creek had peaked and unless it rained, it should start receding.

There were only three of us camped, so it was a quiet weekend. It is a nice campground, but it is located in town. Also? Trains! We were far enough back that it wasn't a huge problem. The fast moving creek noise helped. I didn't hear them at night although Ron heard one quiet whistle. Another complaint - mosquitoes. ugh.... And then later Saturday when it started raining and our evening was spent indoors. By Sunday, I was happy to be moving on.

We did enjoy both a wiener roast and a pancake brunch during our stay there. Both were firsts on this camping trip!

We drove in to Jim Smith Lake Prov Pk further up the road, but decided not to stay. Instead we drove on to the old reliable Provincial Park at Wasa Lake. I expect we'll hang here for a couple nights.

Ainsworth Hot Springs

Woodbury Creek Resort & Marina
Site #104 - $38 p/w/s, cell and internet

I have nothing real exciting to report about our stay at Woodbury RV Resort. It is one of those places where you are shoe-horned in with the neighbours canopy just inches from your slide. There was no one camped on our front side however, so we did have a pretty decent view down the lake. It was gray, cloudy and spitting rain on our first day. There was also a little flooding going on in that front row.

It was nice to have the power, water, sewer and internet 're-charge time'. Plus three big loads of laundry were taken care of! It was a productive rainy day.

Day Two and things were looking up weather wise.  We spent a couple hours at the Hot Springs. That is always welcome treatment for old bones. I find I have developed a few claustrophobic tendencies however and it took me awhile to feel comfortable in the caves.  I did manage to spend a little time in there though.

Back at our campsite we enjoyed the sunshine and a cold beer... And then it rained again. Our canopy and the propane fire took care of that little problem quite nicely!





All those sweet little flowers surrounding our campsite brightened our stay. I'm not sure what they are but they obviously spread. They were everywhere.

Today we will move along. We are not sure exactly where, but we will probably look for a Provincial Park once again. Bye bye power and internet! :(

'Off Grid' north of Kaslo

Kootenay Lake Prov Pk
Site #10 - $21 n/s, poor cell, some along lake

It was quite a drive from New Denver to Kaslo. We had forgotten how much of a climb and how winding that highway is. But oh so pretty. One wouldn't expect to see bicyclers on this difficult stretch. But we did! Some not so young.

We continued north from Kaslo to Davis Creek Campground in Kootenay Prov Pk. It was worth the drive. We really enjoyed our quiet stay. Davis Creek is a fairly secluded, 'off grid' (no cell) campground. With oh so beautiful views!!



We had a very private site at the far end of the campground overlooking Lake. Three nights worth of awesome! We seriously contemplated staying longer. As Ron said, it spoiled us for other camping spots. I did miss having cell service, although I got a couple flash connections throughout our stay so we did know what was going on in the world. My only complaint was ANTS! I will not miss the ants.  We were continually brushing them from crawling up our legs. ugh!

There were never more than 3 or 4 of us including the host, a single retired army veteran. And there was a young family from Ft McMurray. He had broken his back in a quading accident and is now in a wheelchair and on permanent disability. Ron got in some good visiting.

We rode about the campground and truly enjoyed the quiet and the gorgeous views. The big entertainment was watching the huge logs floating by. Out and back in . . . lol







We went for one drive further up the lake to Duncan Dam. The pics below were taken from the lookout on top of the dam.



There are some interesting little communities and homesteads along the way. Not surprising as Kaslo area does have a bit of a reputation for pot and hippies!  We stopped at a local general store for some ice cream treats.

We saw another bear eating garbage in the ditch just out of our campground.  The warnings were posted in the campground. And this little guy crawled out of our wood pile one evening. He may have been a local, but we wondered if we brought him from Jeff's woodpile in Vernon??

Anyway, good things come to an end and sometimes one needs to re-charge the batteries, empty the RV holding tanks and do a little laundry, so we moved on. A whole 45 km south to Woodbury Creek Resort at Ainsworth Hot Springs.

NOTE: There is a link to more photos in the Trip Pics section to left of this blog.

Night at Nakusp

Nakusp Municipal
Site #3, p only, cell, Internet (Guest2017)

We chose to spend a night in a power site at the Nakusp Municipal campground so we could charge our batteries (including my electric toothbrush!) and bake some bread! Also we wanted to wait until the weekend campers had vacated Davis Creek at Kootenay Lake Prov Pk near Kaslo, which will be our next stop. On this trip we have spent many nights in campgrounds without power. They are some of the best camping spots. Confession: I do hate making coffee the old fashioned way of boiling water and pouring it through a filter. Also, I miss my toaster! Toast on the stove not so good. How spoiled we have become!

So with batteries and toothbrush charging and a loaf of bread baking, we went for a few groceries and we rode our bikes along the lake path. Love the views and the tulips. People were enjoying the beaches and some were swimming. That mountain lake had to have been cold!!??

We were supposed to have internet in this campground, but it is not working. Something else that ticks me off! Will have to look for a connection before we move on today. I see weather is supposed to be 30C here for the next few days. Not quite so hot in Kaslo though. :(

3 out of 4 ain't bad at Blanket Creek near Revelstoke

Blanket Creek Prov Pk
Site #53, n/s, Temp 20C, cell poor but available (good site)

Tuesday, Day 1 at Blanket Creek Park south of Revelstoke was almost perfect. We really like this park in the forest and bush. The sites are fairly private and roomy. Pretty! The only small complaint was the construction noise. They are putting in 40 new campsites. However, quitting time was 4:30 pm and then it was just us and the birds once again!

Arrow Lake

This was one of the few camping days that we were able to sit out around the fire until bedtime without long pants and jackets. Plus we were able to cook AND eat outside for a change! A light rain passed through the first night, but our trusty little umbrella kept us dry.

Unbeknownst to us a pretty wicked wind and rainstorm passed through at 1 am which took down a couple of trees and many branches in the park. We never heard a thing! One thing about this park is the wind blows in the tops of the trees, but we are somewhat protected down below. It is similar to camping at Cypress Hills.

On Wednesday, we were not so lucky with our weather. Actually, at 9C it was frickin' cold! We had heard it was worse on the prairies--Some places saw a little snow with the rain and high winds. And so ended our complaining! Instead, we went for a driving tour beyond Revelstoke dam and along Revelstoke Lake. There are a lot of pulloffs where people can pull in and camp. Some are free and some are $12/night but we hear they are rarely around to collect. If you like camping 'off-grid' these are for you! It's a very nice drive and the highway is great.

We stopped in Revelstoke for groceries, propane and some internet. Back at the campsite, we cooked lasagna in the oven which warmed up the trailer nicely. We also made use of our catalytic propane heater that night. I miss power the most when the weather is cold.

Thursday brought SUNSHINE! And we opted to stay another night. And then another! Those final two days had us looking for shade. Hot!, just what we ordered.  We spent time at the Swim Pond (below) and Ron walked up to Sutherland Falls.





The 'water boy' kept our tanks full!

On Saturday morning we were back on the road heading south. We took the ferry across Arrow Lake and headed to Nakusp. AND, we saw a bear in the ditch!