It is very beautiful country coming out of the Rockies in the foot hills and on to the prairies.
Road from Jasper East
Foot Hills of Alberta
We arrived Edmonton early afternoon and stayed (parked on the street) at my niece Natasja and her husband Dave's place. We had a great evening with food and wine... say no more, it was a blast.
We took off early morning on the 29th heading for Saskatchewan to visit my mom Ruth in North Battleford and outside Meota, my sister Rose, her husband Al and nephew Jason with wife Amy.
We arrived North Battleford early afternoon and had lunch at mom's place,
Ruth (mom) and me
then out to the farm (right on the south side of Jackfish Lake) and set up camp at Rose and Al's place. What a wonderful spot they picked to build their new home.
From Golden we headed out early morning and had a beautiful mist over the meadows. We arrived in Field and walked around town and Liz managed to find a pottery shop. Oh well, it keeps the economy going.
We stop in Field, Yoho National Park
Little Church in Field
Anders in search of a Latte
We then went and checked out the camp grounds and there was not any with power, so we decided to head up to Emerald Lake and do a hike and then motor towards Jasper on the Ice Field Parkway (it was pretty rough, more on this later.
Emerald Lake is even more beautiful then Lake Louise.
The trailer got a good shakedown on the Ice Field Parkway. To say the least the road was pretty rough and some big un-marked bumps. One broken wine bottle, several plates and cups later we learned that things have to be packed and stashed well.
Arrived in Jasper and to our surprise all the full service campsites were all taken, but we at least got power. Just minutes after we got set up, the rain started and it just poured all night.
Our camping adventure is a reality. We got our truck and trailer. The truck is a 2008 Dodge Ram 3500 (one ton) and the trailer is a 2011 Rockwood 8265WS. Rockwood is made by Forest River in the USA.
Our new rig. Rockwood 8265WS and Dodge Ram 3500
We decided for this trailer because mainly of the floor plan. The available options and relative light weight of the trailer (6600 lbs) also was a big part of the decision making. A good way to find out what you like and don't like is to rent some different trailers and motor-homes.
We picked up the trailer in Langley, BC on Friday the 24th of September 2010 and did a walk through and it went very well. We stayed the first night at Fort Langley, Brae Island park (map), with full hook ups (20 minutes from the dealership). Every thing worked just fine.
The next day we gave it all a good shake down and drove about 400 Km or 240 miles. from Fort Langley to Okanagen Lake Provincial Park (map), just south of Summerland, BC. This time with no hookups. This park is fantastic and right on the lake. We will stay here again for sure. Here is a link for the sites in the park. Weather was great around 20C or 68F.
Rockwood 8265WS - Camping South of Golden, BC.
All working well. The Hijacker auto slide hitch works very well, way better then I would have thought and 90 degree turns are no problems (the hitch assembly is moving automatically back 14 inches by the time I get to a 90 degrees turn, clearing the cab). We have a short box truck.
Rockwood 8265WS - Camping outside Golden, BC.
Today, Sunday the 26th of September, we drove from Okanagan Lake Provincial Park to (map) Golden Eco-Adventure Ranch just outside Golden, BC. The weather was mixed, a bit of rain and some sun. This is also a great campground with power ( 30 and 50 amp) and water hook up. Everything is nice and clean and the view of the mountains is wonderful.
Liz - Hiking south of Golden
We went for a wonderful hike, bear bells and pepper spray at hand, the bears have apparently been seen around here.
We are off to Field, BC. next, then Jasper, and Edmonton, AB. to visit my niece Natasja, then we will head straight east to Saskatchewan to visit some more family.
We hope to stay on the road for 3-4 weeks depending weather. We'll keep you posted.
It rained heavily over night, that is excellent for the beans and peas I planted a few days ago. Cortes gets very moody when overcast and the West Coast Mist puts a mysterious cloak over the trees.
Our neighbours Ruby and John brought us two beautiful mushrooms. They grow in our driveway, we would never know that they are eatable.
The first settlers must have were courageous creatures. I am currently reading Destination Cortez Island by June Cameron. Her stories about Cortes in the early 1900 are fascinating. At Mansons Landing settlers built the "Big House" which served as shelter, lodge, supply storage......
They were eager to belong to a community, in the 1930s they built the Gorge Hall Community hall.
Visitors are always amazed at the high tidal changes we experience on Cortes Island. This last weekend we had sometimes changes of up to 12 feet. At Mansons Landing one could walk to the islands in the middle and way out into the bay.
But by the evening the water was back with the high tide.
As usual we went for a nice hike through the forest and the beach.
This beautiful second growth forest still has stumps left from the old growth trees. One can see the cuts for the foot rests of the loggers. A logger would stand on each side of the tree and with a large saw they would cut the trees by hand.
Some evenings, the spring sun gave us spectacular sunsets.
After living in one stretch for about a month on our little island, it was time we went to the big city of Campbell River to supplement our supplies. We are picking up all the things not available, or only at a very expensive price here on Cortes, like fence panels,a Bruce anchor, replacement batteries for the garden solar lights, prosciutto, orange juice under $ 5.00, fresh vegetables, special cheeses, meat.......
Tuesday is Dangerous Cargo day on the BC Ferries from Campbell River to Cortes and return. One run each way is reserved for the fuel supply trucks etc. We avoided that run and took the first ferry at 7:50 out of Whaletown. Anders made egg and bacon sandwiches the night before, so on our travel days we just brew coffee into our travel mugs and hit for the ferry. There is no reservation possible, it is simply first come first on. Two cars were left behind on this first run. The Tenaka only takes about 27 cars. Yesterday was a beautiful day, the crossing was gorgeous with the blue water, blue mountains still showing heavy snow caps.
We shopped all day and returned with the 5pm boat, even the 6 foot Cedar bush made it back home.
The South Easterly winds are blowing, the BC Ferries are not running, we still have power. The Robbins are busy finding worms and insects on the freshly mowed front yard. The Robbins in the back yard are larger and fatter. Bigger worms, better grass? Do Robbins hear the worms moving under the ground? They listen, find and pick. This is early April 2010.
Remoteness brings challenges to modern living. If the electricity from BC Hydro is down because of the windstorms, computers and eventually phones will no longer work. We carry buckets of water from the creek into the house to flush the toilets, because the water pump and pressuring system does no longer work. The Italian coffee machine is silent. Even the auger for the pellet wood stove needs power, and the stove gets cold and powerless.
We actually have to talk and entertain ourselves without all the electronic gadgets and machines. Not easy, but fun. What are you thinking? Do you want a cup of tea?
Cortes Island
Cortes, an island in the Strait of Georgia, the Salish Sea, between Vancouver Island and the Mainland of British Columbia, right at the entrance of Desolation Sound is part of the Discovery Islands.
Cortes is approximately 25 km long and 13 km wide. Most people live on the Southern half of the island. The Northern half has no roads and is by water access only. About a 1000 people live permanently on the island, in summer it is probably more like 2000. A very colourful group of people: First Nations people, old timers, business people, permanent half year people, retired Hippies, cool and hottie young people, summer residents, recluses, sailors, fishermen, Oyster pickers, organic farmers, Artists, the free spirited and the retired Type A.
Cortes Island was named after Spanish explorers and mapped in the late 1700 by Valdez.
The Klahoose First Nation people live in Squirrel Cove. They relocated to that location from their traditional village in Toba Inlet.
The Klahoose are part of, with their neighbours the Sliammon, Homalco, whose territory is on the mainland and K'omoks, the larger grouping of the Comox people, which is a subgroup of the Coast Salish. Their ancestral tongue is the Comox language.
In the 1800 the miners and the loggers came, and later the optimistic homesteaders.
Bc Ferry service only arrived in 1969, and electric power in 1970.
A large Bald Eagle is circling high above Smelt Bay. Looking for fish, small birds, or just going for a fly-by? Just yesterday a Bald Eagle was devouring its prey on the water's edge at low tide. The prey was so heavy, the eagle could not lift off and fly back to its nest. Eventually the eagles' mate arrived and helped eating the fish for a long time, while its mate kept guard. How often do eagles eat? According to some research, they could go for a few days without food. They have storage sacks, crops on the side of their neck. They also are regurgitating their food. Often I see one of the Bald Eagles land on the treetop close to our home. They just sit there and observe the water. Patiently they hunt by playing a waiting game. They spend most of their time perched in trees. They use their exceptional eyesight to scan for food. From its viewpoint, a Bald Eagle can see a surfacing fish from more than a kilometre away.
The other day we heard a great racket. Crows were chasing a Bald Eagle: guess what he carried away in his talons? The crows protested and were not impressed about the thief who stole their hard earned food.
Woodpeckers chisel out square holes on trees. Do they use the holes as their nesting grounds?
These are probably cavities of Pilated Woodpeckers. These birds are almost as large as crows, mostly black with a distinguished red head. They are the largest woodpeckers in North America. They love carpenter ants living in timber, and stumps.
We can see these very graphic looking rectangular cavities all along Smelt Bay Park. Apparently these Woodpeckers use their enormously long, sticky tongue to reach the ants inside the cavities. These cavities are just for food supplies and would not be large enough to be where they make their nests.
It was a dark and stormy night......
4:30 am, I jump out of bed. The house rumbles, there was a big bang outside, the rain is pounding the sliding door of our bedroom, the deck chairs are sliding and bouncing in the wind, the Westerly winds are howling, but the stars are quietly glowing in the night sky. Another storm is hitting Cortes, this time from the West. Uneasy sleep – tossing and turning – my thoughts are calming me down: don't worry our home is as sturdy as it gets.
7:00 am, coffee time. Wow, the storm is still raging, but we did not loose power. The world out there looks wonderful: white caps, waves, snow covered mountains on Vancouver Island, sunshine, and the water taxi rushing into Manson's' Landing along Marina Island. Amazing how different the storm looks now. That calls for a second cup of coffee.
In October of this year when were out camping in the Chilcotin and in the Cariboo, we drove up to the Sun Peaks Village. It is a wonderful spot. We decided then we should come back for a few days when we could check out the winter conditions.
We just came back from three days on the mountain and it was wonderful. We stayed at the Delta Sun Peaks Resort and it was first class. From day one when we emailed the hotel to the day we left, the staff was super friendly. The room was very nice and clean with a great view of the mountains.
One night we went for dinner in the hotel. The restaurant is called Mantel, and this was the first evening with a new menu. Absolutely superb meal was presented. For a starter, Liz had a salad with organic greens and an outstanding vinaigrette. I had a crab cake, and it was a really good size, with real dungeness crab. No filler what so ever, just pure crab.
For the main Course I had roasted duck with scallops from Qualicum Beach on a bed of polenta; the best I ever had. Liz had an equally as good main course. Grilled buffalo sirloin and it was cooked to perfection. Since we had a variety of food, we paired it with a bottle of Merlot from Sandhill Estates Winery in the Okanagan Valley, BC.
The mountain Sun Peaks Resort is great with 3,678 acres of terrain, the second largest ski area in British Columbia, and the third largest in Canada. The summit elevation is 2,152m (7,060'), with the longest run being around 8km (5 miles) long. There are a total of 11 lifts, including 3 high speed quad chairlifts, 2 quad chairlifts, 1 triple chairlift, and 5 surface lifts. All these lifts can move 12,000 people per hour.
Sun Peaks boosts 559cm (220") of wonderful powder per year and over 2,000 sunshine hours per year. Just a great place to hang out. Let's have a look at the average winter temperatures:
December -9.5ºC / 15ºF
January -6.7ºC / 20ºF
February -6.1ºC / 21ºF
March -3.9ºC / 25ºF
April -1.1ºC / 30ºF
If down hill is not your kind of thing then there is 28km of groomed cross country trails, plus 12km of back-country trails and dedicated snowshoe trails
Sun Peaks is not just for winter sports, the summer is also a great time to be up here. Up here you can enjoy 18 hole golf, bike park, trail rides, tennis, outdoor pool, canoe rentals, voyageur canoe tours, kayak rentals, hiking tours, bike clinics and tours, photo shoots and clinics, guided fly fishing, mountain adventure camps, and bungee trampoline. Further there is 15 hiking trails and 39 Bike Park Trails, totaling 70km, with 255 features.
There are lots of accommodation on the mountain and you can get some really good deals The Delta Sun Peaks is only one of them. We will go back to Sun Peaks. For more pictures of our trip to Sun Peaks and back check out our Picasa Album.
