Summer Vacation part 2

My goodness, the time goes by so fast. I just realized I haven’t written a story for my blog recently. We have been so busy since we have moved onto our new property. The place needed some attention as the previous owner let it go a bit. We’ve had lawns to cut, trees to trim and just plain general maintenance.

I will go into more details about that another time. First, I will finish the story of our summer vacation. As promised, I will tell about our August vacation. Ken and I had two weeks in the middle of the month so again, Lindy and the boys came with us and we went to our favourite campground in Christina Lake. I won’t tell you the name of it, because it is so hard to get in there and finding places to camp in B.C. is getting harder and harder. We stayed for four days and had a great time swimming in the lovely pool they have and also, the lake was just down the street. The mornings were spent bike riding along some of the many trails they have to offer in the area. We were on our bikes early, as the days warmed up pretty quickly. The boys really enjoyed the rides and it was good to have them away from those darn video games. The afternoons were spent swimming in the lake and lying on the beach and the early evenings were spent in the pool. And, just like Pillar Lake, campfires in the later evenings.

We brought Lindy and the boys home, and then Ken and I were off on an adventure of our own. This year we decided to go to Banff. We hadn’t been there for many years, so the trip was overdue.

We left Sunday morning and went as far as a campground called HooDoos. It was a campground just off the main highway and it wasn’t anything special, it was just an overnight stop. 

It was kind of different as there was one fire pit per two campsites. A very young couple camped beside us, and since they got there first, they had the fire going already and asked us if we would like to join them, and we did. Through the course of the evening, we discovered they were newlyweds and camping for the first time. It was a wonderful evening and we were pleased they seemed to enjoy spending time with a couple old crocks like us.

The next morning, we were on or way to Banff. We arrived midday and spent the afternoon going through the shops downtown. Everything was so expensive and to be honest, I noticed that people weren’t carrying a lot of parcels. I’m guessing most people felt the same way we did.

The next morning, Ken wanted to take the gondola to the top of Sulphur Mountain. It was a beautiful day; perfect for a side trip like that. Once we got off the gondola, it was still quite a climb to the top. Thank goodness there was a staircase which made the climb that much easier. We wandered around up there for about an hour and headed back down just in time to watch a young man propose to his girlfriend. She said “Yes!” by the way. Apparently, all the family was there to take in the event.

The next day, we ventured into Lake Louise. There was so much traffic but we managed to see everything we wanted to see, then as we made our way back, we took a side trip into Moraine Lake. An absolute must see. Just a heads up, don’t try and take your trailer or motor home in there as there is no camping and nowhere to park it.

What a beautiful lake, so peaceful and pretty. For those of us that are so fortunate to live in Canada, there are so many beautiful places to visit and explore.

On our way home, we spent a night at Cascade Hot Springs, just east of Revelstoke B.C. I recommend this campground as it was well-kept and the people that run it are amazing.

Even though it was 35 c outside, Ken wanted to go into the hot springs and I’m glad we did. It was very relaxing. There were a lot of Americans there talking about the upcoming election in the States and even though it was probably wrong, I found myself easy dropping. However, some of them were quite loud so it wasn’t hard to hear what they were saying. I came away from there feeling that none of those people knew how they were going to vote come November. I wonder how they feel now.

The last two nights away, were spent at Whispering Pines Campground at Mara Lake. Ken and I have always wanted to stay there but for whatever reason, we never have. We swam in the pool and relaxed for the rest of our time away eating and enjoying a few beverages and reading a good book.

Even though we live in paradise now, it was still hard to come home knowing that for the most part, camping was over with for the season. We did go away once with friends in September and enjoyed our time with them, but it rained so hard on us that we decided that was our last camping trip of the year.