Cariboo Camping 2010
After our big trip last summer, we decided that we would do a bit of a stay-cation, take our new pup and do some camping around the Cariboo region of British Columbia. We would start in the central region of B.C. and work our way North, at least that was the plan.
We loaded up our 1975 Ford Camper, convince Silva to jump in, and hit the road. The idea behind a trip like this is to get away from phones and computers, so it only seems appropriate to let Silva chime in via TWITTER. After avoiding the Abbotsford Airshow traffic, we head through Hope and up the Fraser Canyon. Our first and longest day of driving would see us end up in 100 Mile House.
100 Mile House
Our first stop is at on old dear friend of ours, she has a new house nicely set in the forest a short distance from a lake. Instantly Silva is at home with her new best friend Lexus, a cute Keeshond... for 2 straight days they wrestle and play until they pass out.
@K9Camper Lexus could be my BFF, but he never leaves me alone
By night we watched the stars and swatted mosquitoes, by day we relaxed and floated on Green Lake. You could see a slight haze dropping into the hills around the lake, we had no idea what was to come, it was fire season in B.C.. No campfires on this camping trip!
@K9Camper This puddle is huge... and wet! Not a big fan
Williams Lake
From 100 Mile House we headed North to Williams Lake to load up on some groceries before camping on Lac La Hache for a few days. The skies definitely got greyer the further we went, the smoke was visible, anything further than a couple blocks wasn't.
Everything seemed fine, until we came out and noticed a dark trail leading through the parking lot to our truck. Underneath was a pool of our trucks steering fluid. Luckily at the bottom of the hill, there was a Canadian Tire... a seal had gone in the steering gear box.
The service staff blamed it on us choosing to go to Walmart, and warned us to check the expiry date on our groceries... funny!
Fearing the worst after driving down to the Canadian Tire with no more power steering, we found out the gearbox had to be replaced, and the part would have to be shipped in. When I asked about a nearby hotel that might take dogs, we were surprised to learn we could drive the truck, and that there was a campground less than 2 blocks away. If we came back in the morning, the part would be there at 9am.
The Campground is on the outer slope of the Williams Lake Stampede grounds, it isn't much, but it has water and electrical hookup. This was the only time we would have hookup the entire trip. A new experience for Silva was seeing horses in the stables at the far end of the campground, she was very nervous, and had a low growl going, until we took her over to meet them.
Surprisingly, the horses are just as curious about Silva as she is about them.
@K9Camper These dogs are huge!!!
Back to the campsite, and Silva keeps guard attentively, until she gets tired of watching.
@K9Camper Hey it's snowing!
As we are sitting at the picnic table the smoky skies become smokier, and ash starts falling like snow around us. The forest fires throughout the interior of B.C. and especially the nearby Alexis creek make it clear that we shouldn't be continuing North from here.
The sun works its way down through a fog of forest fire smoke
Lac La Hache
Heading back South we finally get to our Campground at Lac La Hache, it's a provincial campground, and like most Provincial campgrounds in B.C. it is well treed and our site feels private. A nice grassy open area behind us, and plenty of chipmunks to taunt Silva.
@K9Camper This place is full of critters!
As we walk through the campground, Silva pounces into something on the side of the trail, while she is looking intently at her catch, a small vole runs between her back legs and escapes. Laughing at her hunting skills we head down the little trail that takes you under the highway and over to the lake, aka Lac La Hache. Looking out at the lake we realize we haven't escaped the smoke.
Here is where Silva finally understands the fun of the water. When you throw a stick in the water, she can't resist the urge to fetch.
@K9Camper: Why do my humans keep throwing that perfectly good stick away?
It's a nice campground, with little trails running behind our campsite, squirrels chirp at Silva, and she watches them intently. When she comes to a sudden stop and stares into the trees, we stop too, a deer is standing in the trees watching us.
@K9Camper: What is with the huge dogs out here, this one has horns!
A low growl lets the deer know Silva is serious, and the deer wanders away. We head back to our campsite and Silva settles into full alert mode, chipmunks, squirrels, voles... so many things to watch, at dusk we all watch 3 bats circling the grassy area picking off bugs.
The next day after seeing the creepy red colour of the sun,we attempt to escape from the smoke, and return to 100 Mile House for lunch with our friend, and then head East to Kamloops. The smoke is no better in Kamloops, so we continue East towards Wells Grey National Park.
A rest stop/pee break at Bridge Lake
North Thompson River Provincial Park
Just outside of Clearwater near Wells Grey National Park we find the North Thompson River Provincial Park, a very nice well treed campground nestled on the Thompson River. We find a nice site overlooking the river, and settle in before wandering down to the shore.
The air is a little clearer, the water is nice, and Silva seems to enjoy exploring the river and the shoreline, including whatever stick she can chew, and odd bug she can find... we still have no idea what that bug was, but we weren't about to let Silva eat it.
After some time on the river, we wander the trails, and follow a path labeled as "viewpoint". It winds up a hillside through the forest, to a nice lookout over the river. Luckily Silva is on a leash as she follows a squirrel over the side of a steep trail.
What is this trap for? 
The Happy Tree!
@K9Camper: SQUIRREL! wait, aaaaaaahhhhhhhh!
After enjoying the view over the Thompson river, we continue wandering the trails back down to our campsite. It seems that at every turn another squirrel is chirping at Silva, we definitely need to work on her leash control, and controlled heel.
@K9Camper: Squirrel... Squirrel... Squirrel...
That night we go to bed, and although the moon is definitely obscured by smoke, the air is much fresher than in Kamloops. However, in the middle of the night we wake up to the smell of smoke, it's like sleeping in an ashtray. Apparently the winds have shifted.
You can smell the smoky air, Silva's watch for squirrel's is affected, but we don't realize just how much until we head back down to the river.
Even with the smoky air, the birds are still active, a Bald Eagle comes in to see if Silva might be small enough to scoop up. After a while it gives up and flies off, ducks and loons float by, and small birds fly past Silva, taunting her with their freedom.
Watching birds is fun, but watching fish is even more fun, each day on the water Silva gets more comfortable. When a bird gets too close, Silva chases after it to the end of her extend-a-leash, and the leash snaps... she keeps going, ignoring our calls until the bird crosses the river. Silva's freedom of a 25 ft on a long leash has just been taken, we still can't trust her to come back when critters are involved.
@K9Camper: Fishing on the River... BIRD!!!! Yay sweet freedom!
After finally catching up to our escapee, we head back to the campsite. One of the changing facets of camping is the new monster RV's, and apparently monster RV's need to have a gas powered generator to power their accessories. Our neighbor has set up his generator behind their RV so it doesn't disturb them, trouble is, that basically puts the noisy generator right in our campsite. After trying to sit peacefully in our campsite while they watch a movie for 2 hours the night before, I start to lose it when it's running again before dinner.
My frustration peaks when on the other side of us a new group has moved in, and has started up a club zone dance party... thump, thump, thump. That's it, we take a walk through the campground and find a new campsite, a quiet spot away from inconsiderate %$@#&'s
The new campsite is well treed and quiet, but with the smoke getting worse, it's time to head East again and try to escape the grey air.
Herald Provincial Park
We end up at Herald Provincial Park located on Shushwap lake near Salmon Arm. The air is a lot clearer here, and the lake water is warm and crystal clean. With the dog we aren't allowed on the main beach, but they have a very nice rocky pet beach just around the corner.
The campground is busy, but it has a nice mix of beach and forested areas, including some nice trails along a creek. Most importantly it has hot showers! Lake and river baths are fine, but hot showers! Now that's camping! Especially after a day in the lake.
In the mornings we check the trails, a nice walk to Margaret Falls and a steep hike up to the lookout. In the afternoons we check out the lake.
The trails are steep, but it is a nice treed forest area, and halfway along the loop trail, the view is amazing. You can still see that the smoke is in the air, but it makes for a nice morning before heading back down and spending the afternoon on the dog beach.
@K9Camper: Squirrel!!!!
All day long local squirrels have been chirping at Silva, running out into the trail, and then running back into the brush, but nothing would excite Silva as much as a local deer. We had spotted a deer in the campground earlier, later that day while sitting at the picnic table, the deer decides it's a great idea to wander right into our campsite, Silva didn't think that was a good idea, and went into guard dog mode.
The deer didn't stay for very long, damn dog, but Silva did her job, and probably saved our lives from a horrible deer mauling
@K9Camper: Huge dog!!! Woof, Wooof, Woooooof, woofoofoofoof woof woof woof woof!!!!
That night while we are finishing our dinner, it started to rain, we dash into the camper, and make our plans to move on the next morning.
But we aren't leaving before making use of those hot showers!
Fintry Provincial Park
This time we would head south to get away from the smoke, it wasn't bad in the Shushwap, but it definitely got better as we moved into the Okanagan. Taking the non-traditional route down the west side of Okanagan Lake, we end up at Fintry Provincial Park, halfway between Vernon and Kelowna. It's a nice park right on the lake, a little open compared to what we are used to, but the lake is beautiful and warm.
After settling into our campsite, we wander the campground and head over to the historic trails.
@K9Camper: Hey look, I found a dead mouse!
Convincing Silva to give up on her gruesome finds, and preventing her from fetching every quail that crosses our path, we finally make it to the 400 steps we have to climb to see Fintry Falls. It's a great feeling of accomplishment and relief when we finally get to the top.
After enjoying the view over the campground and lake we make our way back down, and pass a family of native Canadians drinking a bottle of whiskey on the stairs with their kids climbing around... kind of sad, it's 3:00 in the afternoon.
At the foot of the stairs is a series of historical farm buildings, including a rare octagonal dairy barn that was built in 1924. Also in the campgrounds is the one storey Manor House that Captain James Dun-Waters built between 1910 and 1911, for his first wife, Alice.
Back in the campsite it is very hard for Silva to relax when there is flocks of quails wandering all over the place.
After dinner the changing colour of the sky draws us into the lake trail and out to the lake for the sunset.
It's nice to see the moon and starts in a clear and non-smoky sky.
@K9Camper: Hey look, I found a dead bird!
The next morning was a great beach day, lots of time for all 3 of us to swim in the warm waters of Okanagan Lake.
Although the air was clear, and the lake was awesome, the openness of our campsite and the constant wasps made us decide it was time to move on. Another morning of packing up after sleeping in, and we hit the road... South to Kelowna.
Penticton
Kelowna has become a huge city, and really doesn't suit our old camper, so after a lunch stop we decide to continue down the lake towards Penticton. If you have ever camped in Penticton city limits you know what the campgrounds are like... they are like a Walmart parking lot. We stopped near Summerland instead and checked out the Okanagan Lake Provincial Campground. At first they set us up in a side by side campsite with a grassy area behind it, but after walking through the camp site we saw an empty site that looked much better. After a little bit of begging they let us move to that treed campsite, but only for 1 night. That's ok, we'll make the most of it.
It's hard to beat the beach at Fintry, but this lake shore is amazing, with a very scenic rocky backdrop.
Our friends in Penticton showed up at dinnertime with Pizza, so we spent the evening with them and their son Jon, hanging out at the beach. Jon loves throwing the stick for Silva, and when he get's carried away, Silva officially becomes a swimmer.
@K9Camper: Stick, STICK.... hey my feet aren't touching the ground anymore... this is dog paddling?
Sitting up on the desert like hillside is a creepy Bates Motel like house, the view must be amazing... but there's something creepy about it.
@K9Camper: Hey look, I found a dead woodpecker!
After heading to the bathrooms, Norine comes back to tell me about some weasel or ferret she saw on the grass. I go back there with her, and all I see is a black sock that has been left behind... "Are you sure it wasn't just this sock?". She didn't think it was funny.
The next morning she comes running back, "Come on, I'll show you!". It wasn't a weasel or ferret, but a rare Marmot, sitting there watching all the tourists going by... I think we may be the only ones that noticed her. Between marmots and chipmunks Silva is going nuts.
We knew we only could have one night here, but that was OK, we are in summer vacation central, and it will be nice to get away from the crowded campgrounds and beaches. After packing up the camper, then meeting our friends for lunch we head to Keremeos to load up on fresh fruit and cider, then start heading East towards home. Rather than driving the whole way home, we would make one more stop.
Manning Park
The final stop of our trip was in Manning Park, a provincial park between Hope and Princeton. After driving through the Mule Deer campground which overlooks the Similkameen River, it's full so we head down the highway to the Hampton Campground. It has 99 sites, and not one of them is occupied when we choose a nice private site away from the highway. At least that's what we thought, when we go for a walk with Silva, we discover we have setup right next to the only other campers in the entire campground. A little embarrassed, we pack up and move down to the other end of the campground. Later that day a 3rd camper would come in, 3 of us in 99 sites, that's nice!
Our last night was the best night for watching stars, a clear view of the night sky, no smoke, no pollution, no city lights... just a brilliantly bright full moon. The sky was so clear we could see Jupiter with the naked eye, and see it's 4 Galilean moons with binoculars or a zoom lens.
@K9Camper: WHAT! We're heading home? I was just starting to like this camping thing!
In the morning we would have some breakfast and pack up before heading West towards home. We are almost home when we are stuck sitting in traffic waiting to cross the Port Mann bridge. Just an extension of our holiday before getting home and parking the camper.
Hope
A week later... campfires are allowed, time to go camping again...