Hope 2010
You can't really consider summer over until the Labour Day weekend is over, the weather is right, so one week after getting back, we pack up again and head to Hope... the home of Rambo. Three days of camping on the river with our niece and nephew.
Now that the weather has cooled, we can even have campfires.
Hope
The drive out on a long weekend Friday is always fun, as we crawl along in traffic on Highway 1, we have a great view of Mt. Baker.
A quick stop to pickup dinner in Hope, and we are setting up our camper on the shores of the Coquihalla River.
After a night of campfire traditions, such as burns, flaming marshmallows, and broken camp chairs, we head to bed. The next morning would be a full day of playing in the river, skipping stones and exploring the campground.
When we get back to the campsite, Norine's sister has found the biggest grub I have seen since Australia. He looks a lot like Heimlich from Pixar's 'A Bug's Life'. We all spend some time checking it out, and then release it into the wild before Silva eats him.
@K9Camper Hey, it's a green wiener!
The Othello Tunnels
The next morning the kids decide it would be great idea to hike up to the Othello Tunnels. The girl at the campground reception tells us about the 5 minute drive up their, walking shouldn't take very long... right? Turns out it is a 6 kilometer hike along a windy and hilly roadside.
When we finally get to the Othello Tunnel park, everyone has to make a run for the outhouses. Feeling refreshed we head down the riverside trail that leads to the historic tunnels. There is all kind of great viewpoints and locations that let us look down on spawning salmon.
In the early 1900s, the Canadian Pacific Railway decided a route was necessary to link the Kootenay Region with the BC coast by rail. The railway was built over three mountain ranges. In the Coquihalla Gorge - the river cut a 300 foot deep channel of solid granite. A straight line of tunnels were built through it which are known now as the Othello Tunnels. There are spectacular viewing opportunities available on the trail, through the tunnels and on the bridges. This park highlights the Kettle Valley Railway grade that passes through the canyon and 5 tunnels which were built in 1914.
Once we get past the tunnels the trail continues and makes it way back into Hope. As it turns out, the trail route would have cutoff a good 30-45 minutes off of our walk to the tunnels. Along the way mice keep running out onto the trail, driving Silva crazy. Suddenly she leaps to the side of the trail, and before we can even react she has something in her mouth. I grab her and get her to spit it out, a little grey mouse... The kids are all excited as the mouse starts to run away and they scare it right back to Silva who chomps down on him again.
One little grey mouse did not make it home to his family that night...
@K9Camper These forest mouse toys are fun!
@K9Camper Mmmmm, snake skin!
@K9Camper Yummy, a dead frog!
After our 4 hour adventure we settled back into the remaining camp-chairs, got the campfire going again, and BBQ'ed up some dinner. That night the rain would come down creating rivers on all the paths, so the next morning our camping summer ended. We packed up the camper, watched Norine's sister and Brother-in-law pack up their tent trailer, and made one more fruit and veggie stop before heading home.
@K9Camper I like this thing the humans call "CAMPING"