lundi, juillet 10, 2006
there's a boat, I could sail away
there's the sky, I could catch a plane Alright, then. What a weekend. Sorry for the delayed update - it's quarter-end and hence board meeting time at work, so I'm busy again these days. We got home from BC pretty late last night.
When we got to Sick-Moose, it turned out the Moose was dead - no campsites to be found. Uh-oh! After a six-hour-congested-and-roadwork-delayed drive (busy tourist season on the Trans-Canada through the Canadian Rockies right now), those were not pleasant words to hear. But froo was coming towards us from the other side and managed to snag a good little spot just outside Salmon Arm.
It was positively lovely in BC, again. Hot, hot, hot. Our campsite was right on the Shuswap, and had a decent beach, so we pumped up the raft and headed out on the water. It was kinda nice to have the boat on water that was actually not ice-cold, like our wonderful Bow River in Calgary. We even went for a swim!
Camping really is a lot of fun. Making do with various not-quite-right tools, cooking utensils, and a one-burner campstove - it makes you feel very satisfied when you successfully pull together a meal, or get that clothesline UP. Just being in the good old outdoors - it's so very refreshing. We set up the tent, pumped up the air mattress, strung up that clothesline, started a fire, set up a makeshift "kitchen" at the end of the picnic table, and relaxed with some camp stew and beers. Later we gathered around the fire and made s'mores. Yum.
Since we only had the one night there, we had to make the best of our quick visit. After a night in the tent (and Persuade on the backseat of my rented Rio), we strolled groggily to the lake with our rafts and went for an early-morning boat ride. Then it was back to camp to make a breakfast feast. Devin and I had stocked up on great ingredients, so we had a complete meal of instant coffee, maple-smoked bacon, pan fries, fried eggs and toast. It was a bit piecemeal, due to the one-burner situation, but it was a great meal nonetheless. After the time required to cook only one part of the meal at a time, then slowly cleaning up after cooking, breakfast was a lengthy process indeed, taking nearly two hours. Fortunately, our campsite was a peaceful spot to hang out and relax in the sun (or shade) while everything simmered.
All too soon we had to pack up and tackle the six-hour drive back. With only a short break en route to see some huge old trees, we made it home just after 10 PM. I have some great memories from our visit to Salmon Arm, and some great pics here.
p.s. if you think the skoonies are bad in Calgary, don't visit the dead Moose / Sick-Moose area. They hover around looking for that one patch of flesh where you didn't put sufficient bug juice... Buggers! | ¶ 9:44 p.m.
there's the sky, I could catch a plane Alright, then. What a weekend. Sorry for the delayed update - it's quarter-end and hence board meeting time at work, so I'm busy again these days. We got home from BC pretty late last night.
When we got to Sick-Moose, it turned out the Moose was dead - no campsites to be found. Uh-oh! After a six-hour-congested-and-roadwork-delayed drive (busy tourist season on the Trans-Canada through the Canadian Rockies right now), those were not pleasant words to hear. But froo was coming towards us from the other side and managed to snag a good little spot just outside Salmon Arm.It was positively lovely in BC, again. Hot, hot, hot. Our campsite was right on the Shuswap, and had a decent beach, so we pumped up the raft and headed out on the water. It was kinda nice to have the boat on water that was actually not ice-cold, like our wonderful Bow River in Calgary. We even went for a swim!Camping really is a lot of fun. Making do with various not-quite-right tools, cooking utensils, and a one-burner campstove - it makes you feel very satisfied when you successfully pull together a meal, or get that clothesline UP. Just being in the good old outdoors - it's so very refreshing. We set up the tent, pumped up the air mattress, strung up that clothesline, started a fire, set up a makeshift "kitchen" at the end of the picnic table, and relaxed with some camp stew and beers. Later we gathered around the fire and made s'mores. Yum.
Since we only had the one night there, we had to make the best of our quick visit. After a night in the tent (and Persuade on the backseat of my rented Rio), we strolled groggily to the lake with our rafts and went for an early-morning boat ride. Then it was back to camp to make a breakfast feast. Devin and I had stocked up on great ingredients, so we had a complete meal of instant coffee, maple-smoked bacon, pan fries, fried eggs and toast. It was a bit piecemeal, due to the one-burner situation, but it was a great meal nonetheless. After the time required to cook only one part of the meal at a time, then slowly cleaning up after cooking, breakfast was a lengthy process indeed, taking nearly two hours. Fortunately, our campsite was a peaceful spot to hang out and relax in the sun (or shade) while everything simmered.All too soon we had to pack up and tackle the six-hour drive back. With only a short break en route to see some huge old trees, we made it home just after 10 PM. I have some great memories from our visit to Salmon Arm, and some great pics here.p.s. if you think the skoonies are bad in Calgary, don't visit the dead Moose / Sick-Moose area. They hover around looking for that one patch of flesh where you didn't put sufficient bug juice... Buggers! | ¶ 9:44 p.m.
