Just kidding!! It’s just that the two things we consume the most of… wine and gas, were more expensive fosho!
BC is the land of lakes and you know how much I like lakes! But seriously, I’ve never seen so many BIG lakes and I wanted to swim in every single one.
-
© 2011 Richard Broadwell
- Our very first, Kootenay Lake, is 90 miles long and glacier carved with snow capped mountains hovering above. The roads were squiggly and ran along the entire length on both sides. There is the charming town of Nelson which transformed itself from a struggling lumber town into a thriving arts and mountain sports mecca. Not too far away they hold the annual Shambhala Music festival at the Salmo River Ranch. We cut across the mountain at Kaslow to Slokan Lake which connects to the Upper Arrow Lake which connects to the… well you get the idea. There’s so many lakes and they’re so big that twice we got to take a ferry across for FREE! The best deal of the trip.
- Because the rivers were still blown out from the late snow melt and the fishing stunk we ended up in yet another lake mecca, the Okanagan Lake area. We stopped off in Vernon at the very north end so my human could play golf. And then we headed south to Oliver, the wine capital of Canada!
-
© 2011 Richard Broadwell - Oliver, BC
- Oliver is in the desert but with vineyards. It was like home, so warm! We visited wineries and did tastings, discovering some great Canadian Pinot Gris.
© 2011 Richard Broadwell
From Oliver we headed to Vancouver, where the weather was perfect. I could see the total livability of this city but don’t know if I could take the rain, 47 inches a year. We took the Skytrain downtown then took a tiny taxi ferry to the Granville Island Market. The food! My mouth was watering but all I got was some kibble. Have to keep my girlish figure!
We couldn’t wait to get to Vancouver Island, until they measured us at the ferry terminal. Ay yi yi! We’re 45 feet long and they charge by the foot. But we thought it was worth every penny. On the ferry ride the rig was parked on the outer lane underneath but with open portholes and when we flung the windows open the trailer transformed into a houseboat. Ah, the ocean air! I really want to look into buying a barge.
© 2011 Richard Broadwell
But Tofino was my favorite – I went crazy when I finally got to the beach!
© 2011 Richard Broadwell
Free at last!
And though we had some fog it was still beautiful with great sunsets. We had lots of campfires and tons of halibut fish and chips. Tofino is the gateway to the Clayoquot Sound region, a world UNESCO biosphere reserve. It is a pristine wilderness with surfing, whale watching, kayaking and more.
© 2011 Richard Broadwell - Tofino, BC
Tofino is the northern most accessible spot in the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, a combination of rain forests and rugged coastline. The drive there is quite tricky, especially with the rig and lots of people take a float plane or a ferry. Now here it really rains, 118 inches a year. I would love to be there during a big winter storm, it must be wild. We had a lovely early dinner at Wickaninnish Restaurant on Long Beach after a drive to Ucluelet, just south of Tofino.
© 2011 Richard Broadwell - Long Beach, BC
There are a couple of great campgrounds in Tofino; Bella Pacifica right above the sand and Crystal Cove with campsites off the beach. Both are on beautiful Mackenzie Beach. We didn’t have to worry about bears at our campground, just cougars! There was an attack nearby while we were there. I love kitty cats but come on.
When we first started this adventure I thought I would have lots of horrible but funny stories about living the RV life, it wasn’t my idea to go on this trip you know? But instead it’s been the most uplifting experience. I’ve met the most incredible people along the way, eh? In Vernon it was the Scott family, who were missing their Miller and gave me tons of love. And the humans all had a pretty good time too. And in Oliver we met Annie and Frida. I tried to teach them how to swim but I’m not sure it comes naturally to pugs and fugs (french bulldog and pug). Their humans, Pat and Dallas, invited us to their home on Vancouver Island and fed us a yummy steak dinner with all the fixings while we finished the last of the Oliver wine stash together. Like I said, it turns out the nicest people go glamping.
© 2011 Richard Broadwell - Victoria BC
The last night before our return to the States was quintessential BC. We spent the night smack on the waterfront in Victoria at the ferry dock for FREE, that is if you don’t count how much 45 feet of rig costs.
© 2011 Richard Broadwell
The classic wooden boat show was in full swing and an outdoor concert on the waterfront was our playlist. The joint was jumping on a warm Sunday night. Everybody had the next day off as it was Monday, Labor Day, which made for quite the festive evening.
It was the perfect ending to our BC experience.
© 2011 Richard Broadwell - Victoria, BC
Coming up next: Back in the USsA!
Ginger Goes Glamping 
Hi Carol, Looks like you’re having a great time!! xxKevin
LikeLike
We are!! Hope all is well with you! xo
LikeLike
Hey Ginger, love the beautiful pix and so glad you got to visit our province. Come back soon and thanks for Bringing Cash!
LikeLike
Ginger is having the time of her life! I’m sad Ginger didn’t make it to SF tonight…can you photoshop her into our pic outisde of Wayfare Tavern?? hahaha ❤ you guys!
LikeLike
oh, ginger, we love it when you go glamping! thanks for sharing all your great photos of b.c., one of our favorite places on the planet.
LikeLike