Today was the day we decided to leave snowy Alberta behind. Now if it had been a Friday (the 13th) we may have reconsidered, but it was a Thursday and we were ready. It was our primary goal to get ourselves into warmer weather where at least our trailer didn't need straw bales to survive the freezing temperatures through the night.
Our biggest concern was traveling through the mountains as weather and temperatures can change at a moment’s notice. Alberta weather reports were mostly for freezing rain but it looked like there was a window of opportunity to sneak through on Highway 1 through Banff, Golden, Revelstoke to Sicamous. We then made our way further South from Sicamous to Enderby. The weather was gradually getting warmer as we traveled and when I say warmer I mean from negative temperatures to low positives like 7 degrees Celsius. Much warmer!
It was a long day of travel, but our little dog, Piper seemed content to ride along although again I think she’s always wondering “what the hell are they doing now?”.
Through our Good Sam membership (goodsamclub.com) we are able to access different campsites and information about them. They are not all Good Sam member campgrounds, but this is a very helpful way to find out affordability of the campgrounds and their locations before booking. I will also mention at this time a wonderful app Allstays we found (allstays.com). This app shows you a map of everything from rest stops, campgrounds, state parks, free stay overnight parking, fuel stops, and many others. It has already proven to be a very useful tool.
I found a gem of a campground tucked into the small but quaint City of Enderby called Riverside RV Park (112 Kildonan Avenue, (250) 838-0155). Upon arrival the fellow at the counter was warm and friendly and most accommodating. We pulled in, hooked up to the utilities and found ourselves with running water! As we haven’t been hooked up to water for so long… Awwww, we could shower in our unit for the first time since moving out of the house! Super nice and convenient.
Check out Google website: exploringenderby.com
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| Our spot at Riverside RV Park, Enderby, BC |
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| The Shuswap River that runs through the City of Enderby |
After a brisk morning walk in the cool but beautiful mountain air along the river and tour of some of the downtown area of Enderby, we packed up, hitched up, and began our venture on to Vancouver heading towards Vernon, then Kelowna, cutting through on Highway 97C that links into Highway 5 and again meeting up with Highway 1. Dan was a master at driving the steep terrain, dealing with giant wind gusts, rain, snow, traffic congestion, and also a couple of “hiccups” in the truck’s functioning.
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| A cool tunnel on the way to Vancouver |
Area conditions were poor with high winds and rains and yet Vancouver was still expecting the worst of three consecutive storms that had already taken out power and knocked down trees! But then on the way to Vancouver, there was this beautiful rainbow...Thankfully that third storm’s power didn’t accelerate and we didn’t have to face the tremendous winds that were to come with it. However, it has been raining, and raining, and raining…Welcome to Vancouver in October my sister says!
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| Amazing toll bridge on Highway 1 into Vancouver |
The City of Vancouver is amazing with all it’s lush foliage, beaches, ocean tankers and ships in the harbours, the busyness of the City, and yet it all unfolds in an extremely organized way. We loved seeing how builders were salvaging old homes by lifting them off of their eroded foundations and pouring new foundations.
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| Quaint little street in Westside Vancouver |
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| Old houses lifted from their original foundations |
Old architecture and remnants of old buildings tell a history of past times. We went through an area called Jericho Park and Jericho Beach. We saw attention captivating old buildings exhibiting architecture of their times that were once part of a military base. (To read more about this area, please check out: http://spacing.ca/vancouver/2014/02/17/jericho-beach-1860s-onward/.)
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| Oh Canada! Jericho Beach area, Vancouver |
Further down from Jericho Beach there are other small beaches including a dog park beach. We watched the dogs on the beach frolic and play in the ocean water, people running, walking, and biking by, enjoying the ambience of the gentle sound of the waves, the trickle of rain, and fresh breezes off the water. Vancouver is a beautiful City and if we had more time and if there had been better weather, we would have explored it more.
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| My Sister walking ahead with her pup Lucy |
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| Enjoying the beautiful scenery and fresh ocean air |
Past visits I have explored and immensely enjoyed Stanley Park and the Aquarium which I would highly recommend to anyone visiting Vancouver.
Check out vancouver.ca to find out more about the beautiful City of Vancouver.
Next, hitching up and heading South…
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