Interior BC

As some of you know, I recently was on vacation in BC. I spent a bunch of time in the GVA with my SO's family before heading out to the interior to stay a few days at the lake. Her family has a nice trailer up at a park in the mountains. I stayed in a much simpler, vacant trailer next door.

The park is situated on a small secluded lake halfway up Sun Peaks, which has a summit of 2,080 metres (6,824 feet). The lake we were on is at 1,149 metres (3,770 feet). It's about a 400-km (250-mi) drive northeast of Vancouver, and is situated about 500 km (300 miles) west of the famous Banff National Park in the Rockies.

Not extreme by any means (the region is technically subalpine), but this Ontario boy isn't accustomed to the mountains. With a combination of relaxation and the mountain air, my average night's sleep was 10 hours, coupled with an average nap time of about 2 hours.

The weather was awesome. Sunny skies and an Indian summer. Temperatures averaged 12 to 15 C (54 to 60 F) during the day, and about -5 C (23 F) at night. Needless to say, I was grateful for two sleeping bags ranked for -20 C. The trailer I had was heated only by a tiny space heater, as the propane was disconnected (the owner had already winterized and was gone for the season by the time we got there). A couple days in, however, the propane was hooked up, which allowed me to preheat the trailer with its noisy furnace before going to bed. I was happy to get it up to 60 F before hitting the sack. It would drop down to around 50 F by morning. Much toastier.

We spent a lot of time just chilling out, but there was also ATVing and kayaking.

Now with the photos. I didn't take many, but I wanted to share with you a slice of what I was seeing while out there.

First, on the way up, my mother-in-common-law and I stopped for lunch in Merritt, a small town along the highway not long after you realize you aren't near the coast anymore but in a much more arid and barren landscape. We ate at a small diner that she loves. I was going to just order a sandwich and fries, but after she pointed out the most ridiculous item on the menu, I just had to order it.

It's called Mountain of Mushrooms. Behold!



If you look more closely, you can see the burger (bun, lettuce, tomato, onion, and all) nestled cozily in the centre. And, yes, I did eat every last morsel.



This is the view from the campfire next to the in-common-laws' trailer, and it's pretty much what I stared at (while not staring at the fire) most of the time I was there.





These are a couple of shots at the summit of one of the longer logging road loops we took on ATVs.





The whole area has the following industries: ski resorts, fishing/camping resorts, logging, and beef cattle (or, as I like to call them: mountain cows). Cows were everywhere along the road. They roam at large and are only contained using cattle guards that appear everywhere along the roads. We even ran into a bull that blocked our way on a dyke next to a lake. Luckily, he was more interested in keeping away from a couple of quads than he was in challenging them!

We also saw rabbits, a bunch of deer (no bucks, though it is open season), stellar jays, whiskeyjacks (crazy buggers), bald eagles, hawks, loons, bighorn sheep, noisy-but-cute ducks, and, of course, trout. No bears this time. I have yet to see a bear out there. I think I'm the only one.

Anyway, I'd say more, but I could go on and on. It was fun! I hope you enjoyed the photos.

 

We want to do a BC road trip some day. I love Vancouver, but I want to see the rest of the province. Thanks for the pictures!

 

Thanks for your comments, guys.

I'm currently enjoying a salad topped with some homemade smoked salmon. Between the smoked and the raw, they sent me home with about 10 pounds of fish!

My brother-in-common-law catches salmon all the time, and the parents have their own smoker.