Day 10 - July 22
I must be conditioned to wake up early, because I woke up at 6:45. I
started to pack up, and rummaged through my food bag for oatmeal, bacon
and fruit. I made some motel instant coffee.
The tent and rain fly are dry. It is so much easier to pack when not
weighted down with water.
I was surprised to see how many bicyclists had left, but imagine they
were in a hurry to get home, especially if they have to work tomorrow.
I drove downtown in search of an open bookstore and found the used
store open. They have new and used books. I found a book on the Trans
Canada Trail, but it was over 15 years old, so not up to date. I finally
bought a new book (2006) Okanagan Tips and Trails. It's loaded with
hikes in the area that I just biked.
Then I left for Bear Creek Provincial Park. There were four vehicles
pulling trailers in line ahead of me. I was originally assigned to
space 81, but just after getting my tent set up, park staff came by and
said that there had been a mistake. My space had already been rented so I
needed to go back to the office for a new assignment.
I was reassigned to space 86, which is a 'shared' space with #85. The
camping areas are quite small, but have nice wooden picnic tables and a
fire ring. You have to set your tent up on the gravel, not the grass.
I found a spot where the grass was making inroads onto the gravel and
set it up there. One door is tied to one of the trees and the other
door to the middle support on the picnic table.
This is a very popular park, as evidenced by full capacity and multiple
tents and trailers on the sites. It has a beach for swimming, boat
ramp, hikes led by park personnel, nature events in the evenings in the
amphitheater, etc. For $22, it is comparable to many private campsites.
Also, nice, clean bathrooms and free showers.
About an hour after I arrived, a family of 4 came for #85. They are
from Saskatchewan and have been attending family reunions. They are a
younger couple with a son, Ross, who is six, and a daughter, Erin, who is
a few years older. The children are friendly and came right over to
my picnic table as I was eating lunch, and offered to share a large bag
of unshelled peanuts.
After they left for Kelowna to see relatives, I decided to drive to
Kelowna in search of a laundromat. Kelowna is on the other side of Lake
Okanagan, and accessible by a bridge. Unfortunately there is road work
being done, and three lanes became one.
Kelowna is a much larger town (100,000+) than I anticipated. I had no
luck finding a laundromat on my own, but stopped at a supermarket for
directions. I was given a choice of two close by. One to the south in
the back of the Capri Shopping Center or one to the north, near Costco.
I went to Costco, and found some Cadbury toffee bars to share with the
family for smores this evening. Then I found the laundromat around the
corner in the adjacent shopping center. The change machine was out of
order, and the double machines (smallest kind) took $2.50 in quarters.
I decided to do my small load in my coolers and hang the clothes on
the line in my campsite. If need be, I can always bring my clothes in
for the dryers.
Returning back to the campsite was easier because there were two
outbound lanes. I came back and the family arrived a short time later. They
had a big bucket of large cherries that they wanted to share with me
later that evening.
I ate my re-hydrated meal, and then wandered over to the amphitheater
to see what was on the agenda. The show had started at 7:00, and the
park ranger was talking about scorpions. The had a few preserved ones in
clear containers that he passed around for closer looks. Then he
talked about tomorrow's agenda - 1:00 a nature walk on plants (good and bad)
in this area, and at 7:00 cougars. I asked him about the hike across
the street (trailhead) and he told me it would take about 1-1/2 hours
and went through various ecological zones. I decided to stay another day
before heading north. When I came back to my camp site I joined the
family for cherries and s’mores. I was amazed at how tired I was for
doing nothing, and called it a night at 9:30.
Tomorrow: do hand laundry, hike the trail across the street, hike the
nature trail with the park ranger, swim, start packing up to go up north
of Revelstoke.
Nikii who is somewhere in British Columbia
