Mount Revelstoked National Park

Aug. 6-9th

 I love revisiting place in a different season. Having previously enjoyed Revelstoke in a snowstorm, summer was a whole new vibe. Well actually pretty similar, just replace the skis with mountain bikes and snowflakes for mosquitos and sama sama.

The highlight of our revisit was Mount Revelstoke National Park. Remember I mentioned my newfound love for alpine meadows? Well omg. The very well-loved Eva and Miller Lake trail was so so good. The meadows of wildflowers, the snowcapped mountains, the crystal clear lakes. Basically just a 15km wander through a Canadian postcard. The MVP of the day was obviously Mother Nature, but big shoutout to Baby J---His longest hike to date, taking the initiative to take a sneaky dip in the glacial lake, being changed amongst clouds of mosquitos, snoozing through some epic panoramas and otherwise chatting away for kilometres (we have no need a bear bell...Jamie long announces our arrival). Just a regular day of baby business, he takes it all in stride.

Peachland-y Keen

Aug. 3-6th

Alright, after a month of camping and general lollygagging with some beautiful island people in beautiful island places, we decided to make a solid effort to head east. Our first stop was the Okanogan. As the Okanogan is a region made up of a bunch of different towns, we honed in on a couple of friends living in the area, leading us to Peachland; Which is just as charming as it sounds. 

Spending two nights parked on the beachside curb, there couldn't be a nicer place to wakeup. Unfortunately the wind was out of control, and after trying to keep hold of our stuff and a couple hard knocks to the head we decided to take shelter. Being in the Okanogan and never more than a couple clicks away from a vineyard, it was wine o'clock. 

We like wine, we drink wine, we wine tour, we know people who understand wine (and by proxy occasionally drink good wine). So when we roll up in our campervan with yesterday's clothes on and a fragile baby needing a nap, we know we're not throwing off sommelier vibes. What's worse was our frantic exit, as Tyler suddenly realized that he had forgotten his bike (the only thing of value we didn't sell before leaving Vancouver) at the park. Nothing confirms everyone's notion that we're Cousin Eddy like double fisting your tastings before throwing cash on the bar and running out the door. Sorry Brenda, we don't care that the chardonnay was aged in an oak barrel.

As mentioned, we have a couple friends who live in Peachland--As an added bonus to their stellar personalities (and aforementioned knowledge of wine) they had blooming fruit trees. We felt like we hit the lotto as they sent us packing with fresh apricots, cherries, jam and even a homemade pie. Honestly, the way to my heart will forever be genuine kindness, positivity...and home cooking. With beachside park-ups, wine tasting and gorgeous fresh fruit, Peachland had us thinking this would be an amazing place to settle down! (You'll find this a common theme as we visit towns and cities across Canada). But seriously, Peachland is, well, a peach.

Feeling peachy!

Strathcona Park, Vancouver Island

July 15th-23rd

Key Takeaways: 

• Strathcona Park on Vancouver Island is one of the most beautiful places.  
• The best campsites are free.
• A Rainbow Community gathering is in our future (want to come with?)
• Quiet birthdays are cool too.

We left Campbell River with our bellies full of fish and chips and wandered around some old logging roads in search of a recreational site to camp. Using a borrowed 10-year old backroads map, we knew there were once rec sites in the area, but kept coming up on abandonned/closed down roads&sites. Still a bit sheepish of logging roads with no cell service after our flat tire, we settled on a new-ish rec site that was conviently completely free. Having a legit waterfront campsite for the cost of nothing can't be beat!

Not bad, eh?

We love our early morning coffee walks!

Finally sun was shining and we decided to make a move towards Strathcona Provinical Park. We had a few hikes we wanted to do, and we wanted to strike while there was a temporary break in the rain. Although a huge park, we based ourselves around Buttle Lake, and explored the area. It's where my new found obsession with alpine meadows bloomed. And although I'm not sure they are considered alpine meadows-- there's mountains, lakes and wildflowers all in the same vista and it makes me heart sing and glow and jump for joy! You'll also notice the transition from tuques and sweaters to bathing suits in this post. This is the stretch where summer weather finally made an appearance. 👏

After Strathcona Park we decided to keep heading west to the Gold River area. Gold River is a town with laundry and some groceries and two liquor stores. I really feel like they've got their finger on the pulse. While hanging around Gold River waiting for our laundry, we bumped into a free-spirit named Tree who invited us to checkout the Rainbow Community gathering just outside of town. Never hearing of it, he told us more about the community- Just some nature-loving, freethinking folks who share a couple good meals and conversation each day. You had us at "good meals" Tree. Buuttt if you know us, you know we get stuck in places once the old van gets put in park, so we didn't make it out. See you next year, Tree. And blessings.

We ended up staying at Muchalat Lake for almost a week. Since the weather started to feel a lot more like summer, we lounged at the beach, read books and swam a lot. I also celebrated my birthday lakeside-- being far from crowds and cell service, one of the quietest birthdays to date-- A sunny day with Tyler and Jamie, long afternoon paddle followed by evening champers and campfire nachos. Following a year of significant change, substantial solotime, which lead to some serious reflection, and noteworthy shifts in perspectives and priorities, this birthday celebration was so fitting. Simple and wonderful 💕

Birthday bliss!