#YOLO in YOHO National Park

I've insisted that if #YOLOinYOHO isn't their tourism slogan, someone isn't doing their job.

Yoho National Park is a gem we knew little about, but as the old Trans Canada runs right through the park we couldn't help ourselves--jumping off the highway for a detour is what our days are made of. With no way exhausting the adventures Yoho has in store, we got a taste of the good stuff and learned what the word confluence means. What a time to be alive!

Emerald Lake

I'd say our first true 'Jewel of the Rockies' lake. You know, the oxymoronic lakes that are creamy electric blue/green but weirdly also super clear. Very inviting for a swim but cold AF. Canadian icons. Being a bit busy in and around the parking lot, the crowds thinned out a bit as we walked the 5km around the lake. To better paint the picture, the trail was busy enough that you wouldn't need bear spray but sparse enough that one could duck off for a sneaky tinkle. I really don't think I could be anymore clear. 

Nature's playground!

Being a glacial lake, the water was only 5° C, but ya know #YOLOinYOHO

Loved seeing the lake from different angles (hope you did too), and way less congested and frantic than getting close to the likes of Lake Louise (more on that later). If you're ever driving through Yoho, Emerald Lake is a must stop.

The Natural Bridge

Carved from the Kicking Horse River, there's a giant hole in the rocks forming a 15-metre natural bridge. Pretty neat quick stop to-or-fro Emerald Lake. Also the Yoho River flows to its confluence with the Kicking Horse River, in case you were wondering

Didn't actually take a pic of the natural bridge 

Takakkaw Falls 

Largest cascading waterfall in Canada, falling an uninterrupted 381 metres, she's a powerful beauty with her own climate (but aren't we all?). When approaching the falls, the sunny day disappears and you're engulfed in a misty wind storm. Super cool, in more ways than one. 

What's more fun than one vintage travel book, but two.
Turns out my Dad had an original copy of the
same book. You can't beat the classics!

I'm sure at this point you're thinking to yourself "Wow, these guys know a lot of fun facts about stuff." Apt. It's true, we do. But the funnest (most fun 😒) fact is that we found all this info offline from a trusty CAA Canadian Book of the Road circa 1979, purchased at a thrift store on Vancouver Island for $1. This book was perused every night, dog-eared, captioned, brought us to some little visited corners of Canada, and will someday be passed onto Baby J as a family heirloom. Thanks CAA.

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!