The Pinegrove RV Resort and Campground was sparsely populated but well-kept. The bathrooms were wonderfully clean, the lots well-treed, and there was even a small playground. It was also cheap. It cost us $32 for a powered site, which is a site with a plug. That’s less than what we’ve been paying for unserviced provincial park sites.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, it’s nestled cozily between a highway and a freight railway line, and neither of those shut down at night. I slept like a baby. I generally wake a couple of hours before Those Johnston Kids and wait for them to stir. That morning though, I slept until almost 9. I think it was the combination of white noise from the highway and the familiar rumble of freight trains reminding me of the GO line that runs through our backyard at home.<\/p>\n
Breakfast was pancakes again, with apricot-blueberry compote made from the apricots the kids had picked the day before. Pancakes are becoming a staple food.<\/p>\n
We had no particular plan for the day except to get to Mount Robson Provincial Park, about 3 hours north. We threw ourselves at the mercy of fate. There was little choice as Alison, our titular navigator, was still working out the nuances of the role. We became leaves upon the wind.<\/p>\n
There was no sense throwing ourselves at Fate unprovisioned, so we stopped for really good ice cream cones at a roadside stand in Barriere. The very nice man at the counter served a generous single scoop in a waffle cone for only $3.50. I recommend the Sea Salt Caramel flavour highly.<\/p>\n
Highway 5, north of Kamloops did not seem to offer much in the way of distractions. We found nothing to draw us off the road until we reached Clearwater. There, a large colourful billboard promised white water rafting adventure so we followed the arrow on the sign into town. 20 minutes and more than $300 later, we were bumping our way upriver in the back of a passenger van towing a large yellow raft. With us on the trip was a pleasant Dutch family on vacation from Europe. Their three children ranged from 9 to 13 years old. Even with the language barrier, the kids found ways to amuse each other. I liked that.<\/p>\n
The first couple of rapids were deemed too big for kids under 10, so the adults and older kids were dropped in the river first. We pulled over to pick up the youngsters after the rough stuff. I thought that Those Johnston Kids would have been fine, but I can understand that the rafting outfit has safety protocols of its own. Everyone had a great time regardless.<\/p>\n
About halfway through the trip, we pulled over to hike up the steep side of the river canyon. A 10 minute walk up through the woods led us to a tall waterfall dramatically spilling over a cliff into a pool below. Our guide demonstrated how to carefully make our way out onto the rocks beneath the pounding water and leap into the pool. Naturally, we followed.<\/p>\n
Naturally, the water was heart-stoppingly cold. I don’t know if that’s a word, but seriously, I just stopped feeling anything for a few beats while my body had a ‘WTF?’ moment. I’m pretty sure my body hates me now. We’re not talking anyway.<\/p>\n
The adults were all content with one jump into the water that was one cold night away from being a rink, but the kids of both families ran around for seconds, then thirds. Despite their purple lips and uncontrollable shivering, they would have jumped until hypothermia set in if the time hadn’t come to head back down to the river.<\/p>\n
We were served a snack of powdered lemon drink, potato chips, chocolate chip cookies and candy. That’s what happens when you let 20 year old guides pack the picnic. The children stood shoulder to shoulder around the bounty laid out for us and steadily shovelled the junk into their increasingly manic faces. “I see you don’t feed your kids either,” I remarked to the Dutch mother. “Oh no, never,” she replied wryly.<\/p>\n
The second half of the trip had a few small rapids, but the feature activity was swimming. We were allowed to jump off the raft to float down the river in the powerful current. Those Johnston Kids barely waited for the signal to go before they were in the chilly water. I joined them as quickly as I could. It wasn’t quite as cold as the pool under the waterfall, but still bracing. I felt like I was 10 years old again.<\/p>\n
The guides, who didn’t introduce themselves as far as I recall, were great with the kids, who were a majority in our party. The raft guide was quite patient with the gaggle of children turning his boat into a floating bouncy castle, and with the limited propulsion provided by only 4 adults. The kayak safety guide engaged the kids a lot and even gave them rides on the bow and stern of his kayak.<\/p>\n
So we had a good time and one more thing is crossed off the bucket list.<\/p>\n
The drive north to Mount Robson was punctuated by rain, on and off. In contrast to the lower greener mountains on the coast side, in the interior the mountains were big enough to shrug off the mantle of pines and thrust bare rocky shoulders into the sky. The setting sun shone off the snow and ice that capped the sharp peaks.<\/p>\n
We saw a small black bear amble across the road some distance in front of us, but Alison had literally all of our cameras in her bag and couldn’t get one out and focussed in time.<\/p>\n
We drove up a hillside into the woods near Mount Robson, following signs for a ranch with RV camping. I thought it might make for an interesting stay. The switchback led to a hand-painted No Vacancy sign on a driveway that looked like it led to a hillbilly encampment, but the road continued up, so we followed it further. We came to some sort of rail maintenance yard, with a great pile of scrap metal pieces. I may have kept a couple of souvenirs that weigh almost as much as me. Maybe.<\/p>\n
We reviewed the GoPro video I had managed to capture of our rafting trip before the battery died. As we tucked in, a light rain began to fall that continued steadily through the night.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Pinegrove RV Resort and Campground was sparsely populated but well-kept. The bathrooms were wonderfully clean, the lots well-treed, and there was even a small playground. It was also cheap. It cost us $32 for a powered site, which is a site with a plug. That’s less than what we’ve been paying for unserviced provincial … Continue reading Wild Water<\/span>