Camping

We've lived in British Columbia for almost exactly two years and haven't gone camping until this weekend. In fact, this was our first camping trip as a family.

On Friday afternoon the girls picked me up at my office and we drove about three hours east to Manning Provincial Park, a huge forest reserve. There we met up with our friends Elliot, Heidi and Nathan, with whom we'd planned the trip and were sharing the campsite reservation.

This was our home for the weekend.



The facilities were great. We had a picnic table, a fire pit (unfortunately, due to summer forest fires, a ban was on and we couldn't use it), a gravel patch to pitch our tents on, and a nearby washroom/shower facility with outside sinks and warm water for washing dishes. Daily and nightly events - family-friendly activities - were held in a small ampitheater.

The local fauna weren't shy about approaching us for food scraps. They must be pretty used to having us hairless monkeys around.


Heidi and Margo had planned our meals. That first evening's menu included salmon and pork kebabs, burgers, and garden fresh veggies with an Okanagan Merlot and some BC brews. There was a bit of light rain but it was easy to ignore, and we ate in camp chairs under a tarp.


Overnight it got quite cold. There was ice on the picnic table. Elliot checked his car's thermometer and it was reading 1° when we got up. Fortunately the skies were mostly clear so the sun helped warm us up, along with fresh-ground coffee. When we could stop shivering, we broke out the food and started cooking breakfast: eggs, bacon, toast, oatmeal, and melon.



After cleaning up, we headed out to a trail to walk around nearby Lightning Lake.




After that hike, we took time to relax in the chairs and do some reading. Then we were off for a shorter hike up one bank and down another of the Similkameen River.





Dinner was flank steak, corn on the cob, baked beans, a nice bottled blend of Pinot Noir, Merlot, and Lemberger, and BC beers.

In the morning it was not quite as cold - we heard 2° this time - but instead of having our planned pancakes before packing out, it was suggested and unanimously accepted that instead we pack up and get breakfast in Hope on the way back. The cloudy skies and potential for rain had the makings of a less than fun morning, so we had omelettes and pancakes in a much warmer room instead.