Road Tripping in BC and Alberta

(I can't believe it - this is two posts in a row where Blogger hasn't hidden my update)

It was still early August as we followed a course from Vancouver Island across central British Columbia, following the Fraser river.  It was still very warm at around 33C (91F).

It sounded like a good time to head for the lake!  Around this time, I got a call from a potential employer, wanting to know if I was still interested in a fire warden job in BC.  I was interested, but more interested in spending some time at the lake - and out of internet!  A friend has a waterfront cabin up on Seymour Arm on Shuswap lake, so that's where we headed.  Covid protocols were in place, but we still managed to get caught up on the last few years, and we got to spend some time enjoying the water.

Houseboats are very popular on this lake.

We even visited this floating store!

 

After a couple of days out of contact, I found out that BC had found someone else for the job!  Just as well, as I still had lots of camping to do. 

 

 

 

 But before that, we needed a pit stop at home to see how things were.  Apparently, the grass needed to be cut, but Hailey was finding the hunting to be lucrative in the long grass!

 

 The bird feeders had all gotten empty while we were away - as this bird was apparently trying to tell me.

There must have been lots to do around home, as we were there for more than a couple of weeks.  The vet provided us with some different foods for Hailey, in case her present diet was causing some allergic reactions.  So - she has been eating rabbit and kangaroo food, as well as some pork based fare.  

Finally the time was right to take off on another expedition.  It was a short-lived trip, but we explored around in the Drumheller area for a while and did some recreational looking at some real estate.  we crossed the Red Deer river on the little Bleriot Ferry.

  

Bottom photo from the Alberta Ferries website.

 Home again for a while, Hailey went to the local vet clinic for an injection.  By giving her a mild tranquilizer at home first, no one got injured in this attempt!   Although it was now late August, most of the swallows nesting under the house eaves had started to depart, and a few flocks of Sandhill Cranes were seen practicing their formation flying.

The weather was nice, but there was no reason to be at home, so this time we just headed westward, just a bit deeper into the foothills, looking for new places to camp.  We found this wide open spot along Cutoff Creek, only about an hour from home.

We only spent one night there, but took the time to explore the nearby area on foot, and from the air.

It was fairly close to the road, and another camper did pull in nearby later in the evening.

 

 

The next spot we picked out was more scenic, further from the road, and (bonus) the access road was much too rough for any sort of trailer or larger rig.  So we had the area all to ourselves.

 

 

New riverbanks for Hailey to check out ...

 

After a couple of days out along the river, and beyond any cell service, it was time to search for service and see what other locations could be found.

A few miles closer to home, we stopped for a bite to eat by a bridge over the river futher downstream.

 After a short hike around, we discovered a great little private spot further off the road.  The access was not quite as rough as the previous spot, but enough to prevent at least large rigs from getting off the road here.  And much to my surprise, there was great cell coverage here, using my Netgear Nighthawk and a Mimo antenna!

You might just be able to make out the bridge in the background of the photo below ...

So, of course there was no choice but to move in and stay a few days!

 

Moonlight on the water - video above.

 

 

 

 

 

I had a couple of evening fires, but always had my collapsible pail of water ready for any eventualities.

 

 

Some aerial views of the area.

After this trip, we were home for only a couple of nights.  The weather was looking good, so we headed off to one of our favourite camping spots in BC!  But that'll be the next blog post!