Monday, June 25, 2012 (Maple Bay Campground, Cultus Lake Provincial Park, BC)

Two years ago today was our last day of work...I remember that day well!  After almost 35 years at BC Assessment and over 37 for Steve at Pacific Controls, it felt very surreal thinking that this was it...our last day!  Both Steve and I had been looking forward to it for so long...so much planning had gone into our new lifestyle...and now it was here!

We actually woke up to some sunshine this morning...finally!  But it really didn’t last...it wasn’t a bad day but clouds rolled in making it more “cloudy with sunny breaks” rather than the other way around. 

I made a lunch and we headed out just after 9:00.  Our destination was Chilliwack Lake Provincial Park 42km away, but we wanted to check out the recreational sites along the way.  We’d like to see if any are big enough for us to fit into.

The Chilliwack River, like all of the other rivers in BC, is very high right now...

We stopped at Tamahi CreekRecreation Site and found the first section near the road is very accessible with lots of room to maneuver.  The next section had a few sites that we would fit into but the majority were in thick forest. Steve asked a fellow that had quads about riding from here and was told that there had been a land slide in the riding area and the work crews wouldn't be out until 4:30. Oh well..we will have lots of riding in the next few days at Merritt.

We actually thought that the road to Chilliwack Lake was a Forest Service road and that we would off-load the ATV’s and ride them but as it turned out the road was paved all of the way.  A very pretty drive...

Chilliwack Lake Provincial Park has a newer section with wide roads and large sites suitable for big rigs.  It was very nice...we will definitely keep it in mind for another time.  The only thing I don’t like about it is that there is no cell/MiFi service in the area.  The rest of the campground is older with very treed, small sites...more suitable for tenters or small RV’s.

After driving around the campground, we went down to the boat launch area.  The lake is so high that there is no beach at the moment.  We parked and took our lunch down to the boat launch area.

Such a pretty lake...

Still lots of snow in the mountains...

This little fellow joined us for lunch...

On our way back to Chilliwack we stopped at another recreation site...Thurston Meadows is very nice and there are a couple of sites that we could possible get into but you cannot ride ATV’s from it.  So if we come back to this area and want to ride, we will likely stay at Tamahi Creek...or Chilliwack Lake (for fishing).

Before heading back to Cultus Lake, we went into Chilliwack and filled up a propane tank as well as all of the gas containers...in preparation for the ATV Poke Ride in Merritt.  We’ve been watching the weather forecast but it looks like rain for tomorrow so we will likely stay put for another day...we always seem to be at the mercy of the weather!!

 Back home, I decided to go down and take a shower...the park has flush toilets (rather than pit) and “free” hot showers.  So since we are paying $30/night, I thought I would take advantage of it besides the holding tanks are getting pretty full in the trailer.

Just before 4:00 we headed over to see Neil and Lisa.  There is a beautiful golf course between us and 1000 Trails RV Park....

Neil had just finished working (he mows the lawns for the park) and was in the shower so Lisa took us for a walk down to the creek that runs into Cultus Lake...Foster Creek, I believe...

We had a great visit with Neil and Lisa but unfortunately forgot to take pictures of their rig and site in the park...sheesh!  After about an hour and a half, we said our goodbyes and headed home.  They are very nice folks...and we hope to connect with them again in the future.

Steve got a campfire going once we got home and we sat enjoying the fire and toasting two years of retirement.  Amazing at how fast the time has flown by...we love our new lifestyle!