So with little sign that the rain was going to let up, Steve put on his rain gear and went out to get started with the pack up. I got things cleaned up inside and then started getting it ready for travel.
It had actually stopped raining and brightened up considerably by the time I had finished with the inside. After we were all packed up, hitched to the truck and ready to go, we walked over to the pay phone to call Chris to wish him a very happy birthday. Fleming (our neighbour) had offered use of his OnStar system in his GMC Yukon but when he went to get it set up for us, he couldn’t get it to work. Odd, since they had just used it earlier this morning. We were just finishing up with the call to Chris when Marilyn yelled over that Fleming had the OnStar working, so Steve used it to call his sister, Nadine in Victoria. It’s tough right now having no cell or internet service...I feel so isolated! I can’t even go on Facebook to let family and friends where we are and why our blog is not up-to-date. So we must make the phone calls and ask them to pass the word to others that we are fine and dandy...just have no service.
We left Three Islands RV Resort shortly after 9:30...the manager even came out of the office to wish us safe travels as we passed by. We really enjoyed this spot and would highly recommend it to anyone planning a trip to this area.
As I said earlier, it was just a short jaunt...well, we arrived at McDonald Creek at about 10:15. That is the shortest travel day we have ever had!
As we entered the Provincial Park, there were a number of RV’s in the overflow area, so we thought, great...the campground must be full and these people are all waiting to get in! But we were wrong...thank goodness! Steve didn’t want to take the rig into the campground because it would have been difficult to make the turn into the overflow area should we be unable to get a site. So I got out and was going to start walking in when the camp host came driving out. He stopped, introduced himself, and said that lots of sites were available...yay!
As it turned out, the site that we had picked out from our drive through last week was empty...sweet!! I got out with the hand-held radio while Steve drove to the turn-around loop to get headed in the right direction so he could back into site #21. He manoeuvred the 5th wheel back in with no problems and after getting it levelled, it was time to unhitch and get all set up.
The site backs onto the Upper Arrow Lake with a path down to the water. It’s just perfect and we are so happy to have gotten it! Steve decided he would set up the satellite dish to see if we could get a signal. He really didn’t think he’d have much luck but low and behold, he managed to get a good strong signal...bonus!After lunch, we made the 10 minute drive into Nakusp. Steve dropped me off at the Overwaite Store to pick up groceries while he went to get propane and gas. By this time the sun had come out and it was a very lovely afternoon...just a bit windy.
Back at the campground, I put away the groceries while Steve took out his new camera and “played” with it. I’m sure he got some beautiful scenery shots. The countryside is gorgeous here!
The lake is pretty high...the sandy part of the beach is beyond the tall grass...
That’s when Steve suggested we take our chairs down closer to the lake into the sunshine for our “happy hour”. Ahhh...that’s better...the sun, the water...the view...perfect! Of course, it wasn’t long before I was in the trailer changing back into my shorts!!We sat enjoying the view and the activities on the lake...just lovely! We both feel so fortunate to be able to be doing what we are doing...we just love our retirement lifestyle!! It’s hard to believe we’re into our second year!
It was after 6:00 when we decided it was time to go back up to our site. Steve got a campfire going while I went into prepare dinner. It was an easy one tonight...I just had to add kidney beans and chilli powder to some leftover spaghetti sauce that I had taken out of the freezer...and voila...we have chilli. We ate our chilli and buns out at the picnic table by the campfire...ahh...life is good!
So...we are basically boondocking...no hook-ups whatsoever...that means we have to watch our water and power use...particularly since we are not sure how long we are going to be here but we figure it will be at least a week. Steve had set up the generator but according to the park rules, you are only allowed to use generators between the hours of 9 am to 11 am and 6 pm to 8 pm. But he also wants to see how long we can go using only the Solar Panels with the limited amount of sunshine at our site. We wanted to save our fresh water for drinking and coffee so we filled our 5 gallon water jugs with water for dishes...which we will heat on the stove.After dishes were done, we went for a walk around the campground and when we got back, we re-stoked the campfire and sat enjoying the fire...and the lake in the background. So nice....
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