July's Trek to Alberta

We left on the 21st of July and headed for a whirlwind visit to Alberta to visit our family. The trailer was all set and packed and the Ford had a brand new change of oil.  This would be the first time pulling the trailer up some monster hills and I knew the gas gauge was going to take a beating.

We headed out east along Highway 1 from Abbotsford, BC to the Hwy. 5 cut off in Hope. There we started the climbing. It felt like forever and I could see the gas needle move. The Coquihalla Summit is a beast to get up to. That being said the other hills that follow coming in and out of Merritt are not much better.

Finally hit Kamloops with a little less than 1/4 of a tank. This was going to be an expensive trip if gas mileage had anything to say about it. We continued east to Revelstoke where we turned south and headed towards the Halcyon Hot Springs where we would spend the night.

The Galena Bay Ferry is free and runs every half hour. It is a great little trip across the north end of the Upper Arrow Lakes. Very scenic trip as you cross the lake.

The Halcyon Hot Springs are located about 20 kilometres south after you get off the ferry. The RV parking at the Resort is needless to say cramped. We were in a pull through site that barely fit the truck and trailer. The slide just had enough room, and it was too tight for the awning. Just to leave in the morning I had to have a neighbour move their truck to get out. Wireless was non existent unless you were sitting outside the office.

The restaurant food was good, but as this is deemed a resort (and the only game close by) the prices are up there. One appetizer to share, three hamburgers with fries, one two piece chicken strips kids menu and 1 Budweiser.  100.00 tip in. I will admit the food was very tasty when it showed up. But the service in the dining room was lacking. About an hour to get our burgers. Even when I had mentioned it to another server(not ours) she said that was too long after she checked the time our order was put in. Nothing was taken care of when we paid.

The Hot Springs were very nice and open until 11.00.  Again, not cheap, 38.00 for a family single dip. They have a total of 4 pools. A larger one on a lower deck that closed at 9:00 that we didn't get to try out. Thanks   to the hour long burgers.  And the 3 remaining pools on an upper deck.

Upper Deck of the Halcyon Hot Springs

We drove through to Calgary and then out to Okotoks where we would be staying 4 nights while visiting family. We stayed at the Okotoks Lions Sheep River Campground which is located right in town an beside the Sheep River. The campground is kept very clean, and the hosts were very friendly. The sites were nice and big and easy to manoeuvre the trailer into. All sites had nice gravel pads surrounded by nicely kept grass. Showers were 1 dollar for 5 minutes but water was Hot from the get go. The wash-rooms were very clean as well. For full service I think I paid 42.00 a night with taxes in. Overall it was very convenient for us as we were off to Calgary each day to visit family. We even had the family out to have a BBQ one day and to sit by the river. The river has a pretty quick current but is very shallow and many of the local families had their kids playing in there everyday while the weather was warm.

We left Calgary and headed to Alder Flats, AB to spend 3 nights with Donna's parents.  They have a couple of Acres so we parked the Trailer right outside the house and would sleep there every night. Awesome breakfasts and Dinner's cooked by Donna and her Mom everynight.

Gary,Sharon,Murray,Viv,Dallas,Reed, Donna, Rick
Dodger and Kya

Took a family picture on the last day with the family and dogs. Donna's Parents, Her Brother Murray and his wife Vivienne and Donna and I and the kids.

We left on Sunday the 29th and drove to Valemount, BC. We took Highway 16 to Jasper and then south onto Hwy 5. We stopped briefly in Jasper which was a nice little town but it was packed with tourists.  And I do mean packed. parking was at a premium especially with a trailer.  We grabbed some lunch and then headed towards Valemount.  The Yellowhead Campground was nothing to write home about. But again we were just staying overnight. Mosquitoes were rampant. Our site had power and water, but I only hooked up to power. The bathrooms were just OK. Alot of Dead bugs on the walls and ceilings instead of being properly cleaned. Showers were free but there was only one for men and women. WIFI was offered but the signal to weak to get to our site.  Also, there is no cell service in the town either. Actually no service until you reach Kamloops which is 325 km away.  We left the next morning and made our trek back home to Maple Ridge. The Yellowhead is a very nice scenic drive and no where near the number of hills that Hwy 1 has.

Next trip towards the end of the month for a few days. Maybe back down to the states.