Going Home

Like all good things, this vacation had to come to an end.  Friday morning we had another delicious breakfast and then backed out of Turtle Bay.  It was a 30 minute trip back to the Waterway base so we used that time to pack up our things, put away the dishes, and sweep the floors.  We just barely finished as I pulled up along the dock.

We waited a few minutes for the boat to be refueled and then had our final walkthrough.  We may or may not have taken some time to look at a smaller houseboat, called "Double Play" that was currently for sale.  After that, we were back on the road.

But only for a minute or two because our first stop was at Dutchman Dairy in Sicamous.  After all of our ice cream shop research, it had been at the top of my list.  Not only is their ice cream homemade, their own dairy cows supply the milk for it.  In my opinion, this is the holy grail of ice cream making.

In the interest of science, I also bought a litre of their chocolate milk to taste test against the stuff we have a home.  The darker colour doesn't show up in this photo, but it is a 2% milk instead of 1% and was much more rich and creamy.  It made me a little sad to now know what I am missing out on. 

The next stop on our list was the Last Spike, but I drove past it by accident because I was imagining what we would rename Double Play if we bought her ("Starline Road" if you are wondering).  So, we ended up at the Enchanted Forest.  It was so expensive that even Ella thought it was not a good idea, so I was pretty desperate to have a good time and convince everyone that I didn't get ripped off.

Fortunately, Deacon was a believer right from the start and his enthusiasm was infectious.  Everyone had a good time and we particularly enjoyed a nature walk that took us on a loop through the forest to the river where we saw some salmon breeding grounds.  The highlight was a stop at a pond where they had lifejackets and row boats that you could just help yourself to.

Lastly, we backtracked to the historic site where the final spike had been driven into the track, signalling the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway.  One of the plaques on the monument reads: "A Ribbon Of Steel From Ocean To Ocean Symbolizes The Unity Of Canada."

A keen eyed Heather noticed that one of the spikes was painted a faint gold colour.

The gift shop had a collection of dress up clothes for the kids to recreate the famous photo of the event.  A train passed by just as we were taking the picture, more good timing with trains!

And if that wasn't crazy enough, when I turned on the GPS this morning, I found that our exact distance travelled, on the lake and during our hike, was 123.4 kms.  Every random zigzag we made in the boat, and even the wrong turn we took on the hike, all added up to a perfect 1-2-3-4.

A fitting coincidence for a perfect vacation.

- C

Moving On

Early Thursday morning we backed ourselves off of Steamboat Beach and started looking for a new area to explore.  We checked out the very end of Seymour arm but decided that the water was too low to try beaching at Silver Beach.  We retraced our steps South so that we wouldn't have as far to travel when it was time to head home the next day.

During the trip South, the sun came out and the water got perfectly calm.  Ella took over the helm while I grilled the steaks and the realization came to me that this was definitely the most enjoyable barbequing experience of my entire life.

Heather did an amazing job on our meal and it was nice to just shift into neutral and drift as we enjoyed our food.

We had ducks following us the entire day.  The kids swore that one of them was "Duchess" who had paddled up to our boat the previous evening for the pieces of bread that they threw to her.  

Later in the day, the wind picked up and the waves got choppy.  We found a place to beach at Hungry Cove, however Heather had to keep the engine on and wheel turned in order to hold the boat on the shore long enough for me to secure the mooring lines.  The water was not great for swimming and the beach was gravel rather than sand.  After looking at the map for a while, I realized that there might be places within Mara Lake itself where we could beach.  I radioed to base and they recommended Turtle Bay.  I quickly pulled up the stakes and soon we were pulling away. 

After getting permission to enter the channel, we navigated between the sand bars and under the traffic overpass and train bridge.  As luck would have it, a passenger train crossed the bridge just as we were under it.  It was exciting for the kids who were on the roof of the boat, very close to the bottom of the bridge.  For taller boats, that section of track, actually swivels open like a gate; hence the reason why getting permission from the base and bridge control is so important.  This video, taken when we left the channel on our first day, shows the bridge.

Mara lake was calm and quiet, at least it was before the kids showed up with their dance party.  There was no one else on the lake and we had our pick of spots along Turtle Bay.  By this time, our duck entourage had grown to 6 birds which made fishing a little difficult.  

After a healthy supper of nachos and pop, we played games until it was dark enough to sit in the hot tub under the stars.  Unfortunately, someone had decided to pump some lake water into the hot tub to bring the level up, but then forgot to flip the switch to the off position.  When we went upstairs, instead of being greeted by steaming hot water we found the tub full to the top with... warm water.  Just as they do each time I mess up, everyone was very forgiving of me.

After a half hour, it was time for hot chocolate and then bed.

- C

Steamboat Bay

We knew that we wanted to visit a series of waterfalls known as Albas Falls, but we didn't realize how pressed for time we were going to be getting there. When we were having lunch and swimming, it seemed like we had all the time in the world. By the end of the day I had the engine rpm's turned up, trying to make it just a little bit further before the mandatory hour-before-sunset beaching time. After a mad dash (only 9km/h) up the Seymour Arm, our pontoons slid up onto our private beach with not a second to spare. We drove stakes into the beach and then secured the mooring lines.

In the evening we took a few more slides, then came inside to play Sushi Go and have hot chocolate and Tim Tams. Everyone was so tuckered out, we were in bed by 9pm.

It got cold overnight so we ended up turning the furnace on. In the morning we woke to an overcast and rainy day, not great for a day on the beach, but just fine for a hike.

The forest floor was silent and covered with moss. The waterfalls were beautiful and treacherous in the spots where steep cliffs overlooked them.

The tacos, cooked trailside, were delicious.

After getting back to the Aspirus (our boat), we spent some time warming up in the hottub. Mason tried his hand at fishing and quickly caught this beauty. Heather was able to record the whole thing, from the heroic fight, to the release.

I ran the engine a couple times to charge the batteries, but we spent the entire day on our beach. Maybe we will do some more exploring tomorrow.

- C

Houseboat

 

We left school a little early yesterday and dropped off our dumb little dog at our friends' house. We drove to Revelstoke where we spent the night at the Glacier House Resort, which turned out to be an amazing log construction hotel that uses antique snowmobiles as its primary decoration.

 

 

The hotel had a swimming pool and hot tub that we were able to spend some time in, thanks to the extra hour afforded to us by the time change.

 

 

Instead of the hotel proper, we stayed in one of the cute little cabins scattered around the property.

 

 

After a better-than-usual continental breakfast, we drove the remainder of the way to Sicamous. The winding roads combined with lush forest and fog rising off the lakes made for a gorgeous trip.

 

 

We loaded our provisions and had a quick orientation, but after that we were underway.

 

 

Technically Heather and I are the captain and co-captain, but everyone took a turn at the helm. In fact, as I type this post, Ella is navigating through the Cinnemousun Narrows as we make our way to the Seymour Arm of the lake.

 

 

We only have 2.5 hours of travel time before we have to stop for the night. We probably aren't going to get all the way to Silver Beach as planned - we stopped for an hour or so for a lunch that Heather prepared and for some swiming time. Every member of the family used the slide off of the back of the boat, and half of us jumped off the roof into the water.

 

 

At least we didn't have to stop for people to do their hottubbing.

 

- C

 

Happy Birthday Heather!

On the 16th, the most important member of our family celebrated her birthday. It was a school day so it got off to a chaotic start, especially with the kids getting ready by themselves and me packing lunches. Instead of waiting until after school to blow out the candles, we breakfasted on an amazing cheesecake that Ella made for Heather.

Then it came time to open gifts. I thought that I had the ultimate surprise this year, but Heather actually figured it out the night before. This year... for her 39th birthday... she got...

 

her first cell phone :)

As amazing as that seems, what is even more amazing is the fact that she would have been perfectly fine to continue without owning a phone. That is just a small example of Heather's selflessness, and her thrift, and her willingness to not just follow the crowd. Everything she does is for our family. Not only is she the best mom in the world, she is The Perfect Wife, and is my best friend.

Thank you for the wonderful year!