The Stelzle's Trailer Travels

July 14&15: Okanagan Valley, BC

We left Kamloops very early in order to get to Salmon Arm, rent a car, and head to the Okanagan Valley. We left the kyper behind so we would have the freedom to easily run in and out of tastings rooms, etc. We headed south on the wine route that took us almost to the US border. Our first stop was in Vernon, where we visited Okaganan Sprits. They make Eau de Vies, grappas, Absinthe and Aquavitus. They had an amazing still and everything is made by hand. Very cool stop. The Okanagan Valley is known as a desert, so we were expecting really dry surroundings. But, we were happy to see mountains and lakes and beaches, not your typical wine country. It felt more like a summer camp beach area with orchards and vineyards mixed in. Then heading south, we stopped at a winery advertising themselves as family-style and organic, can't remember the name. Let's just say it did not start things off well. The wines were undrinkable, extremely expensive (many over $100) and there was a big tasting fee. Hmmm, did we make a mistake? Our friend Hans had recommended Road 13 and Jackson-Triggs and we tried to remember which wines we had tasted in Whistler, and stick to those. So the next stop was See Ya Later Ranch, which was a major relief! Good wines at good prices! Then we headed all the way south to Osoyoos to find a hotel so we could start fresh working our way north back to Salmon Arm the next day. After passing some seriously dumpy motels, we were happy to find a Best Western with a great Indian restaurant and an amusement park next door. Scott and Jake had a blast on the go-carts and lapped everybody a few times. Jake did the bungee jump and went higher than anyone else. He said that he had the best time of any boy in the whole world that night. He loves jumping on the beds in motels too. And Clover loves sleeping on them! On Wednesday, we stopped at Road 13, Inniskillin (known for their ice wines), and Jackson-Triggs, and one other (not as good) I can't remember. It was fun...good wines and great tasting room staff. There is a fruit stand every few feet in this area, so we stopped at a few of those as well. Also, cheese is made in the area. We bought the famous "squeaky cheese curds". Back in Salmon Arm, we went to the "Wednesday's on the Wharf" concert...their version of Templeton's Concert in the park. We are sad to be missing those back home as we look forward to them every summer.

We loved the Road 13 moto...it's all about the dirt.

The still at Okanagan Spirits.

July 13th: Kamloops, BC

Just when we were not believing all the BC pristine and beautiful scenery, we arrived in Kamloops. It didn't help that it was really hot and the kyper's a/c wasn't working. Three months ago, I had made a reservation for a dinner and train ride on the Kamloops Heritage Railway. This was something we were all excited about and wanted to be sure to be on schedule for. The train literally went through the dumps of Kamloops, turned around and came back. The excitement was a robbery by a bandit on a horse. Jake was underwhelmed, especially after his experience on the train to the Grand Canyon recently. This kid has really seen a lot at the age of 6! This was our first disappointment of the trip. It really shows how a good website can suck you in. Kamloops did have a Costco, so we were able to stock up on baby wipes...those things are really multi-purpose. This is our second case. We were planning to stay in Kamloops two nights, but we stuck it out for one and planned to head out to Salmon Arm the next morning. Our original route took us up to Jasper at this point. But, we decided the wine was beckoning from the Okanagan Valley and that we would see (and have certainly seen) plenty of amazing mountainous scenery. By the way, I've been asked "why do you call it the "kyper"? The answer is, this is what Jake called it when we first got it; his version of "camper" at age 2. Sometimes these things just become part of your vocabulary.

The two best views out the steam train: the local trailer park and the kyper in the parking lot! The engine itself was pretty cool. We've seen so many trains this trip!

The first half of the drive from Whistler to Kamloops was beautiful.

Hey, where did the rest of Clover go?

July 11 & 12: Whistler, BC

We arrived in Whistler, with a reservation to stay at a pet-freindly hotel for two nights so we could get caught up on laundry and be near the pedestrian village. Our room wasn't ready when we arrived, so we took the kyper to explore the area a bit. While we were out, the kyper broke down in about the worst intersection possible. But in the Canadian style we are getting used to, the first guy to drive by had a truck and gave us a wild tow to a nearby parking lot. Another couple on bikes were there to pitch in as well, just to make sure we didn't need more help. It seems like the Canadians are just there waiting to help you out. Also, the Travco is getting lots of attention here.....so maybe they just want to see it up close! We get a "thumbs up" from just about everybody on the road. Anyway, Scott figured out it was a clogged fuel filter (it was brand new), so he was able to get one from a nearby place and modify it to fit the kyper. It was a very warm day...so it wasn't much fun, but thankfully McGyver did it again and we were only delayed a couple very sweaty hours. We were hot and tired, so we spent the night in our "suite" and did lots of laundry.

The next day was one of our best on the trip! We got passes to spend the day on the mountain including, the lifts, gondola and the new Peak 2 Peak gondola from Whistler to Blackcomb Mountain. The first gondola up took hikers, sightseers and crazy mountain bikers up the mountain for miles. We were able to see the locations and construction going on for the various events for the Olympics. The mountain is set up with the most amazing tracks, jumps, etc. The hiking trails are fabulous too. We hiked to a chair lift that took us to the very top....we were on top of the world! Jake loved making summer snowballs. Then for lunch, we had a great experience too. The restaurant on the mountain does wine tastings and did flights of the wines from BC. We decided it was time to take the plunge and give these wines a chance. We were very impressed. In fact, we were so impressed, we rerouted our trip to include the Okanagan Valley. We already felt like we had gotten our moneys worth, yet we hadn't done the main event...the Peak 2 Peak gondola. It is the highest and longest of it's kind in the world. It was a breathtaking ride across the mountains complete with a bear siting. Then on the chairlift down, we had our best wildlife experience yet....a momma and tiny baby bear directly under us hanging out. Scott and Jake got to see them for a long time while I fumbled with the camera, trying to get a good video (messed up) and in my excitement didn't even get a decent photo! We went to the Farmer's Market in town and then went to the Brewhouse for dinner and walked through the village. Clover loves the dog-friendly places! She is getting a lot of extra attention here as well. We are stopped constantly to talk about her. Everybody loves her! She is such a great dog.

The "Red" Flight..along with lunch of local organic sandwiches and cheeses...not your average ski mountain cafeteria.

The alpine terrain at the top reminded us of the "Tormented Valley"....it must get really cold!

The new Peak 2 Peak Gondola: Not good for those afraid of heights!

The "White" Flight....let's check out the Okanagan Valley STAT!

Scott changing the fuel filter in the heat....not fun.

We invited our rescuers in for a beer...very nice people.

July 9-11 Rathtrevor Beach to Whistler

Rathtrevor Beach Provinical Park was fantastic. It is in Parksville, about half-way up Vancouver Island. We have now found a park system even better than Oregon's. The sites were beautiful (great showers, trails, etc) and just a few hundred yards away from a long stretch of trash-free beach overlooking the Straight of Georgia. The weather was perfect. We spent all day on the 9th hanging around the campsite, except for a brief ride for supplies on the "sickles". Jake met more friends and put many more miles on his new bike. There were three baby raccoons right next to us. They were so cute. Momma came along after a while and took them away. After dinner we took a walk to watch the sunset on the beach, had s'mores for dessert, and then packed up as we had an early ferry to catch. The BC Ferry line was impressive. We headed to Horseshoe Bay, just north of Vancouver. We were in the front row and headed off the ferry and up the Sea to Sky Highway towards Whistler. That stretch of highway is beautiful. There is lots of road construction going on as Whistler and all of BC prepare for the 2010 Olympics. But, the delays were minor and the view was fantastic.

Arriving in Horseshoe Bay...the doors opening on the ferry

Brickhouse Chard, foiled veggies, potatoes and fresh Halibut for dinner...delicious!

Rathtrevor Beach and the Straight of Georgia

Cute campsite visitors

Notice the smoke coming out of the back of the kyper. Bobbi burned the bacon for breakfast. (Dad, I guess you're not the only one who does that!)

"Sickle" ride to the general store for supplies and an ice cream. And our first lottery ticket...28 million. I'm sure we'll win.

July 7&8: Victoria, BC (again)

From Port Townsend, we headed via the Black Ball Ferry line out of Port Angeles back to Victoria early the morning of July 7th. It was our last two nights with the Nalley family. When we got off the ferry, we "checked in" to Westbay Marina/RV Park. This was a great place to stay, right on the water overlooking the city. The Nalley's had a cute cabin right next door to our spot.

We immediately headed out to Butchart Gardens to get that checked off the list. The weather was not cooperating. We saw the gardens through a sea of umbrellas. It was still very pretty, but I was happy we had seen the city a few nights before in the sunshine. For dinner we had a great time at Canoe. This place was recommended to us for it's "wicked" patio. Of course, the wicked patio was not open due to the weather...but we still had a great time, eh! The micro brews were flowing and Kelly and I got into drinking the hard ciders. The Canadians we've encountered are genuinely nice and friendly. The American service industry could learn a few things from these great people. Everybody is happy and helpful. Our last day in Victoria was spent in the city. We walked through the famous Empress (we didn't spring for the afternoon tea) and along Government Street. The boys went to a few pubs (Jake and Maddie weren't old enough) and the girls and Jake ended up back at Canoe. We took the tiny ferry boat back to our marina. We followed each other out of Victoria as the Nalley's were taking a ferry from Nanaimo to Vancouver and we were heading to Parksville a few miles north of there for two nights. We took a detour to Merridale Cidery in Cobble Hill on the drive. We did the self-guided tour followed by a tasting. It was a neat place and interesting to see a "Cidery". It is a lot like a winery. Our last meal together was at a hilltop Mexican restaurant in Nanaimo and then it was "adios amigos". The B'Nalley's headed to Vancouver as we headed up to Parksville.

Merridale Cidery

The "World" cruise ship was docked across from Westbay Marina.

July 4,5 & 6: Victoria - PortTownsend

The Nalley's Officer's Housing. Anyone bring a banjo?

(Jake's camp buddies)

The last day of the cruise was spent on board until arriving in Victoria for the evening. Jake and I slept in while the rest of the gang took a guided tour of the "underbelly" of the ship. It is amazing to think about how the boat functions, from the laundry facilities, crew quarters, kitchen, etc, so they got to see much of the behind the scenes stuff. Jake had his last day in Kids Club, which he will miss! Once again, great weather. We got off the ship anxious to get to a pub for Hunter's first legal beer. He had to wait a while, because the walk from the cruise dock to the spot Kelley had picked out was long. I don't think it hurt any of us though after days on end of eating and drinking. Victoria is a beautiful city, especially in the evening sunshine. It has been nice having the long evenings. Our sunsets have been as late as 10:30pm during the cruise. It was the 4th of July, which wasn't much of a big celebration on the ship or obviously in Victoria. But we wore red, white & blue tie-dye shirts made by Kelly and Madison for the occasion. By the time we woke up Sunday morning, the "Pearl" was already docked in Seattle and they were anxious to get us off the ship to prepare for the next voyage leaving the same day. The mountains of supplies were being loaded on as we were leaving. We couldn't pick up Clover until 2pm, so we spent a few hours in Seattle going to the Pike's Place Market. We got supplies for raclette that evening in the campground in Port Townsend. We were so happy to see Clover, and she was pretty happy herself! We had missed her so much! After picking up the kyper and running out of gas, we then headed to Port Townsend on the Olympic Peninsula where my parents used to live. It's a great town, full of charm. We stayed in Fort Worden State Park (where "An Officer And A Gentleman" was filmed). Our campsite was nice, but the Nalley's rental, former Officer's housing, was not so nice. We also seemed to be under close scrutiny by the park rangers, who take their volunteer jobs very seriously. So far our opinion is that the Oregon Sate Park system can't be beat. We absolutely loved the cruise, but it was also nice to be back on "terra firma" in the kyper. And Jake was very happy to jump back on his bike in the campground. As usual, he found some fun boys to play with! Monday was spent touring the town, walking through Fort Worden and playing games at the campsite. We had a great campfire and dinner complete with s'mores.