We had our first camping trip for the year. In theory it was going to be easy peasy. It was going to be a nice, relaxing trip. The Better Half agreed to the idea of packing the vehicle the day before we were going to leave early and just putter to get up to Nakusp.
The first crack in the plan was packing the car the day before. The gear ended up piled in the house, waiting to be loaded. Not a big problem I thought.
I was up early getting the cooler packed and packing our suitcases. For some reason the Better Half slept in.
Instead of leaving early we were still packing the car at noon. Scratch the puttering planned on the drive. The trip from Trail to Nakusp was a three hour drive.
“Should we eat lunch before we head out?” I said to the Better Half. He thought it would be nice to stop and pick something up on the drive. Usually there are roadside cafes to stop at. These are not totally normal times and I missed seeing the diner’s that were open.
We stopped at The Hut Drive In at Nakusp for a very late lunch. Even our dog Roxy enjoyed a treat of ice cream.
The Nakusp Hot Springs had certain hours that guests were the only people allowed in the hot springs. When we checked in we booked a time for the Better Half that evening and for both of us the following day. Camping with a dog means we take turns soaking and dog sitting.
It is interesting how different the B.H. and I are sometimes. Especially when it comes to setting up the tent. I like double-checking the directions, the B.H. relies on memory and we have some disagreement on getting the tent up. Add Roxy who was trying to figure out what we were doing. This was her first camping experience.
We got the tent up and then started to set up our screened tent for the first time. We figured it would be a safe refuge from mosquitoes and other biting insects. First we had to get the silly thing up.
This is when the different management styles really showed. I wanted to read the directions, the B.H. had already started to set up the screened house and did not want my input.
After we had a slight delay and rectified our errors on the screened tent we got it up.
Roxy was dealing with ice cream combined with the heat. She ended up throwing up.
If you are planning on going swimming it makes sense to have swimsuits and towels. Well, one out of two isn’t terrible. I had forgotten the towels. We had one towel between two of us.
The B.H. got his soak, I got to sit with my feet up and explain to our dog why she couldn’t bark at everyone walking by.
We started camping a couple of years ago. It seemed like a good idea to go out and get a break without breaking the bank. I found a deal that came with a tent, sleeping bags and camping chairs. The idea of camping appealed to me. To the B.H. not so much.
I decided we would try a local camping trip and booked a campsite at Pass Creek Campground. The selling point for the B.H. was the wifi at the campground.
We went out for our trip packing up our supplies into our pickup truck.
We headed out in the afternoon and started setting up camp. The tent was in theory easy to set up. Not. That day we struggled to set up the tent and blow up our air mattress.
We had remembered our cooler but forgot one small item – our camp stove.
The trip back to Trail to pick up our stove and back out to the campground let us miss the huge rainstorm that hit right then. We did get proof that our tent was waterproof. Also that the older you are the harder it is to get up from the tent floor. The next purchase for camping was an inflatable bed on a frame.
I would like to say our next camping trip went off without a hitch. Not. We were driving up to Prince George and stopped at the Nakusp HotSprings to relax and break up the trip. We had remembered the camp stove but neglected one item – a sleeping bag. We hadn’t managed to get the bag back into the bag for the tent when we packed up the first time. We hadn’t lost it – it was safe in the truck back in Trail. The first night was warm and the lack of a sleeping bag wasn’t a big deal. The next night we froze. But we both enjoyed spending time at Nakusp Hot Springs. Two years later we made it back.
It wasn’t all a comedy of errors. I loved soaking in the Hot Springs in the morning. Roxy even started to enjoy the screened tent. It was hot and she was sunning for part of the afternoon.
That evening we went for a walk and enjoyed the scenery. It was nice, listening to the creek and enjoying walking with Roxy.
We went to watch another movie but my iPad was out of power and we had forgotten our charger. It was the first trip of the season after all. If that was all I forgot it isn’t too terrible.
We packed up and headed for home. It was nice to relax and enjoy the quiet.
The next trip is being planned and I will remember the towels.
