Camping -Keremeos.

When we headed out on our camping trip, we had to pass through Manning Park, and Allison Pass.  The night before there had been fresh snow.  It was afternoon when we went through, so I don't know if there was ever any on the road, but there was a dusting on the gross black piles of old snow and sand that are still standing down each side.

This is Hwy 3, one of the main routes across the province.  It was a heck of a mess, with potholes and grooves between lanes.  Lots of summer paving to be done.

And then we got to Keremeos.  The next day was beautiful and sunny and Spring warm, which I love.  This campsite, mentioned in the previous post at the Old Grist Mill, was a decent place to stay.  $15 for no hookups.  There was a water tap next to us, and washrooms but no shower a bit of a  walk across the parking lot on the end of the Tea Room.  The elderly owner said he had just opened (ie pulled the barrier away that was blocking the first driveway).  He didn't have his paperwork organized, so I just handed over the $15 and we were good to go.  He said he would normally ask us to keep the dogs on leash, but since no one else was there, it didn't really matter.  There was room for a good game of soccer for Luna and a sedate game of fetch for Jake.

Keremeos creek was right behind the campsite, complete with doggy salad bar.  The dogs love that wide bladed fresh spring grass.  The had no interest in going in the creek, although might have if they'd been hot enough.  Keremeos got some heavy rain early that week, and the creek was running higher than normal.

This was Upper Bench Road, with it's orchards backing onto the mountains.  We had a good bike ride down here.  Jake and Luna were in the pooch-mobile.  Jake, who is usually the one that doesn't like things that move, was okay in it.  Luna, at first, was not.  She stuck her pointy nose into openings and forced her way out a few times.  I ran over her foot once.  Eventually I used the repair tape for the trailer awning to close up some of the holes, and she had to stay in.  Further along to the east, there was a barrier across the road, 'closed due to flooding'.  We found that hard to imagine, and kept on going.  The dogs got out to run, since there was no traffic.  Eventually we got to the area that had been flooded.  A creek rushing down the hillside had been too much for the culvert and had roared along the shoulder of the road, washing it out and undercutting the road in places.  They had eventually brought in a big excavator to cut a trench right through the road, which was too wide to jump, even without bikes and pooch-mobiles.  We turned around to go back, up the steep hill we had just come down.  The dogs went on foot up that one, it was a struggle to ride it just pulling the empty trailer.

  We got back to the campsite and there discovered that one of the pannier bags that Larry had slotted on the sides of the rack on the back of his bike had jumped ship.  He immediately set off back to find it, of course hoping it was just up the road.  Not to be.  He got all the way to the bottom of the steep hill, almost back to the washout.  He asked some people walking if they had seen it.  Yes they had, at the top of the hill, and they had hung it on a fence post.  I guess he wasn't looking in the right direction when he passed that post.  I'm glad he found it, as my favourite pair of shorts and some other clothing were in that bag.

The dogs and I walked up to the road to see if we could see him coming back.

At lunchtime we packed up and headed to Oliver.  

We'd stay at that campsite again, at least in the Spring, although I wouldn't want to be there when it is full, (too crowded) and maybe next time we could bike farther on Upper Bench Road, right into Cawston.

The pooch-mobile was a success, as it enabled us to ride faster along a road with traffic to a dog friendly spot where we could let them run free. Luna can go for miles, she gets a long striding steady trot going, but Jake not so much.  He has to run, and gets tired sooner, and we were trying to not over do it with his leg.  And speaking of his leg,  he is holding it up less often when he gets up from a down position, so it seems to be improving.

Oh yeah, the pooch-mobile is going to get a make over.  It needs more mesh and less plastic.  More airflow coming in the front.  I'm thinking I might strip it right to the base and see if a big crate will fit on. Another project, and I've got projects piled up over my head.
Help me, I'm drowning!