West Bank Yacht Club

Last night we went out for dinner at the West Bank Yacht Club where Gayla and Doug are members.

Gayla surprised the kids with a visit from Santa who apparently has a vacation home here for the summer. Sofie's eyes were like saucers staring at him.

We had a great steak dinner and drinks on the patio. Somehow Gayla convinced us to dance by using Sofie and Tayla as bribe material. The little girls had a blast dancing with everyone and anyone. I'm feeling the effects today of the night out but it was worth it.
Greg and Tara

Sofie dancing with one of the yacht club members

Greg, Lorne, Mike

Mission Hill Winery

Although I never went into the winery itself we took the kids on a tour outside around the grounds. It is so beautiful there. Amazing views. There is an outdoor theater where they put on summer plays/shows. The kids enjoyed rolling down the grassy hills and I got some great pictures.
This is the outdoor theater and the hill the kids like to roll down.

This bell rings every hour and can be heard from Greg and Tara's house.



Mackenzie, Lorne, Tayla, Dane and Sofie (Dane would be the one with the bell for a head - camera shy)

Penticton, BC

For some insane reason I have no pictures of the day we spent at Okanagan Lake at the beach. It was a crazy hot day and we all baked in the sun. I mean BAKED. I am still hurting days later. I have pictures of the drive there but none of the actual beach. I'm thinking the only reason for that is that I spent almost all of the time in the water.

The little white spec in the picture is a lone sailboat.
This picture was taken on the way back and we were waiting on the highway in a construction zone. The people in the sailboat were probably looking up at us thinking "suckers".

Doug and Gayla's

Gayla is my sister-in-law Tara's mom and Doug is her Step-Father. They live on Mission Hill which is about 2 minutes from Greg and Tara's.

It has the most spectacular views on the hill. We were invited out for a BBQ our second night here. The food was delicious.

Here are some pictures of the views and the fun we had. This is Doug and Gayla's house.

This is the view from their yard.


This is Doug and Gayla.

This is my niece Tayla and I.

Sofie, Lorne and Tayla

Mike, Bre, Tayla

My Mom,my brother Greg and Mike B

Itinerary from Ottawa to Kelowna BC

Okay for those of you who are reading this blog simply to get ideas on where to stay in your RV across Canada here you go:

We had a bit of a detour to Dorset starting out but if you're leaving from Ottawa directly you could just drive straight to Massey, Ontario.

Day 1 Dorset
Day 2 Massey, ON - stayed at Chutes Provincial Park (follow the signs off Highway 17)
Day 3 Wawa, ON - stayed at the Wawa RV Resort and Campground (off Highway 17)
Day 4 Nipigon, ON - stayed at the Stillwater Tent and Trailer Park (off Highway 17)
Day 5 Dryden, ON - stayed at the Aaron Provincial Park (off Highway 17)
Day 6 Winnipeg, Manitoba - stayed at The Travellor's RV Resort (take Murdock Road off the Trans Canada Highway #1)
Day 7 Moose Jaw Saskatchewan - we stayed at the Prairie Oasis Resort and Campground
Day 8 Brooks Alberta - we stayed at the Tillebrook Provincial Park
Day 9 Golden BC - we stayed at the Whispering Spruce Campground and RV Park
Day 10 - arrived in Kelowna BC (staying with family)

West Bank BC

Just to let everyone know we made it here safe and sound. We got here on Saturday around lunch time and we've been on the go ever since.

The blog has definitely taken hit since arriving but I will update more as soon as I can.

Golden and Rogers Pass BC

When I was 21 I hopped in a car with my best friend Brigitte and moved out West. We drove out in April so it's fair to say we didn't get the full effect of the greenery that I was treated to on this ride out.

If it's something you can arrange at some point in your life the trip from East to West (by car/truck/van etc...) is well worth it. If you can find a way... do it.

After a jaw dropping trip through Canmore and Banff we made it to Golden BC where we camped for the night. Honestly the sheer mass and size of the mountains would blow your head right off. Seriously. I still can't get over just how big and beautiful Canada really is. We're really lucky to live here. I am sure about that.


We stayed at the Whispering Spruce Campground in Golden (just off the Trans Canada Highway). When we got there we were treated with 7 mountain goats (bigger than deer) hanging around outside the trees right beside our campsite. Sofie took a bunch of pictures of them and could be found for the 1st hour talking to them like old friends. I heard her come around the side of the truck and say "hi guys" in a slow southern drawl kind of way. I thought it was cute but I was also thinking "don't make eye contact" because they are pretty huge and they outnumbered us.




Mike and I had stayed at the Whispering Spruce on one of our trips across Canada so it was really cool to go back there and stay with our kids (and of course my mom and stepdad ;D).

It was also our first taste of mosquito free camping. There were very few bugs so we really liked hanging around outside the trailer (especially since it was crazy hot). The kids have an outrageous amount of mosquito bites my guess would be somewhere around 50+ each.

We have been on a streak of amazing weather which I hesitate to comment about for fear that I break it but I just can't help mentioning it since we couldn't have asked for better weather.

Tomorrow we'll be in West Bank and we're insanely excited to finally get there. Here are some pictures of our drive through Roger's Pass. I'll probably do another post about Rogers Pass because if memory serves me well I recall the drive towards Ontario through the pass is better (from a photo point of view).

Alberta continued...

Okay in fairness to Alberta it really does deserve 2 postings.

The first half of the Province is the flat area as shown in the Brooks Alberta post. The second half or 3/4 of the Province is made up of some of the most beautiful mountains I have ever seen.

To get there you first have to get through Calgary where you can see the Olympic Park from the highway.
Here is the 3 Sisters in Canmore and others in Banff and Lake Louise. These are all visable from the Trans Canada highway but if you have the time then venturing further into these places is worth your while.

Brooks, Alberta

Yesterday we drove to Brooks Alberta. It was about a 500 km drive from Moose Jaw. It was a shorter day but we wanted to have a few short days in Alberta and BC so we could see Banff, Lake Louise, Canmore, Rogers Pass etc… it will be some of the best photo opportunities a person can ever get. I’ve made the drive many times before now but I always regretted not getting more pictures so now’s my chance.

Mike B has never seen this part of the country so today will be a pretty exciting one for him. We can’t wait to see the reaction the kids have when they see the mountains.

Here's a picture of the world’s largest tepee in Medicine Hat, Alberta.

Driving through Alberta thus far has been fairly boring unless you like staring at empty fields. The only thing that breaks it up is the odd bail of hay, cows or oil pumper. You do see a lot of grain elevators and silos à la Corner Gas throughout Saskatchewan and Alberta.
This is a typical view you’ll have out your window from the Trans Canada Highway. We were a little worried about what the campsite would be like but luckily one of the only patch of trees we could see happened to be at the Provincial Park we stayed in.

Last night we stayed at the Tillebrooke Provincial Park just outside Brooks. I know everyone complains in the summertime about mosquito bites and I’ve made mention of them already in this blog but honestly the mosquitoes here are on steroids. It actually pinches like a needle every time they bite. They’re fast too. My Mom and Mike B stopped somewhere along the drive yesterday to eat their pre-packed lunch, sat down at the table ready to eat and instead gotten eaten alive in a matter of seconds. They ran back to the car for cover. Then they saw an older couple go and do the exact same thing

Mike O and I played cards in the trailer last night while everyone else slept rather than sit by the fire (like we’ve done most other nights) because they really were that bad.

We all got a lesson in how to have a shower in 3 minutes since the Provincial Park charged a loonie for a 3 minute shower. My mom met some poor woman outside the shower who was standing there all upset in her underwear with soap in her hair. The water shuts off after a minute or so to conserve water. You have to push the button if you want the water to start again. There is a sign there but since her English wasn’t very good my Mom had to show her what to do. The joys of csmping!!

We all seem to be falling into a pretty decent rountine when it comes to preparing meals and getting packed up again each morning. By the time this is all done we'll be pros.

Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan

Last night we stayed in Moose Jaw Saskatchewan. We were actually planning on staying in Regina but all of the campsites were full so we decided to go ahead to Moose Jaw. It was a long long haul but worth it since it just brings us that much closer.

We stayed at the Prairie Oasis RV Resort and Campground just off Highway 1. It was definitely the kind of place you wouldn’t stay for weeks on end. It was mostly designed as a stop over site. They are beside a big water slide and pool with a sauna etc… it was a pretty cool place. Mike B was the only one to take advantage of the pool mainly because by the time we arrived there it was 6 pm and since we’ve already lost two hours due to Provincial time changes the kids were starved and ready for bed. By the time dinner was finished Lorne fell asleep in my moms arms and was out for the night.

Driving through Manitoba and Saskatchewan you see a lot of bright yellow fields which we've discovered are crops for making canola oil. There are also purple fields we are told are crops of flax.


It was really hot in Moose Jaw but we’re told it was the nicest day of the summer so far. We are literally following the good weather out West.


I’m sure many of you have heard about the fires in Kelowna and are wondering if we’re still going that far. My brother and Tara live in West Bank so they haven’t been affected. We were thinking we might have to leave our trailer for them to stay in once we got there. Tara said that wouldn’t be necessary but that when she arrived at work one day she found her boss in the parking lot sitting outside his trailer with his family sipping coffee in their pajamas! It’s obviously a reality for some people there but as luck would have it my brother and his family have been spared.

Day 6 - Winnipeg Manitoba

Yesterday we finally finished the drive through Ontario and stayed at the Traveller’s RV Resort in Winnipeg Manitoba. It was the largest RV stop we’ve stayed at to date. It had 264 sites. It was also located next to a waterslide and Tinkertown for the kids. It also had a mini putt and the nicest park we‘ve seen so far. I love seeing the Trans Canada Highway #1 sign heading West because I know we're getting that much closer!


Lorne is still a little young for a trip like this in that most activities are for slightly older kids and we have to keep a really close watch on him at all times since most RV parks are a series of roads and thruways. Not to mention the fire pit at night.

It’s a bit weird at night because it doesn’t get dark till at least 10 p.m. so the kids have been up pretty late. Plus once you factor in the time change their schedules are pretty much shot. They don’t seem too phased by it though.

We all enjoyed hearing the trains pass through but if you’re not into that kind of thing you might want to rethink staying there.



We had another fish dinner last night thanks to Chef Mike O. He’s been making us breakfast everyday too which is pretty nice. From eggs and sausage to pancakes with strawberries. Mike B (my Step-Father) has been having what he calls his tailgate breakfast.

Day 5 - Dryden Ontario

Yesterday we drove from Nipigon to Dryden which was actually a pretty long haul with the kids and the time change just after Thunder Bay. We turned our clocks back one hour at that point.

Initially we were going to stop in Ignace but we decided to march on since we wanted to get out of Ontario by today.

Mike spotted 2 bald eagles feasting on a dead snake in a little field and turned around to get a picture of them. They didn't really care to be disturbed so the picture isn't great but we did snap it so we were pretty happy.


We have had limited cell reception with my Mom and Step-Dad and everyone else for that matter. I wasn’t able to get online last night when we stopped so hopefully today I can update the blog. I usually write about the night before while we’re driving so I’m not spending all my time in the trailer updating pictures etc…

Today we’re aiming for somewhere around Winnipeg. Once you get into Manitoba you usually have to get off the Trans Canada Highway to get a decent campground so we’ll have to see once we get there where we’ll stay.

I realized this morning that I didn’t take a single picture of the campsite in Dryden. Maybe that’s because it was a bit rainy and the mosquitoes were really brutal. I’m not sure. I’ll have to remember not to do that next time.

We’ve hired Sofie to sing Mr. Sun and Rain Rain Go Away which works more often than not in bringing us better weather. Everywhere we go people say that the weather has been hopeless this summer and that the day we are there is the best day they've had yet so I guess we're chasing the sun out West. Hope we can keep up!!

Kakabeka Falls, Ontario

Kakabeka Falls is located on Highway 17 going West out of Thunder Bay, Ontario. Mike and I had been there in 2000 and wanted to go back with the kids and my Mom and Step-Dad. This time there was a $5 fee to park our vehicle and enter the park. Small peanuts when you actually get into the park and see the Falls. The noise of them is practically deafening and you have to yell to be heard when you’re standing next to them.


It was a beautiful day so that was a real bonus for pictures. At first Sofie didn’t want to stand too close to the railing because the noise scared her but after a minute or two curiosity won over.

It was definitely a worth while stop to make on a sunny day.