Wednesday Wanderings: Summer Camping

This time of year, during these warm summer days I love to think back on all of the beautiful places that we camped and visited during our summers in BC. There was so much to see and do there, that we both know we'll inevitably be back one day - whether it's to live or just to visit.

One thing I loved about last summer was our little Boler travel trailer that Brett had purchased for us to camp in. It was by no means luxurious, but it made it so much easier to camp comfortably with a preschooler and a baby. We made two trips last summer to Ross Lake, and Nolan was only 6 weeks old during our first visit. 

The campsite is located just outside of Hope, BC on the border of the United States. There are actually campsites located on the American side, which are only accessible by car if you drive through Canada. Last summer we camped in both the Canadian and American campgrounds, and had great experiences both times.

The campgrounds are nestled within the North Cascades mountains, placing the American side within the National Park. I never realized this last summer, and was one of the things I learned using our National Geographic Road Atlas.  

Our first trip we stayed in the Canadian campground and the second time we camped on the American side. Both campgrounds are on a first come, first served basis and we had great sites during both trips. The only difficult part about making the journey to Ross Lake is the hour long drive along a dirt road. If something happens (which it did to our friends son), you have a long drive to any sort of medical care. It's also not a great spot to camp if you can't handle mosquitos, there can be quite a lot, especially during the late summer.

However, it's quiet and a great family camping spot. The water is great for swimming and it's also perfect for recreation like hitting the water in a canoe or kayak.

Despite having a small travel trailer, camping with a baby was not always easy but we had a great time during both of our visits to Ross Lake last summer. Great memories were made with great friends, and we are so glad we had the chance to make both trips with them during our last summer on the west coast. 

A Diverse Landscape

Yellowstone - still on Yellowstone. How could I not be? It's taken me a long time to get around to sharing this as we've been so busy enjoying life together. We sure did a lot of that in Wyoming. We tried to see as much as we could - we woke up our last morning in Madison to go and see some of the mud pots before we moved on to the opposite side of the park. It was worth it. The landscape near the Artists Paint Pots was incredible. Steaming water and fumaroles, lush green trees, areas of ground just burnt out from the chemicals and heat. It was so diverse in one small area. What a site to see. 

Boiling and steaming bodies of water and erupting geysers are not the only impressive water features Yellowstone has to offer. The waterfalls were also a site to see and I'm glad we took time to check out a couple.

The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and it's waterfall were my favourite spot that we visited in the park. We headed to Inspiration Point to take it in the waterfall, and it was obvious why it was given this name. If you've seen photos of the waterfall before, it's highly likely they were taken from here. I could've stayed all day taking it in, but the crowd was pretty big, so on we moved with the kids to see more of the Canyon from other spots.

I hope that the next time we return to this National Park we can take in the waterfall from some different spots. Viewing it from the top, and seeing the water thunder over the edge I'm sure would be quite impressive. 

There were plenty of opportunities to entertain the children as well, especially on our drives from Fishing Bridge campsite. Heading north from the campground, we usually headed directly through large herds of Bison crossing the streets. Halle loved every second of it, and we were able to capture some great photos (and videos) while stuck in the "Bison traffic". 

Halle's favourite was definitely the "Red Dogs" - the baby Bison, and Brett and I had to agree, they were pretty cute!

Halle was also thrilled to earn a new Junior Ranger Badge in Yellowstone. Unlike other parks, you pay for the booklet here, but the $3 is money well spent in our eyes. The books are wonderful and Halle learned a lot. At the end of the activities, she earned not only a sew on patch for her age group, but also a wooden centennial pin, celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the National Parks Service! The Junior Ranger program is definitely our favourite part of visiting the National Parks with children.

We loved every view we had while there. Driving North we enjoyed the meadows and valleys. We had high hopes of spotting wolves and grizzly bears as we explored, stopping frequently to use our binoculars and look into the distance, as we knew that was our best chance. In the end we saw no wolves or grizzlies, but we were happy with the scenery. 

Mammoth Hot Spring Terrace was a very cool sight to see. We visited on a hot day, and stopped for lunch and ice cream before walking over to the Springs.

The colours and look of the terraced springs was incredible. It sparkled in the sun and in some spots looked like gold. Unfortunately a hot tired child was not as interested as we were, and a splinter was the final straw, putting an end to our short walk around the area. If you visit the park though, I highly recommend a visit to Mammoth Hot Springs if you can fit it in. After all, there is surely not enough time to see everything in it's entirety during one visit to Yellowstone. We have no doubt we will return to the park one day with the kiddos to experience more of it's wonder!

Welcome to Big Sky Country

For some reason, Montana had been one of those states that I wanted to visit for so very long. I imagine it had something to do with the picture that had always been painted in my mind - rugged mountains, rolling grassy hills, rambling rivers, wildlife, fresh air. In my mind Montana was everything we had always hoped for in a place to call home, and as we approached the border I think we both thought to ourselves, "this could definitely be somewhere that we'd love to start a new life with our family". 

Arriving in Montana we got everything we had always imagined. Gorgeous mountains, green grass, fresh air and most definitely wildlife. Within moments of crossing the border we turned a corner to spot a mother Moose and her calf in the road ahead. They were too far away for us to capture a photo, and once they heard our truck roaring down the road they took off into the safety of the surrounding forest. It was a moment none of us will ever forget, including Halle who has proudly told the story to anyone who will listen.


Montana encompasses all of the things that we wanted to see and do when we set out on the road. Glacier National Park in particular makes you feel so close to nature and looking back on these photos, I am reminded of how much I truly loved our time in that park. 

When we arrived in St. Mary, Montana we sat down for lunch and began to plan our next move. Would we pop into Glacier quickly and move on to another entrance to the park? Or would we go and see if we could set up camp right there? We opted for the latter and when we rolled up to the park entrance in St. Mary, the ranger suggested that we purchase an annual pass for all of the National Parks, to save us some money. She also recommended which campground to stay in, which sold us on camping right in the park. We wanted to see as much as we possibly could during our one night stay.

The one thing that struck us the most about Glacier was the vast amount of the park that had been burnt in a recent fire. Halle mentioned that it looked so sad and not as pretty without all of the green trees. Brett and I explained to her that sometimes a fire can be good to help a forest continue to grow and thrive, but we agreed that it looked very different without all of the green trees.

Despite all of the burnt trees, the beauty of this majestic park still remained. The towering mountains with their snow capped peaks and the blue waters that swirled at their bases. Even with the sad bare trees, colour emerged in other ways! The bright green grass and wildflowers, the blue water and sky and even the needles and leaves that remained on a few of the trees made everything seem that much more alive. 

Though the "Going to the Sun Road" pass was closed (what many call the crowning jewel of the park), we made the most of our time there. We drove as far as we could and stopped as often as possible to get out of the vehicle and take in the hiking trails and breathtaking vistas. 

I now find myself wondering how I was so ignorant to the names and locations of so many of these incredible protected areas? Embarking on this journey, especially during this year while the National Parks Service celebrates its 100th birthday, has really opened my eyes to how many diverse and beautiful natural spaces there are on this continent. We are so very lucky to live in this wondrous area of this great big world. 

The only thing we missed in Glacier was the wildlife. When we were setting up camp the ranger on duty came around to chat with us and informed us that there was a small black bear who frequented the campsite. She let us know to just clap our hands and make some noise and it would scare off easily, unfortunately we never had the pleasure of seeing the small beast pass by. 

As always, one of the greatest parts for us was helping Halle to complete her Junior Park Ranger booklet and then see her earn her badge. She has learned so much completing the tasks at the parks and has even surprised us with some of the things she has been able to answer and do on her own. 

Life on the road has been treating us well. We've done our best to make the most of each day, and this trip really started on a high note! As we left Glacier National Park I had so much excitement about what was to come as we made our way towards Yellowstone...