Nelson and BC Lakes

We managed to miss the ferry we were aiming for, but with the silver house in tow and friends caravanning with us, killing an hour on a stunning Kootenay Lake beach wasn’t too hard. Thanks @simplylivingmore for the holiday card. #travelwithkids #familytravel #roadschool #sisterhoodofthetravelingparents #airstream #pairstream #someonegetmeanax

Roadside stop along Kootenay Lake yesterday on the way to the ferry across to Balfour. #airstream #pairstream #airstreamfriends #kootenay #kootenaylake

As we navigated what seemed like the 50th switchback up the rutted dirt road marked only as a dotted line on the GPS, we crested the summit to find a perfectly flat campsite with unobstructed sun for the solar, 6 bars of LTE and the valley below erupting with the impossible reds, yellows and oranges of Fall. Also, there was a waterfall. And a jumpy house for the kids. And a taco truck that had carnitas and was open for another 15 minutes.
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Okay fine, we’re in a small roadside campground, the only one still open this time of year, next to a 45’ 5th wheel, and after a generally tough day of parenting, the 4 year old is refusing to brush her teeth for the 97th day in a row.
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But honestly, we’ve got what we need, are near a cool town, have great neighbors, and maybe just maybe, she’ll wanna brush her teeth tomorrow.
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#reallifeairstream #airstreamwithkids #travelwithkids #familytravel #rvwithkids #itsnotalways🌈and🦄

Got out for a ride this afternoon on Morning Mountain in Nelson. A 2.5 mile climb on well-crafted switchbacks and boardwalks was rewarded with amazing high berms and jumps (or “rolls” in my case) down Turnstyle (black) and Lefty (blue). It was in the mid 60’s today! #mtbbritishcolumbia #mountainbike #konabikes #nelsonbritishcolumbia #nelsonbc #imslow

In the past, we’ve tended to stay in each place for 2-3 days, mostly because we felt like there was just soooo much we wanted to see and had to get moving to the next spot. This trip, we’re enjoying spending more like 5 days in each place. That’s meant a chance to get a better overview of a place, revisit a couple favorite spots and, when needed, just spend a day nursing sniffles and making chocolate banana muffins. #airstreamwithkids #rvwithkids #airstreamkitchen #bakingwithkids #notastep

They met 1/3 of their lives ago in Acadia, have since ridden the Maid of the Mist in Niagara Falls together, hunted for many-million year old dinosaur bones in Utah and are currently exploring British Columbia. Not a bad start. @elianaandheratlas @simplylivingmore @danielpoint1 #sisterhoodofthetravelingparents #littleairstreamfriends #canwemakethemsleepoutthere

Lunch stop along Slocan Lake with @simplylivingmore and @danielpoint1 and crew. Like most we’ve passed, this campground was already closed for the season, but a maintenance worker had said we could stay the night. Unfortunately, we were all gray-water-bubbling-up-in-the-shower full (black too, but I won’t describe the those) and needed to press on to somehwere with a dump.
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During World War II, New Denver, B.C. had been the site of an interment center for Japanese Canadians. We wandered around a beautiful Japanese garden beside the campground and remembered our powerful visit to the camp at Manzanar on the east side of the Sierras in California a few years ago.
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#airstream #pairstream #airstreamfriends #slocanlake #britishcolumbia

We were headed toward Nakusp without an idea of where we could camp, or more importantly perhaps, dump our tanks; According to all the web sites for campgrounds along the way, all were closed for the season. But in a good reminder not to trust technology toooooo much, calls and *voicemails* (apparently they’re still a thing up here) finally determined that while all had turned off the water and shuttered the washrooms, a couple were still allowing people to stay “unserviced.”
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After a stunning drive along Slocan Lake with views of Valhalla Provincial Park beyond, we found a dump behind a gas station and drove up the curvy road to Nakusp Hot Springs. The end-of-season rate of $19 CAD (with electric!) in the deserted campground would do just fine.
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After a post-arrival soak in the large outdoor pool and an early zero-bars-of-service bedtime, we all drove out to the natural Halfway Hot Springs the next day for another soak beside the river. Note, while there is camping at the Halfway Hot Springs, it’s 11km up a pretty rough dirt road we were glad we didn’t take the trailers.
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#halfwayhotsprings #britishcolumbia #nakusp #travelwithkids #familytravel

Here comes the road. Our GPS knows we like putting the Airstream on ferries, and these inland BC ferries are awesome; Line up, wait for the arriving cars to offload and you’ll be directed right on. We explained to the girls it’s just like a bridge, but you park on it, and it drives across. #airstream #airstreamonaboat #imonaboat #britishcolumbia