Thursday, September 19, 2024

Our day began in Revelstoke, British Columbia at a campsite near Begbie Falls. Last night’s peaceful night of sleep was much better than the night before when we stayed at the Lamplighter Campground within the Revelstoke limits.

Before we packed up the RV this morning, Tory, Aden, and I did school and Andi worked for a bit. We promised the kids we’d do something fun after we finished.

Around 11:00am, we left Begbie Falls Recreation Site and drove about 30 minutes along the Highway 1 / Trans-Canada Highway to Sky Trek Adventure Park. Our original plan had been to drive up the Meadows in the Sky Parkway to Mount Revelstoke Resort, but Andi read that the road is narrow with tight switchbacks. Our RV is the maximum length allowed on the roadway, so we opted to do something else today. Sky Trek Adventure Park it was!

There wasn’t another person at Sky Trek when we arrived which meant we had the whole course to ourselves. We talked to the employee at the front desk to see which course would be the best for Tory and Aden, and he suggested the obstacle course if Andi and I would be interested in accompanying them. Since no other people were here, we could take our time and do the course as many times as we liked. The obstacle course included climbing between trees using ropes, bridges, and zip lines.

In true Canadian fashion, there was a thorough demonstration and training session before we actually took to the course. One of the employees helped us put on our climbing harness and helmet, then showed us how to navigate the different clips we’d see on the course. Once we started, we’d be on a continuous course with 30 different obstacles and challenges.

Tory and Aden were so excited, and rushed right up to the first ladder. A different pulley, clipped to each of our waists, was required for the zip line and Tory kept forgetting to use that pulley, so ultimately she decided letting Aden go first might be a wise choice in this activity.

We began on the green course with Aden leading our group, followed by Andi, then Tory, and me as the caboose. Green was the easiest level, testing our balance and strength. There were two short zip lines on this course as well.

Next, the course continued to the blue level. Not only did the obstacles get harder, but we were climbing higher off the ground as well. I couldn’t believe how mentally challenging the course was, in addition to being physical. Tory and I worked together to come up with the best ways to strategically cross each challenge. Aden and Aden were flying through the course, at least two or three challenges ahead of Tory and I.

We all agreed that the most challenging spot on the whole course was the rock wall. Each of us had to pull ourselves up a vertical wall while moving our safety clip to different check-points as we climbed. The course was especially difficult for Tory and Aden because they’re shorter in height. Though, several of the obstacles required a fair amount of flexibility, so those challenges were easier for Tory and Aden to twist and climb through.

By the time we reached the black course, the obstacles had become really challenging. All four of us were exhausted! I couldn’t believe how physically challenging this sky course proved to be. The employee watching our safety on the ground told Andi the course is equivalent to doing 10 pull-ups.

After 3 hours on the course, Tory, Aden, and I were ready to be done. My arms were shaking and the palms of my hands hurt from gripping and climbing. Andi said he could have kept going to the final double black course, but said he was OK finishing with the rest of us, too.

Our final challenge was to jump onto a red blow-up ball, zip line it across the course to another tree, grab onto a net, pull ourselves onto it and cross it, and then climb onto the final platform. Aden was (un)lucky enough to go first, and it looked really challenging. He was stuck, hanging from the net for at least 10 minutes, but somehow used his leg strength to maneuver himself to the platform.

Andi went next, and then Tory. “I don’t want to do this, I don’t want to do this,” she repeated with a scared look in her eyes, and then jumped onto the ball and whizzed through the air to the other side. Andi and I were really proud of the kids for using so much physical strength and mental acuity to complete this course. I was last to go on the bouncy ball zip line, and had the good fortune of learning from everyone else’s mistakes which made the challenge a lot easier to complete.

As the four of us unclipped our safety equipment, feet firmly planted on the ground, and took a deep breath. Phew! We did it! What a fun and exhausting challenge the Sky Course proved to be. We’re all going to be sore tomorrow!

Back in the RV, Andi started driving west to our next destination. There was an accident on the highway and traffic was at a dead-stop, so Andi detoured to the nearby roadside attractions of Fruit World and Dutchman’s Dairy.

Fruit World was essentially a large produce stand that also carried maple syrup, kettle chips, and other gourmet goods. Aden wanted a couple mangoes, so we bought those for him, and then walked across the street to Dutchman’s Dairy.

Dutchman’s Dairy was a working dairy farm that sold ice cream, milk, and an assortment of Dutch crackers, chocolates, and knick-knacks. We bought a tub of peanut butter chocolate moose ice cream. It took me a second to realize why everything was themed around the Netherlands inside the shop, but then I got it — The Dutchman’s Dairy.

All four of us were starving as it was now 4:00pm, but there wasn’t much selection in the small town of Sicamous. We settled on A&W attached to the gas station, also taking the opportunity to refill our RV propane. Gravy automatically came as a side with our fast food meals, isn’t that interesting? I think it must be for poutine fries — a Canadian favorite.

Originally, Andi thought we’d camp for the night in the town of Salmon Arm, but it was only 20 minutes away and he felt like he had more driving left in him tonight. We drove through Salmon Arm as we listened to facts and history about the nearby Shuswap Lake from our favorite “talkie guy” Guide Along audio tour.

The climate turned arid and desert-like the further west we drove. There weren’t a lot of places to stop once we left the area of Shuswap Lake. We drove through several First Nations communities, and decided to keep on driving.

It was nearing dusk by the time we reached the small community of Cache Creek. All four of us were exhausted, and ready to be done traveling for the night. There were several Canadian provincial parks in the area we could have chosen to stay at, but Andi used the iOverlander app to find us a free spot along a forestry road. All the reviews for the provincial parks said there was a loud train that came through the area frequently in addition to highway traffic noise.

I was in no mood to search for camping along a bumpy, dirt road tonight but Andi assured me there were spots to park not far up the hillside. Sure enough, we found a flat gravel area overlooking the valley and parked the RV there.

Our camping spot for the night was quiet and scenic — not that we did much other than sleep there. The four of us watched an episode of Heartland together on Netflix before calling it a night.

Tomorrow, we’ll continue our journey toward the Squamish-Lillooet region of southwestern British Columbia.