This summer’s extended camping trip with the teardrop trailer took me to three large lakes, two in BC and one in Idaho.
My first stop was Westbank BC, on the banks of Okanagan Lake, for the 2nd Annual Farm Gathering at Brian Woods’ farm. There were 27 trailers ranging from my classic ’48 tear through several nice home-builts to some factory- and bespoke-builds.
Okanagan Lake is a long (84 mi.) narrow (3 mi) lake at the head of the Okanagan valley which runs from northern Washington into south-central BC. Brian has a small farm in the town of Westbank with lots of space for teardrops.
I spent four nights at Brian’s, departing on Monday morning for Nelson BC, about 5 hours drive east across the province. Nelson is on the banks of Kootenay Lake, another long (60 mi), narrow (1-2 mi) lake between the mountains, these the Selkirk and Purcell mountains.
I discovered Nelson on my first trip to British Columbia in 2008. A photographer on a forum I frequent posted a series of photos of Nelson and its environs that made it look like the most peaceful place on earth. It is…… at 5:30 in the morning when the sun is just lighting the sky, and the lake is mirror smooth. Later on, not so much ;-)
Nelson is a lively little tourist town with lots of small shops, bistros, and cafes. It attracts tourists from the Vancouver (10 hrs drive) and Calgary (8 hrs drive) areas and has many lake-side resorts and vacation rentals.
My friends Mark and Mado are both photographers, so they took me to some photogenic locations in the neighborhood. I didn’t make any good photos at the Ainsworth Cemetery where the some of the film “Snow Falling on Cedars” was shot, but the next day we went to Cottonwood Falls just behind downtown, then drove up to the source of the creek at Cottonwood Lake.
Cottonwood Falls
After leaving Cottonwood Lake, we stopped to see the historic Ymir (pronounced whymer) Hotel. The town was built in the last years of the 19th century, and the hotel remains mostly unchanged.
Ymir Hotel
I wanted to visit the Nelson Brewing Company because I have especially enjoyed their “After Dark” brown ale since my first visit in 2008. We arrived at an old, narrow building on a street above downtown and discovered that even though the door was open, they were closed and not giving tours that day. I pleaded with the brewer who acquiesced only as far as to answer my questions as he continued to rake the spent grain out of the mash tun. NBC brews 44 hectoliters (~35 bbl) per batch using locally sourced organic malt and hops. They use a single-temperature infusion mash in the steam-fired brewery. They use Wyeast commercial yeast strains and pellet hops. A nice, neat efficient brewery that produces above average product.
From Nelson BC, my trip took me to Farragut State Park on Lake Pend Oreille in northern Idaho. The lake is the largest in Idaho and the fifth deepest in the US.
Farragut State Park occupies the site of a WWII navy training base of the same name, and several relics remain, including a Naval Acoustic Research facility on the lake. The campsites at Farragut were the nicest I’ve ever encountered with a flat, level platform for your tent and the picnic table. The platform was absolutely clean and raked smooth when I arrived!
I drove to Sandpoint for lunch and a visit to MickDuff’s Brewpub. Some friendly chat soon led me to conversation with Mike, the “Mick” of the name. Mike runs the pub while “Duff” makes the beer at the brewery a couple of blocks away. They have a unique “pilot” system on which they can brew 3-barrel (~100 gal) batches to test recipes and market acceptance. The pilot brewery is steam fired, as most breweries in the NW seem to be. I had the sampler and wasn’t impressed by any of the beers. All were competent pub brews, but none jumped out and grabbed my palette and said “order a pint.”
From Farragut State Park, I dropped down into eastern Oregon to visit my sister in Baker City. A couple of nights in a real bed with unlimited hot showers provided a nice change after almost two weeks of camping in the teardrop.
I drove across most of Oregon coming home to Grants Pass from Baker City. Highway 26 across eastern Oregon is particularly beautiful, but slow. And the Diamond Lake and Crater Lake highways provide interesting and unparalleled views of southern Oregon.
I reached home after 14 days on the road, 12 nights in the trailer, and almost 2,000 miles, and enjoyed every hour and every mile of the trip.