Trippin West-a-far-i style

Since the tail end of our bike tour in California, Alex and I  have been dreaming of an adventure camper van to seriously step up our travel game… Well, two weeks ago that seemingly far-fetched dream became a reality with an exchange for a 1984 VW Westfalia Vanagon, or “hippy van,” as they are commonly known. She was previously loved by a young British chap who named her “Lily”. He was sad to let her go but his move back to the UK turned out to be in our favour. YAY! We tossed our bikes in the van and drove her back to Rose Street to celebrate. Alex spent the next few days just sitting in his very own “living room” fidgeting with gadgets and wrapping his mind around the awesomeness of this vehicle in his possession.  This thing is so much more than an automobile — it is a tiny home on wheels!

The past two weekends we have experienced the beauty of nature far from the city and the ease of camping with the Westy.

First we traveled about two hours East to Harrison Hot Springs (lovely, but too touristy) so we went a bit further to Sasquatch Provincial Park and camped next to Deer Lake and Hicks Lake.

Last weekend we set out for a double nighter… two is so much better than one. Friday night we slept in the parking lot at the trailhead to Garibaldi Lake, a very popular glacial lake destination between Squamish and Whistler.  At ten o’clock the stars were numerous and bright and we parked the van in a mostly empty lot to sleep. By eight the next morning the lot was almost completely full with day hikers and backpackers. We were pleased with the extra sleep we were allowed by getting there the night before and beating the traffic. We were not so pleased, however, with the crowds on the trail. HUNDREDS flock to this lake… I suppose it’s for a good reason. I’m still sore from the 9k uphill and then back down, but it was worth it. Behold the Beauty:

    

Oh yeah, and Alex debuted his newly thrifted kilt, receiving one compliment, many looks, and a heckle from a loud old man who then jumped into the freezing glacial water… crazy bloke.

Saturday night, determined to camp again for free, we drove toward Squamish. Taking a leap of faith right down Squamish Valley Road, the sun tucked behind the mountains as the road got rougher. We were about to turn around when we saw a sign “NO Shooting, campground nearby” with an arrow. Across a tiny bridge we see campers at a recreation site by the river. User maintained rec sites are free and far from the masses. Perfect. We soon found all the sites were occupied but the friendly couple that gave us this news quickly offered to share their muddy bank of a campsite with us. Hooray! We bonded over campfire s’mores, the cuteness of their dog, Henry, and kilt-wearing Scottish history. We fired up the big buddy heater in the van before bed and we were snug as can be on a crisp October night.

The next day Matt and Devyn took us up the road in their truck to a waterfall, an abandoned goldmine and scary cave. The van would not have appreciated the steep rocky road so we are grateful for this chance encounter with these fun, fresh, like-minded people and tour of the backroads of Squamish.

      

Back in Vancouver now. Alex is workin all week, continuing to take advantage of the many conveniences of the van. I am giving my last infant massage class on Thursday and then I will be certified! Hopefully the weather will stay nice enough for a few more weekends so we can continue exploring BC before I make my move back to Cali for a bit of winter sunshine. Life planning by the weather, is it wise? Whether it is or not, Canada won’t let me stay much longer, I miss my friends and family and a change is unavoidable at this point. We’ll keep you posted!