At one with nature...

So finally it was time to go camping! Then somewhere between Vancouver and the Okanagan we decided to go camping in the Okanagan at our usual camping spot. I think it might have been the snow in manning park that had us change our mind when we were up there.
I'm fairly familiar with the Crow's nest highway to get to the Okanagan... it's one we've often taken to get up there... yet the beauty never ceases to amaze me! I am still in awe at the giant towering mountains that the highway snakes through. They make me feel so small. On our way up, we stopped at the Hope slide area and though I'd driven by this place a thousand times before, I'd never seen it. Paul explained to my why it was such a big deal... then I saw. A good portion of the mountain slid down into the valley. Four people were killed then within a two year span, two airplanes crashed into the mountain. What bad luck for one mountain!
There's a certain spot between Sunshine Valley and Manning Park where it's almost like mash land... for those who have driven though they know the part I'm talking about. I was just telling Paul about how I always loved this section because as a kid, I thought there would be bears there. I'd never seen a bear. We both agreed that the bears probably wouldn't be so close to the highway. Less then two minutes later we saw a bear! I was so excited! We didn't stop though (which was a good thing, I probably would have gone up and pet it).
The rest of the drive up was magnificent... We got to our destination and set up camp. It was beautiful, sunny and HOT! Our campsite was fantastic (we had a gorgeous view)! We picked up some food and had an awesome dinner of corn on the cob and these pita type things with turkey and other yummy things. We then went for a walk down to the lakeside and cooled our feet in the water and played fetch with Teako. By 9pm we were in bed (no fire or marshmallow roasting... too tired)... and I didn't wake until 6am (well I woke occasionally when I rolled over and touched Paul, only to roll back to my corner of the mattress... I called him the danger zone... he just laughed (I guess that is what you get when you're camping with an ex)). The photo from the tent was taken at 6am... that was our view, it was stunning!
The following morning we had bacon, eggs and mashbrowns (a mix between hashbrowns and mashed potatoes) then went to sleep again... what a leisurely morning :) When we got up it was raining... We decided to go walk the train trestles that burnt back in the big Okanagan fire (they have since been rebuilt). We stopped at the info centre then headed on our merry way. We ended up getting lost... or rather "we were on an adventure" but ended up somewhere where it was absolutely gorgeous (even with the pelting rain). After our adventure, we headed back to the campsite, made a fire to keep warm and dry, had a nap cuz we were tired of being rained on then woke up and decided to pack it up early while there was a break in the showers. There was more rain to come and we decided that it would be best to pack up while it wasn't raining and things were moderately wet.
The drive back was breathtaking! It was very stormy yet there were a few clear patches. It made for a gorgeous sight. I managed to stay up most of the drive but fell asleep between hope and Vancouver (oops... boring co-pilot).
Though the whole camping with the ex may have been a disaster, it wasn't. I think it was good because we both realized (or are still realizing, because things like this are never easy) that we're not meant to be together but we still get along and a friendship can be worked on.