Monday, August 24, 2009 – Day 43
I woke up at 6 am to two short toots of an idling logging truck only a few feet away from where we had been sleeping. It was then that the signs around us started to make sense. The signs had indicated that logging was only permitted from 6 to 9am in the morning. That meant that we were at the beginning of the day’s logging on this old road. No wonder the pullout was larger than any other I had seen. It was large enough for the big trucks to make a right hand turn from the dirt road which was parallel to the main highway. With us in the way however, the driver was only able to make a left hand turn.
I quickly got out of bed and was in the drivers seat pulling out to relocate our RV when the logging truck driver drove by in the other direction as he added to short toots of his deep horn. He obviously wanted to remind me in a friendly way that I was in his way. We continued down the road and parked in the Ainsworth Hot Springs Hotel parking lot as we waited for it to open. It was still way too early.
By this time however, Teyauna our 1 year old was awake and not going to let anyone else sleep. There was no way I was going to get back to bed and so I pulled out the stroller in search of a morning stroll. After getting directions from the Hotel front desk, we mounted the dirt road behind the Hot Springs. To the side of the road was a uneven trail that ascended up the steep mountainside. It was peaceful and quiet as we wandered between trees and up to the sounds of a small waterfall. A creek was cascading down the side of a cliff and the soothing sounds of the water added to the tranquil atmosphere of our morning hike.
When the Hot Springs opened, the kids were bursting with energy, ready and waiting in their bathing suits. They wanted to jump into the water and splash around. Ainsworth Hot Springs are very unique. The water we were told is not heated by volcanic activity but rather from pressurized water. In the early 1900’s the hot springs were used by the miners who worked in the area. In the past 50 years a swimming pool has been built just outside the circular cave that is the main attraction for these unique hot springs. The large warm pool, small ice tub and steam hot caves are all part of the Ainsworth Hot Springs. The kids were anxious to descend into the two foot deep water that seemed to sizzle our legs as we wandered to the back of the natural cave. As you meander to the back of the steamy cave you can feel the hot water dripping from the ceiling before arriving at a hot waterfall stream. It is a great place to sit down in the water but it is too hot to stay for long. I tried bringing my camera into the cave but the lens of the camera would steam up too fast to get a photo of anything other than fog.
The kids had a great time wandering through the cave and then would jump into the ice cold hot tub sized pool of fresh mountain water adjacent to the cave. The extreme temperature change is enough to shock any heart into pounding a thousand miles an hour. Fortunately there was the more moderately warm pool that we could hang out in for the rest of the morning. It was obvious that in the main pool area the water was a mixture of the hot-spring water and the cool mountain water, creating a relaxing environment.
We had to move on just before lunch to make it to our next destination. I could spend weeks exploring this area but we didn’t have the time. We drove through Nelson where we stocked our RV up with groceries before spending the afternoon driving to Osoyoos.
The highway that descends into Osoyoos will make anyone’s hair stand on end. Especially if you are in a motorhome. You slowly descend the side of a mountain winding around boulders and switchbacks as you look over the gorgeous valley and lake below. While the grade of the road is a bit nerve-racking the view is breathtaking… as long as you don’t take your eyes off the road.
We had driven through Osoyoos last year and had liked it so much that we made a mental note to stop there when the opportunity came. This was it. Although we didn’t arrive until about 6pm we were glad to find space at the Nk’Mip Campground on the lake. The Provincial Park on the lake was small and already filled up and so we went to the larger lakefront campground with over 200 sites. Although our RV site was not one of the ones on Osoyoos Lake, we were only a one minute walk away. The kids were quick to barrel down the hill in the direction of the lake for a swim. They wanted to spend the rest of the evening splashing around in BC’s warmest lake.