May Long Weekend 2018

It's 1:30 pm and we just got back from our first glamping trip of 2018. We're off to a late start this year. Usually by May long weekend we've gone out 2-3 times. 2016 and 2017 both had great April's and we went out twice in that month alone. 2018's long, cold winter and previously held plans in May delayed us until this weekend, but it was well worth it. The weather was *almost* perfect. Mornings were cool, crisp and sunny. Afternoons were sunnier and hot with a nice mountain breeze. Evenings were probably a bit too cool to say they were perfect, but you can't expect much better from a May evening in the west. We were all in a great mood, everyone was happy, and the kids didn't fight - well, not a lot anyway. No mechanical problems and no one got hurt.

Once again, we visited our favourite place, Canyon RV in Radium Hot Springs, British Columbia. You just have to check out our pics below to see why it's our favourite. We stayed in one of two of our favourite sites and we had nice, quiet neighbours. On Saturday, we found out by chance that there was a Pokémon event in Invermere, so we spent the day walking around, catching Charmanders and fighting in raid battles with fellow nerds. We all walked away with a shiny Charmander (Max and I got three each!) which we evolved into shiny Charizards. We agreed it was the best Pokémon day for our family, ever.

A trip to Radium is not complete without a visit to the hot springs. This time, we made the drive to the Fairmont Hot Springs. The force was with us and on Sunday when we went, we scored beach chairs on very crowded lawn that was the most packed we'd ever seen! We ended the day with some more Poké hunting and a delicious dinner cooked in 25 mins in my Instant Pot, which I shelepped from home (because I really can't go more than a day without using it).

We're sad the weekend is over! Enjoy my pics, but before you do, here's my requisite, handy list that will hopefully provide a chuckle or two.
Three things you should not say to each other 1 hr after you've left the house for the first glamping trip of the season.

Did you remember to buy a new box of sewage gloves? Dave and I don't like using a lot of disposable, non-reusable things when we're glamping, but sewage gloves are a must. To dump your grey and black water tanks without them are completely disgusting, even though the tools we use are pretty good and you can't really "splash" and there's nothing really dirty to touch. But just the thought of doing this without protection makes me want to hurl. Reusable gloves are ok, but they are bulky and your fingers aren't as agile. We've tried a few and they didn't really work well. These tight fitting, blue gloves are perfect. And they ensure that Dave won't have to wash his hands 50 times before I allow him to touch me again - although I do make him trek to the camp washroom and make him soap up at least twice. There are lots of necessary trailer supplies and gadgets that we would hate to forget on the first camping trip. But we unanimously decided that the sewage gloves is the most important thing. If we forgot, I'd probably ban the use of our trailer washroom for the entire trip.

What's that noise? It's always a good idea to get your truck tuned up and your trailer checked out before you head out for the first time. The last thing you want is to be stranded at the side of the road with a broken down truck or a blown trailer tire. We blew a tire last year, mid-season and on the way home from a weekend, and changing it on the side of the highway was harrowing to say the least.

Did you remember the...(insert any personal item that you or the kids deem a necessity here, like medication, loveys, favourite hoodie, etc.). Dave has always hated turning back home for a forgotten item. He says he feels like he's going to turn into a pillar of salt like Lot's wife. But he hates it even more in the trailer. It's hard to find a place to turn a truck and a 34-ft trailer around. We're also sure our neighbours are laughing at us when they see us leave only to return an hour later. And because we always leave for camping after work on a Friday afternoon, there's always more traffic to deal with. It makes a late night arrival at a campsite even later, and setting up in the dark really sucks. After this happened a few times for us in the beginning, we now keep a list of "Can't Leave Without" items, in the Google Keep app. Everyone in the family has it on their phone and everyone adds to it in the days leading up to a trip, if they think of something they have to take. After the trailer is hitched and packed and before we drive away, we go through the list together. 9 times out of 10, someone has to run back into the house to get something. But it beats turning the truck and trailer around when you've already left for the trip. Leaving twice really sucks!