Let’s Go Travelling
We had just finished, a term that should be loosely used, our ambulance RV build. It was the end of July and the weather cried out for a ‘shakedown’ adventure
Our buddy Wayne from Healthy Adventuring in Pallet-Ive Care on YouTube, another ambo driver, called us from Banff, Alberta and suggested we visit him for a few days. We were game and set out upon our first big adventure.
I had the urge to feel the wind in my hair, so to speak, and wanted to get to quickly to Banff after a late start so we barreled north on British Columbia’s super-highway, the Coquihalla, the 650 miles to camp with Wayne. I need to admit that I pushed our Ford E350 Super Duty Ambulance pretty hard all the way averaging 130km an hour. I’ve learned my lesson both in fuel expense and my wife’s discomfort.
Buddy Camping
I’m not sure we knew what camping with Wayne looked like. We had gone camping with him before and since he is a seasoned guy we didn’t know what to expect other than it would be fun.
When we arrived he suggested we camp where he was renovating a condo, in the owner’s tenant parking lot in front of his home.
RCMP Visit
Now, our Ambo is a beast, what with the mast extended to 12’ to hold our Starlink satellite and the glow of our 4k Camera LED’s (4 of them) telling the world how unstealthy we were. We figured we would move to a more campy, welcoming location the next day.
8:00AM – Bang, bang, the insistent knock on our door told us it was either a mad rapist or a cop – it was an RCMP female with a stern order that camping was not allowed in Banff and this was our only warning to get outta town. I felt like I was in a bad western movie. BTW, I forgot to mention that Banff is in a national park and for us to even be in town was $54 for the 3 days we had planned to be there.
I was fit to be tied and even though Wayne wanted to show us around we only wanted to go home -period! Trying to leave was another thing. We tried to find a gas station that could accommodate an RV, albeit a small one like ours. We only found one in town made for ours or any sort of RV.
Another Adventure
After about an hour of fuming and driving towards Vancouver I saw a dirt road exit and took it. My wife had found a government Forestry/Recreational spot on the map and we were now on the hunt. It had to be better than sitting in a parking lot in Banff waiting for the cops to arrest us.
It was a dream, next to a river, and with welcoming folk already camping in the 12 spot campground. The best part? It was free!
The funny thing about this campsite is that it became our sweet spot, our focus and our goal for future adventures. Off the beaten path, a little wild but not too wild and FREE!
Calming down over a vodka tonic, or three, amid the gentle soothing river flowing by, we came to a realization that the rest of our trip would be much slower. We would leave the mega highway and find a more relaxed way home.
We found more spots like our first life-changing Forestry camp and even a winery that quenched our thirst on the way home.
We had a great time once we changed our focus and got out of that urban mindset. We had found our niche and were excited to get some backroad maps to continue our adventures.
Yikes – the GAS!
The cost of the trip? The gas was the killer at $750 for the round trip of 1300 miles. Did we learn anything? Heck yes, it beat the $1000 a night hotel rooms in Banff, it gave us a new direction, and we saw the most incredible mountains in the world, and we had fun – Stay tuned for more!