Camping in Revelstoke, British Columbia

On our journey home in Ontario from Alberta, Mel and I decided to head a little more western first. Neither of us had ever been to BC, and there was no better time to visit than before we were no longer next-door neighbours. We planned to go from Calgary to a little outside of Vancouver, where we'd cross the international border into Washington to visit our friends. Before we made it there, though, we spent the night tenting about ten minutes outside of Revelstoke.

While we were there, the wildfires in BC took an unfortunate turn. During our travels, there were fires around Golden and Kamloops, however it was during our drive out west that the fires worsened around Kelowna. When we arrived at our campsite, it was very hazy and grey. Our night in the tent was filled with questions of how the remainder of our journey will go, and peanut butter sandwiches sponsored by a butter knife we stole from a restaurant back in Alberta. I was really hopeful to swim at our site, but it was very chilly the next morning, though thankfully it rained quite a bit which made us hopeful for the wild fires.

But as our drive continued, it only got darker, more orange, and smoky to a point where breathing wasn't comfortable. At home in Ontario, we've been able to see and smell the smoke from fires out west in the past. In fact, our first month in Jasper was polluted by wildfire smoke that prevented mountain visibility. But nothing could compare to this. As beautiful as most of our drive through BC was, the fires were devastating, and I can only imagine how horrible this is for those affected!

This links different verified fundraisers for the firefighters, those whose homes have been lost (as well as the fires in the North-West Territories): https://www.gofundme.com/en-ca/c/act/bc-wildfire

our campsite set up.

fires as seen from highway.

smoke as seen from highway.

our lake at our campsite.