Taking The Long Way

Sunday, 5 February 2017

A Failed Walk of Snowdon

After a few days of me recovering from jet lag we set off on our first UK road trip, to Snowdonia. It was an easy drive from home to the Snowdonia National Park visitor centre in Betwys-y-Coed where we had planned a walk beginning at the visitor centre. Unfortunately we had not realised there are several Snowdonia National Park visitor centres and we had not gone to the same one we had planned the walk from! Oh well!

Instead we ate our lunch on a pathway by the river and found some other walks instead. When we came back to the village we entered the duck race (didn't win) and bought some supplies at the local Spar before driving to our hostel at Pen-y-Pass. There we ate giant pies and called Mum and Dad from a pay phone (no reception).

Walking near Betwys-y-Coed. We stopped here to listen to the band playing back in the village.

Watching the start of the duck race

Ros bags a bottom bunk

One of the neighbours

Unpacking at the hostel

The next day we started off on our walk of Snowdon. It went pretty well to begin with but after a couple of hours the rain got so heavy, we were soaked and couldn't see anything so we decided to turn around and come back the same way. We were a bit disappointed. We warmed up at the hostel with hot drinks and put everything we had been wearing to drip in the drying room. Later, when it had dried off we went back a walked a bit of the Miner's track, that we would've come back on if we had finished our walk earlier.

Made it back to the hostel!

The next day was still very rainy. On the way home we did a walk around Llyn Idwal and planned to go shopping for waterproof trousers.

Ready for UK trips now!

Friday, 23 September 2016

Turning Around - Back to Canada

On our final day in Grand Teton National Park we went on a scenic drive and to Jenny Lake for a hike. It was possible to get a boat across the lake and then walk the final section, but as usual we decided to go the scenic walking route.

Old van enjoying the scenery

It was still quite warm - no purple marshmallow needed

More bison

Rosie gets her work hours for after the trip - sad times!

Final night at the campsite by the lake

After giving away our bear spray at the campsite, we packed up and started the long drive back to Canada. We stopped for a pose by the Yellowstone sign that we'd missed the first time around. Probably that meant I had been driving and the road wasn't clear for 2km so I couldn't stop....!

The drive back to the border took three days. The first night we camped by a river in Montana and went on a little nature walk. We shared a picnic table with four nurses from Spokane and told them all about our travels. The second day we had showers at a laundromat and camped by the Grand Coulee dam in Washington. On the third day we drove through the North Cascades, which finally looked more like the Washington we had imagined, with green forests and mountains. We didn't have much time to stop and explore on the way back, I guess that means we'll have to save it for another trip! The third night we camped at a RV park just south of the border and the next day we crossed back into Canada.

Our final night we spent at Porteau Cove just north of Vancouver, ready to return the van in the morning. The weather turned very wet and cold again. We spent a couple of hours in the van while we waited for the campground to open, then we spent the rest of the day wandering around nearby, cleaning and organising the van (mostly Rosie was in charge of that...but I assisted)!

Back in Vancouver, we went to the hostel and had lunch, then it was time for me to go to the airport. Rosie dropped me at the train and went back to the hostel before her flight the next day. :-( :-(

.....until the next trip.......