Camping – May 2022

Well, here we are, sitting in the rain at Gordon Bay, eager for more camping adventures.

Last year we got out twice – for the first time in 30 years – and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. You can read about those episodes in my posts from last year in August (mostly sunny, but cool at night) and October (lots of rain and cold!).

This year we wanted to get out earlier and more often. We like going to Provincial Parks which means you have to book 2 months in advance. That’s why we find ourselves hunkered down in cool, rainy weather on Lake Cowichan with La Nina spreading her chilly influence over southern BC. Harrumph!

We had hoped that May would bring it’s usual West Coast warm temperatures, but not this year. C’est la vie! Campers in BC need to be prepared for all kinds of weather – and we are! We have tarps and an excellent screen tent that provides shelter from the elements during the day. We have layers of warm clothing, some of it from our previous camping adventures many years ago. If we could handle camping in October last year in Nanaimo, we can handle May in the Cowichan Valley!

Saturday morning came, the car was loaded up – no room for anything else. David did an excellent job organizing everything. We had added a few more items to our camping paraphernalia this year which would optimize our experience, but we weren’t really sure if it would all fit into the car. However, we managed to cram everything in. Every space was filled, and now it was time to catch the ferry.

One advantage of travelling to Duncan, a small town on Vancouver Island that was on our way to the campground, is that we could stop at the Duncan Garage Cafe for lunch. Fascinating menu and great vegetarian food. I had the Beet Burger (yes, it was made with beets!) and David had Mac and Cheese which included butternut squash. Delicious!

We were finally on our way. The camping adventures were about to begin – rain or shine! Stay tuned for more exciting details including the setup in the rain – coming soon.