Yes, in real time it is the 4th of November….but we’re going back to the August long weekend now, when we headed up to Manning Park. Manning, like Tunkwa, is a place you can usually get into even if it is a long weekend ~ that is as long as you don’t attempt the ‘reserve able’ Lightning Lakes campground ~ a spot you couldn’t pay me to stay in ~ far too busy for my liking!
Because of that thing called ‘work’ we didn’t get away from home until 3:30 in the afternoon so didn’t reach our favorite campground until 5:30, by which time it had filled up for the evening. We know from experience that Cold spring is a campground that fills with transient campers, just spending the night before moving on, so weren’t worried when we had to head to Hampton for the night.
Had no problem finding a spot in Hampton, took this picture on the morning of the 31st….
There are some spots in this campground that offer a pretty spectacular view of these distant mountains.
Some of the plants in flower were these Birch leaf Spirea shrubs that grow all over in Manning.
Good old Fireweed….
and not so common, Mountain Monkshood.
After a leisurely breakfast, timed so that we’d arrive at the campground about the time all the over nighters were leaving, we headed back to Cold Spring.
Where, much to our surprise we found a number of spots open in the ‘dog leg’ area, including this one, right at the very end of the camping area.
One of the reasons we like Cold Spring Campground is that there is a lovely circular walk right from the campground. You can either just do the ‘circle’ or you can carry on from this walk to any number of more strenuous hikes. The trail started right across from where we were camped.
The terrain along the trail is quite varied, resulting in a variety of flowers….this Aster being one of the later varieties…
While the earlier flowering Ground Dogwood were pretty much finished….
Here is one of the views of the river….and I’m really not sure of what river it is…from one of the low sections of the trail…
While this is looking down from one of the high points of the trail….looking back toward where the campground is situated.
We had completed one side of the loop and were starting back along the other when Shantz found a real prize in the river…
a jug of milk! In no time she had hauled it out, with her front teeth she peeled off the safety seal, then with her back teeth she twisted off the cap and started on the milk inside. It was amazing how quickly and easily she opened it ~ as though she did it every day ~ and the strange thing is, she’s never seen one before….we buy our milk in cartons! We let her have a taste but not knowing how long the milk had been there thought we didn’t need a dog with an upset stomach and made her leave it…much to her disgust!
This bridge is the trail head. You can just make out our camper back there in the middle of the picture, below the bridge itself.
There was a large bed of this ‘Willow Herb’ flowering at the edge of the river just upstream from the bridge.
I’d left everyone back at the camper and wandered off by myself to get a few flower pictures….the Willow Herb and then this One Sided Wintergreen.
at the site of an old rock slide, this Scarlet Gilia….a flower common to the Okanagan….I’ve mentioned before that one of the attractions of Manning is the mix of coastal and interior plants.
This rock slide area is usually home to Pika but I didn’t spot any that day….it was probably too warm for them to be out and about. By the way, it looks cloudy but actually the haze was caused from smoke from forest fires burning in the interior of the province.
Here is another section of the trail, this over well worn rock, going back to the time there was a much larger river flowing in this area.
There is just one section where the trail is so narrow between the river and a rock face that a boardwalk has been built.
One of the rock faces found along the trail…which, by the way, is well maintained.
and finally, an evening shot taken from bridge, showing the section of the river that runs directly behind the campground. You will note I haven’t mentioned any birds ~ that is because the park ~ at least the areas we were in, was absolutely devoid of birds. Something I’d never experienced before.
