Wind and Water
The campsite assigned to us in Osoyoos at Nk’Mip ("Nk'mip" is pronounced "in-ka-meep") was steps away from the lake. We set up the trailer on the edge of the beach, the wheels in the sand, then unpacked our chairs to enjoy a calm moment.
Jamie took advantage of the sunny day and hit the water with his kayak. The lake is shallow for a good distance from shore so we could go out even on windy days. That was a lot of fun, kayaking in the white caps, then letting the waves wash us back to shore.
I had a waterview from the kitchen window. At night we would look across the water at the lights of the town. This was a relaxing time for us.
We didn’t know what it would be like to leave Canada for six months, but we knew we were running out of warm weather. We went back and forth about what to do, just like the winds pushing the Coffee House around. Some nights we went to bed wondering if the wind would blow the trailer into the lake. Most days we couldn’t cook outside. The barbeque wouldn’t stay lit. With only two weeks left in September, we needed to arrange for travel medical insurance if we were going to cross the border into the United States on October 1st.
We walked everywhere. We explored the dunes near the campsite, also the cultural center up the hill. We had gelato in one store along main street, we found an RV store and picked up parts to repair our dinette table, we walked to get groceries, and we found a comfortable little coffee shop that served up yummy pastries.
We loved Nk’Mip and asked about getting a permanent site. We could get a different rig to get us through the winter. The Coffee House was not designed for the temperatures that were coming, even in the desert landscape of Osoyoos. The average temperature in December hovers around zero. There was a five-year wait to get a full time spot in this RV park. With that information, we went online and purchased our travel insurance.
We continued weekly phone calls with our daughter. I had a weekly Skype meeting with author friends. We stayed anchored to many others through text messages and email. Our memories of this time remind us now of how great lake life can be.
There is ‘A Life Less Burdened’ journal, and in it I’ve listed six questions to answer daily. The questions help me to reflect on our experiences. I ask myself to think about the good parts and the bad of this lifestyle choice. The content of the journal is an excellent resource for the blog. Also, the writing allows me to acknowledge our gratitude that we are learning to live with less.
Get travel medical insurance if you plan to travel outside of your province. We were able to research a plan that fit our needs and purchase online.
Make reservations early. We thought because we were past the high season that it would be easy to find places to stay. Every destination we’ve planned to see, we’ve struggled to find availability.