Wednesday, June 24, 2020

Staycation - Tour de BC Sud-Ouest

Travel and Leisure

Ok, so it's not as glamorous or as culturally enriching as going to France, but since we need to get away somewhere this summer, we've decided to book a staycation road trip around the Southwest area of our province. Today, our top medical expert, Dr. Bonnie Henry, announced that it is ok to travel within the boundaries of our province. Ironically, most of BC has had very few cases of COVID-19 since mid-May, ranging from zero to one case per day. Could the folks from the Lower Mainland bring the virus to these areas? Potentially. But with the number of cases getting so low, even in Metropolitan Vancouver, the economic value of tourism is outweighing the risk of bringing infections to these outlying areas.
Planned road trip route this summer
Being from Kamloops originally, it makes sense to include a stop there to visit the parents for a couple of days, and break up the drive time to the Interior. The drive from Vancouver to Kamloops is fast and easy up Highway 5, but not very exciting. From Kamloops, the highway gets more interesting as you head East; although I've driven this route dozens of times, we have never really stopped for anything other than gas and food along the way. This time, we'll make a point of pulling over for local attractions and other things to see. We're going to use Revelstoke as a home base to explore the two parks nearby - Mount Revelstoke National Park and Glacier National Park. Despite the fact that it's a month away, we're already looking forward to something different than weekends in the backyard!