We went camping again this past weekend. The weather got up to 35 degrees and we were so very thankful to have chosen the place we did. Monck Provincial Park is located on Nicola Lake just outside of Merritt, B.C. The lake is calm, beautiful and very refreshingly clean. The campsite is set on the shore line of Nicola lake and offers over 150 different types of sites to camp on. Half of them are reservable and a fair chunk of them are first come first serve. The climate is hot and dry and the vegetation is desert like. In addition to providing recreational opportunities, such as boating , fishing and plenty of small hikes, Monck protects a ponderosa pine, bunchgrass ecosystem and a volcanic rock cliff landscape.
We choose to camp at Monck early in the year, no later than mid june, due to the hot climate. Monck becomes quite busy and hard to reserve come the summer months. We avoid it all together for the months of July and August. It also gets super humid and hot.
And this was June 5th!
When bringing young children camping you have to be creative on how to keep them busy and out of the sunshine for too long. We would play at the beach in the early morning and then again before dinner. But during the hours of 11am and 3pm, we found refuge in our tent trailer for a hot and sticky nap or we took our air conditioned car out for a refreshing drive into the Merritt at the beautiful Starbucks and Dairy Queen Drive throughs all while our children napped in the back. shhh.. do not tell them we eat treats while they nap.
The water was cold but when there are toys involved no one seems to care.
picnics at the beach are always a good idea.
This was late afternoon and we were all desperate to cool off.
Bed time is always a little later when we are camping. So to help calm them down we bring out the puzzles and the games. This one is called Rhino Hero. It is hands down my 3 year old's favorite. It was given to us by her best little buddy for her birthday. It is also his favorite game. Toddler and Mommy approved.
we invested in a new game and it was well worth it. Bolo! Give it a try.
The large trees provide ample shade where it is a few degrees cooler.
Breakfast with a view. It was 8am and we were almost too hot in the sunshine.
I honestly love cooking outside. This was a rare moment for me. My husband normally does all the cooking during our camping trips but on this particular day the boys were out all day fishing with our church at the father son fishing trip. So, I was left to fend for the ladies.
We had a lot of fun this weekend and Monck Provincial park did not disappoint.
How can you go wrong when you spend time away from ordinary life and explore the great outdoors with your family by your side?
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