The winter season beyond new years can seem dauntingly long and at times painfully enduring. But there is always a way to turn things around!
We started off leaving Vernon with the truck loaded up and a winter storm in the forecast. Highways 6 was heavily snow covered and 100km later we arrived at the Needles cable ferry, an open air boat that ran every 30 minutes and was propelled across the Arrow Lake via an underwater cable. Once on the east side, we drove north again only to reach a second cable ferry, Arrow Park. We returned across to the west side of the lake where we caught up with some long time friends at their house. They have an amazing piece of 5 acre property right on the water. This side of the lake is rather rustic with no cell phone reception, limited internet, dirt roads, no plows and only a ferry service that operates between 5am and 9:30pm with a 2 hour break at lunch.
After the night of catching up we cleared off the 6″ of snow that built up on the truck then headed back over the lake in the morning. From there we proceeded north through Nukusp and on to the road side water falls of Ione. It is an amazing site in both the summer and winter months. Another 30 minutes drive towards Revelstoke and we reached our destination of Halcyon Hot Springs Resort.
Nestled in the trees we check into our quant cottage equipped with only the necessities. Eager and excited we dawned our complementary white robes and walked down to the hot pools in a snow storm. The resort has 4 separate pools in varying temperatures including one at 14 degrees celsius for the brave. One of the pools is even equipped with a lazy river and some pool noodles. Being body temperature at 98 degrees this kept us relaxed for hours as the snow gently fell on our heads. As our fingers got wrinkly we returned to the cottage then headed down to the Kingfisher Restaurant for an amazing meal. After our feast we returned for another soak in the pools under the now clear skies to finish off the evening.
After spending the night tucked away in the trees we stopped by the Kingfisher again for breakfast then headed back to the hot pools. The sky today had opened up to us revealing its true blue. Looking out from the pools were breathtaking views of Arrow Lake and the Monashee mountain range across it. Once our toes started to prune we loaded back up the truck and started the drive back home. It was a perfect little getaway in the snowy weather.
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