Starry Nights
Osoyoos
We really didn’t have a plan where we were going to park up George the van this night. We made it to the town of Osoyoos in the morning and it was a HOT day. We had plans to go hiking but between the smoke and the heat we decided to ditch all plans and hit the beach. After a couple hours of watching people rip around on their boats and big blow up floaties while we laid on the steaming hot sand we decided we needed in on the action. So we decided to walk the town, grabbed ourselves some salted caramel gelato from Scoopsises Treat Shop then hit the bargain shop for some $2 floaties that our butts barley fit into. I can tell you that it was the best $2 ever spent because we spent the rest of our beach day floating around soaking up the hot sun. There is a blow up play place out on the water than you can rent life jackets and go play on, but on this hot of a day it was way to hectic to try that out.
Post float we grabbed some cold beverages at North Basin Brewing Company before figuring out where we were parking up for the night. One of the guys working at the brewery gave us some intel on where we could stay for free on some crown land just outside of downtown. This place was so cool and easily accessible, we went from being in a town to what seemed like the desert in the middle of nowhere (I believe it was the outskirts of the Osoyoos Desert Center).
Safety Tips for Car Camping
Always park facing outward ensuring easy escape from site
Always leave driver seat clear of items
Ensure all doors are locked - can also purchase alarm systems
Keep something with you that allows you to feel safe, examples;
Baseball Bat
Pocket Knife
Axe
Have a GOOD lamp/lantern that allows you sufficient lighting
Always make sure someone (friend or family) knows where you are or where you’re going if you’ll be out of cell service
GPS radio or phone
If camping alone, make it look as if you are not alone (especially as a female)
Listen to your gut - if you feel that something or someone is off, you probably are right and should remove yourself from where you are. Better to be safe than sorry
Camping Story
We parked up for the night; ensuring we faced our van nose towards the road in (this is for fast escape if needed), set up our little camp and started on some dinner. The evening was spent chatting, listening to music, dancing and exploring our little camping area. Not long before sunset we noticed we were not alone like we thought, there was a large camper up one of the hills which we didn’t mind as they were quite far away. We had then noticed a van only a few meters from us that we hadn’t noticed earlier, though it seemed that no one was occupying it so we didn’t think much of it. I had planned on getting up later that night to get some astro shots and so around 3am my mum and I got up and went outside to enjoy the stars above. Roughly 30minutes after I had started to shoot we had heard a loud grunt and shuffling of footsteps not to far from us. We decided to stay out a little longer while listening attentively, and not long after the first grunt we heard it closer; grunts and shuffles. The two of us were so freaked out because we couldn’t see anything so we hopped back in the van and laid there paranoid, waiting for someone or something to bang on the van. About 10 minutes after we got in the van, the ‘unoccupied’ van started up and took off very quickly out of the camp spot scaring us even more. We debated on leaving ourselves but knew we had various safety precautions in order that is wasn’t necessary just yet. We ended up waiting it out and by sunrise we were both still awake and my sleepy cousin had no idea there was a commotion through the night. The point of this story is to just always be prepared for any situation.