KINDLING
Raising the Roof
B.C. government calls for commercial accommodations in provincial parks
THE UNTOUCHED BEACHES in Cape Scott Provincial Park on Vancouver Island are some of the rainiest campsites in Canada. Until now it’s been tent or tarp for anyone spending the night. But the British Colum- bia provincial government is looking at a proposal to build a series of permanent shelters in this and other provincial parks. That’s welcome news to some looking for a more comfortable outdoors experience and an affront to those that see parks as pristine places first, and as human play- grounds second. Cape Scott is one of 12 parks the Brit-
ish Columbia Liberal government opened to tenders last year for what they called fixed-roof accommodation—which in- cludes anything from a basic shelter to 100-room luxury lodges. “Parks play a vital role in conservation,
but parks are also for people,” said Barry Penner, the environment minister. “Not ev-
Coming soon, Mount Robson Motel. TOURISM BRITISH COLUMBIA
eryone who stays in a park wants to sleep on the ground in a tent.” When Family Camping went to press two
proposals had been made public, one in Cape Scott and the other in Mount Robson Provincial Park, a World Heritage Site no- torious for bad weather. In Cape Scott, the North Coast Trail So-
ciety, a group that raised money to build a coastal hiking trail in the park, proposed three huts spread along the route, with one cabin being accessible by road.
Keeping it Down Candy now an ally in fight against carsickness
Pulled-over cars can be as nu- merous as billboards on twist- ing country roads. Tire tracks plowed deep into the shoulder show how hastily mom or dad tried to stop the car before the second-coming of breakfast. The back doors are splayed open and a child recuperates while mom fumbles with a plastic bag and dad digs around in the kids’ bag for a new shirt. If the dreaded domino effect has kicked in, the scene is even grimmer. Studies suggesting that up to 58 per
cent of children are afflicted by the nau- seating effects of rolling pavement will come as no surprise to parents. The scourge of carsickness has turned the start of many family camping outings into malodorous messes. Remedies like Gravol can be effective,
but to many parents heavy-hand- ed drug doses seem like using a sledgehammer to swat a fruit fly. New lollipops designed to ease an upset stomach prom- ise fewer emergency pull- overs and more con- tented kids. The natural ingredients in Queasy Pop
Kids include essential oils from herbs thought to inhibit negative
taste sensations and nausea. The lollipops come in seven flavours,
determined by ongoing studies into how some tastes affect the nervous path- ways of the trigenminal cranial nerve, which controls the swallowing reflex. If parents now have the choice of handing their kids a lollipop instead of a plastic bag, expect fewer pulled-over cars in the future. —I.M.
In Mount Robson Provincial Park, the
Alpine Club of Canada proposed a hut, ac- cessible by foot near Mount Robson, the highest point in the Canadian Rockies. The provincial government promises public consultation on both proposals. Vicky Husband, a spokesperson for the
Campaign to Save B.C. Parks, opposes both proposals. “We think accommoda- tion belongs outside parks, not inside,” she says. “We can’t open the door to this. It’s the privatization of B.C. parks.” Perhaps, but to some the open door
means having the choice of a dry night and soft bed in two amazing parks, at a time when park use in B.C. is declining. —Ryan Stuart
EVENTS MAY 5, 6
PADDLING EXTRAVAGANZA Waterloo, ON
www.advguide.com
MAY 19–21 RAPID’S PALMER FEST PADDLING
FESTIVAL Palmer Rapids, ON
www.rapidmedia.com
JUNE 8–10
GREAT CANADIAN OUTDOOR EXPO Woodstock, ON
www.greatcanadianoutdoorexpo.com
JULY 1–8
NATIONAL FISHING WEEK
www.catchfishing.com
JULY 21 CANADA PARKS DAY National, provincial, territorial and community parks
www.parksday.ca
FAMILY CAMPING 5
For a full listing of events, go to
www.rapidmedia.com
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