It is not very often we travel to the same place to spend a weekend getaway but Nakusp is starting to become a favourite spot of ours. Snow covered mountains, mossy green forests and secluded hot springs…what’s not to love?

Although we loved Serenity Views, we decided to try different accommodations. We did our research and found a cabin at Murphy’s Landing that sounded like our style. The owner’s Grandpa built the cabin in 1976, giving it it’s name the Grandpa Cabin. The owner, Barb, had arranged it so that the cabin would be unlocked upon our arrival and she would see us in the morning. Unlike Serenity Views, this cabin had all the amenities, which was a nice change from tent sleeping all summer. The cost to stay at this cabin was $129.99/night, which included the $10 pet charge.
In the morning we made a quick trip to town to pick up supplies for the day.  Again, as mentioned in a previous post – Cutrites Meat & Deli is the place to go.  After making some breakfast we went out to explore the 40 acres of property at Murphy’s Landing.

We packed up our sandwiches from Cutrites, a 6 pack and headed up to Halfway Hot Springs for the day. We weren’t sure how busy the hot springs would be this time of year, it being almost winter and mid November.  We saw tire tracks in the snow and discussed a few times whether or not we thought they were fresh. About 8km up the FSR our questions were answered when we saw a women waving her arms and a car pulled over in the ditch. My first thoughts were that they were stuck and we would be pulling them out but she asked if we could give her and her boyfriend a ride to the springs as they didn’t think their car would make it any further.  The woman’s name was Alison, originally from Alberta and now in Kamloops. The man’s name was Mark, originally from Denmark and now in Kelowna. They were on a weekend getaway to celebrate their 2-year anniversary.

We hiked down to the springs, passing the first, man made hot tub that was being occupied by a couple of nudists. Being here before, we knew our favourite spot were pools along the river.  There was another couple already there – which we later learned were Dan and Bre, a couple of hippies from Summerland. To our relief, they had bathing suits on. *I would like to add that we do not have any issues with going nude but it definitely makes things less awkward for us.

We spent the whole afternoon soaking in the hot springs, drinking beers and getting to know the two other couples. Anyone who knows me will know how excited I was to learn that Alison was a traveler writer. As soon as she asked our permission to take our photos because she was writing an article for BC Magazine, my mind started racing with questions for her. I caught Bren’s eye and I knew he already knew how stoked I was.

This girl has a pretty amazing story – SO very inspiring. It did not come up at the hot springs but I later learned from reading her blog that just about 3 years ago, Alison broke her back while snowboarding. She was nearly paralyzed but after a couple surgeries and intensive therapy – here she is now.   

To learn more about her story or read about her travels, check out her personal page www.aroundtheworldwithalison.com.  OR check out http://www.bcmag.ca/ to read some of the articles she has written for them.

Sunday morning, we woke up feeling groggy. We had gone out the night before and met Bre and Dan at a local pub for some drinks and pool. We decided to switch things up and take the long way home through Revelstoke. As we passed Halcyon Hot Springs, I mentioned to Bren that I felt bad we were going home so early. He suggested we go to Halcyon for a soak and relax a bit and I definitely agreed. He swung a U-turn and we went and spent an hour soaking in their pools and then enjoyed a decent lunch at their restaurant.

Now we were both ready to make our way home, feeling relaxed after spending 50% of our trip soaking in hot springs.