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Any ideas about a nice place to stay I Kamloops for World Indoors? Thanks! Bubba

Here's a shocker - If you are going to stay ANY of the days between March 1-4 you MUST stay ALL of them. I vault the 5th so I don't want to be there on the 1st!! ALL hotels are on this system and if you go to their individual websites it shows them unavailable. I've contacted the person listed so we'll see what happens. Bubba

I'm checking out these issues with everyone listed on the Kamloops contact page.

Stay tuned!

ken

Thanks Ken. As always we can count on you to get to the bottom of things.

Last night I did some research and there are plenty of places at Lake le Jeune (south) and Sun Peaks ski area (north) - TONS!! Both are only a short drive from Kamloops and the pricing is lower without restriction. I think I'm going that way since the hotel mafia has Kamloops in lock down. At Stanford for the National Senior Games we stayed over at the beach at Half Moon Bay and it was awesome. Remember – they could never decide on their final schedule and if there would be prelims or not? We didn’t want to spend our vacation in Pal Alto. Same deal here. Bubba

I just went to their booking website to copy the exact text and that message no longer comes up. Great job Ken!! Bubba

Let's add another dimension - they require full payment up front. I'm told they may have a deposit system in the next few weeks. Don't these places ever learn from previous successful events? Bubba

OK, we just booked the following at $158 per night with no deposit or minimum stay required and we can cancel up to February 24. It's about a half hour away but I'm only going there once so I might as well enjoy the ski resort. Bubba

Delta Sun Peaks Resort
3240 Village Way
Sun Peaks BC V0E 1Z1
tel 250-578-6000

If you're a skier or boarder and don't mind the commute, Sun Peaks is an excellent choice.

However, it's going to be MORE than a half hour if it's snowing or if it snowed the previous night (it's a ski mountain ... duh!). Be sure when you rent your car that it's equipped with good snow or all-weather tires. In addition to that, there's sometimes notices partway up the mountain that you MUST carry chains. You should also be prepared for nasty weather going up the Coquihalla Highway. It's no longer a toll highway, but it's infamous for it's inclement weather ... it's a very high pass thru the mountains. If the weather is bad, you might want to take Hwy #1 up the Fraser Canyon.

Here's the hwy cam at the Coquihalla Summit: http://images.drivebc.ca/bchighwaycam/pub/html/www/1.html

And here's the hwy cam halfway up the Fraser Canyon Hwy #1 route: http://images.drivebc.ca/bchighwaycam/pub/html/www/109.html

If you're driving up from Bellingham or Seattle, be sure to take the Sumas border crossing north-east of Bellingham (not the Aldergrove border, Pacific crossing, or Peace Arch crossing ... which are all further west. You'll save quite a bit of time this way.

I don't mean to put a damper on your plans. I just want you to be well-prepared for bad weather - especially on the mountain-top.

Kirk

At the 2000 WAVA meet I just stayed at a local fleabag hotel and had a great time. It's a great town. There is a lot of good food. We went to a great steak place and there is a fun place to two-step.

Awesome info Kirk. That is exactly what I'm looking for is the ski vacations I miss when I left SoCal. Chains and snowy roads are half the fun of those trips. As far as the commute, I only jump one day and the rest I have no reason to be in town so I'm trying to have a vacation my wife would enjoy. Like at National Senior Games we stayed at the beach at Half Moon Bay rather than be stuck in Palo Alto the whole time. That said, Wilson, do you remember the name of that steak house? Bubba

Bubba...

I stayed at The Delta about 4 years ago on a family vacation... nice spot with very friendly staff. Expect to run into a lot of Aussies at the resort which is appropriate given your current itinerary.

The resort has some fine skiing and is far less crowded than the California resorts.

NICE!!! Thanks!! And a HUGE thanks for all of your help on the trip to Oz. Invaluable information you emailed me!! You're awesome!! Bubba