Camp Hope
Hope, British Columbia, Canada
Official Home Of the *NAARA Annual Retreat
*Northwest Adventist Amateur Radio Association

Hope, BC is just a short drive into Canada (about 1 ½ hours from Bellingham, Washington). It is located in a scenic mountain setting where the grand Fraser River flows from the majestic interior mountains into the beautiful Fraser Valley working its way to the Pacific Ocean.  The Camp Hope, BC Adventist Campground (Home of the British Columbia Canada Conference SDA Campmeeting) is one of the best SDA campground facilities in North America. It is readily accessible by superb paved roads, just a few miles off of Canada Highway #1, a fine four-lane freeway. Tucked into a valley with nearby mountains rising from the valley floor, Camp Hope provides a scenic, restful, peaceful environment blessed with the beauties of God’s creative handiwork. Central to the camp is the Camp Hope Lodge. The lodge is the center of all hamfest activities. It contains meeting rooms, gourmet cafeteria, motel-style rooms (each with it’s own bathroom) and a large comfortable lounge room. For those with an RV, full RV facilities are available and if you want to rough it and set up your tent, you can do that too. The campground staff is skilled, gracious and friendly. Of course the lodge is also equipped, by NAARA, with a fully operational amateur radio station.

Every year the NAARA officers plan a program that appeals not only to those that have a ham radio license but to non-hams as well. The whole family will love the fellowship, the wonderful vegetarian meals provided by the Camp Hope Cafe staff, a visit to a local area of interest such as Minter Gardens, Hell’s Gate or other nearby attraction, Vespers programs, Sabbath Services with guest speakers and musicians, Sabbath nature walk, learning about amateur communications and a 2-meter hidden transmitter hunt.

 NAARA Officers have also done their best to keep costs at an affordable level. Several studies have been done, checking with other potential camp facilities, to see if suitable accommodations could be found at equal or lower cost. Again Camp Hope came out ahead. One advantage, of course, is the favorable money exchange rate (US/Canada dollar).

 The Minter Gardens – A World Class Show

Many years ago, a massive mountain slide suddenly swept over the fertile lands of the eastern Fraser Valley. This rock fall pushed north across the Fraser River and ended its westerly flow at the area that is now Minter Gardens. The unique land formations that were created left an area unsuitable for crop farming, but early settlers found it ideal for raising cattle and other animals. Tall native specimen trees added to the charm of the location and thousands of wild Geraniums, Columbine, Roses and Bleeding Hearts added a finishing touch to this magnificent setting. It was this site that Brian and Faye Minter first saw on Christmas Day, 1977. The topography was so unique and the setting against 7,000-foot Mt. Cheam so picturesque, instantly one of those once-in-a-lifetime dreams was born: to create one of the most beautiful gardens in the world! Their dream became reality in May of 1980. The 11 individual gardens reflect the seasons at Minter Gardens magnificently.

Over 1,000 Rhododendrons are planted throughout the Gardens, but the most spectacular showing is found in the unusual Rhododendron Garden. On a north-facing bank surrounded by huge cedar trees, hundreds of Rhododendrons are planted in solid masses above fern laden rock wall terraces.  Pathways are gently sloped. Dogwoods and Magnolias are carefully grouped between Rhododendron plantings to complement their beauty and heighten their effect. Few other gardens in the world can match the display of annuals at Minter Gardens. Thousands upon thousands of brilliant annuals are carefully color co-coordinated over 32 acres. Minter Gardens is especially proud of its floral topiary sculptures. The huge peacock stands over 12' tall and its spectacular floral tail spreads over 50 feet. Our beautiful Victorian ladies are one of the most photographed features in the garden. These charming floral ladies stand over 8' tall and with their stylish picture hats, parasols and full hoop skirts; they are the ultimate in floral finery. In the perennial gardens hundreds of well-known and rare perennials are blended together to create the cottage garden effect.

This information was condensed from the Minter Gardens web site. For more information, see www.mintergardens.com

Hell’s Gate Airtram

 Another popular place to visit is Hell’s Gate Air Tram which is located about 45 minutes northeast of Camp Hope.

 "We had to travel where no human being should venture - for surely we have encountered the gates of hell." - Simon Fraser, July, 1808

Located in British Columbia's supernatural interior, Hell's Gate is nature at it's most magnificent. At peak spring levels, over 200 million gallons of water surge through this 35 metre (110 ft) wide gorge. That is twice the volume of Niagara Falls!

With the help of man's creativity, an aerial tramway takes you on a spectacular ride high above the location where pages of history have been written. From Simon Fraser's death defying voyage to the great Fraser Canyon battle during the Gold Rush and finally, the devastating slide that occured during the construction of the Canadian National Railway. You will stand in the midst of it all after a gentle 500 ft descent from highway level to river level on board the tramway.

Welcome to one of the most popular attractions in western Canada, Hells Gate Airtram! Click here for the Hell’s Gate Airtram web page, to answer your questions before you head out on your travels through this beautiful province. Although we think this place is quite amazing, don't just take our word for it - as you navigate through the website you will notice testimonials from customers that have made us a 'must see' on their travel itinerary.

Enjoy your visit!

Canadian Travel Hints

Travel to and from Canada has become a little more complex since 9/11, however it is easily handled if one is prepared. Typically border officials; both Canadian and American want to see good picture ID and possibly a birth certificate. The best type of ID seems to be a travel passport. Actually if you do any kind of traveling outside of the USA these days, a passport is a very handy, and sometimes a necessary, thing to have. It’s worth getting one (after all, you may want to take a cruise to the Bahamas or some other exotic place sometimes soon). For USA/Canada travel though having your birth certificate and some type of picture ID will typically suffice.

Then there is the money question. If you’d like a few Canadian dollars for miscellaneous spending, plan to exchange US money for Canadian money at a Canadian bank. US banks are ill prepared to make this exchange. The Canadian banks will give you the best available exchange rate for any given day. Most Canadian stores will accept your US money, but it will usually be only on bills and the exchange rate is usually not the best. For most Canadian spending, using your standard credit card (Visa, MasterCard, Discover, etc) works well. When you get your bill the credit card company will have calculated the best exchange rate for you.

The primary language spoken in Western Canada is English so this should pose no problem. If you want to make yourself even more understandable, throw in an EH? every 5 or 6 words throughout a sentence. This, however, is not required.

One more thing – Canada uses the metric system. So note that road distances and speed limits, on signs, are shown in kilometers. To do an easy approximate conversion to miles, keep the number “0.6” in mind. Just multiply kilometers by 0.6 and it will give you miles.

Joining NAARA and/or Registering for the retreat?

There’s always that paperwork but we’ve tried to make this as easy and painless as possible. Included in this issue of the Newsletter are application forms for both. And to make it even easier, if you plan to attend the hamfest, the hamfest registration form also includes a spot for membership application.  The patches will be available at the hamfest.   Unfortunately, we cannot accept online membership requests, though you can print out the form on this link and follow the directions on the form.  Click here for membership form.

How Do You Get to Camp Hope?

 

Finding Camp Hope is not too hard. And don’t forget to use the 2-meter talk-in frequencies for a little extra help.

 

If you are coming from the west, you’ll be on the Trans-Canada Highway (freeway also known as Highway #1) headed towards Hope, BC. After you’ve passed through Chilliwack take a look at your map. You’ll see Highway #7 is just across the Fraser River from the Trans-Canada Highway. Camp Hope is approximately 3 miles from Hope (north side of highway) on Highway #7. Watch carefully for the sign for the camp – there is a turn lane there as well. To get onto Highway #7 you have two choices. There is a road that cuts across between the two highways about half way between Chilliwack and Hope. Or you can follow Highway #1 through Hope and then curl back on Highway #7. From this direction you’ll pass under a red and white gas pipeline and a short time later you will see the Camp Hope sign on your right.

 

If you are traveling in from the east, head for Hope, go through the town of Hope on Highway #1, cross the Fraser River and then curl onto Highway #7. Directions are the same as in the last part of the paragraph above. You should have no problems finding the camp.