After many days of rain, we were happy to make it to the balmy, sunnier weather in Southern B.C. We haven’t put nearly as many miles on the truck the last few days, but we have enjoyed getting back to golfing and hiking again, which has been great!
We stayed at a Harvest Host golf course in Grindrod and enjoyed 18 holes of golf before we headed off to Kekuli Bay Provincial Park. It was absolutely beautiful here! There are trails all along the lakes for bikers and hikers, and we took advantage of a lovely hike before making our way to the Okanogan. When we were out hiking, we saw lots of kids on the trail, and I finally asked if it was a holiday. It wasn’t; they were out biking with their class. I was chatting with the teacher, and she tries to do this bike trip with the kids every term. They left at 9:00 am and we saw them at their halfway point where they were stopping for lunch. Parent volunteers had joined them, and it was so great to see them taking advantage of the beautiful trail system. I wish we had something like it close to us at home.
We continued south and stopped at this really cute farm in Cache Creek and bought some apples and caramel popcorn. I loved how they had decorated everything for fall with the pumpkins lining the roadways. As we travelled, Mark and I were both surprised by the landscape. We didn’t expect to still see the mountains, and the desert-like conditions were really unexpected! Amazingly, all of the crops are irrigated, and even the farmers have to irrigate their pastures for the grazing animals. Then there are all of the orchards and wineries. In some areas, every square inch of land is used for grapes or apples or whatever they are growing. Beautiful houses were in the middle of crops without any yard around them. It really is amazing to see the contrast in the land within a few feet.
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| You can see me standing in the desert overlooking the grapes. |
The Okanogan was stunning with beautiful weather, and we decided to camp for a couple of nights at Okanogan Falls Provincial Park. We enjoyed t-shirts and shorts and spending lots of time outside again, which was welcomed after so many days of rain. There are loads of wineries and fruit markets, and Mark has been enjoying sampling the local wines. We learned that this past winter caused many of the vineyards to lose their crops due to the -21 degree temperatures, and many have had to replant and source grapes from the U.S.
Yesterday, we ventured off on a hike to a winery, which, true to the name of the winery, was very much like a Wild Goose chase! We started along a beautiful hiking trail, then across a bridge over the drowning machine! We then cut across a cricket field, up a private lane way (which did say no trespassing), then along a very busy highway for a very short time, phewwww. Lastly, up a steep climb to the vineyards. After about 4 km, we made it to the winery. We saw two snakes on our way, so although we could have cut through some brushy areas, I was sticking to the roadways where I could see what creatures were ahead of me with lots of warning. After being startled by the second snake, I made Mark lead the way!!
So you could imagine my surprise when, on today’s hike in the desert, we see this sign.
We did see snakes, but no badgers! Then we see this sign at the golf course!!!
We had lunch at this quaint restaurant in Osoyoos and enjoyed the most delicious leek and potato soup and sandwich. Mark enjoyed another wine tasting and hit the Fire Station brewery on the way back to the campsite to fill up his growler from Haines, Alaska. I did some shopping. I love it when the winery has local artisan work on display, and as long as I keep Mark busy sampling, I never get in trouble… for shopping that is! Although he always gives me a hard time when I mispronounce artisan and say ar-tee-shun. If we keep visiting all these wineries and breweries, I’m sure he will be mispronouncing more than artisan!
