Our supply of canned peaches was running low and so to replenish we needed to make a trip up to the Okanagan. But not just any trip would do.....it would have to be at the right time when peaches were in season...but not just any type of peach would do...it had to be redhaven or glohaven peaches which are the best for canning.
So very early Saturday morning on the first Saturday of August, Z was awake like it was Christmas morning!! The alarm didn't even go off! After a quick breakfast at home we set off on our road trip. First stop....Starbucks for a venti flat white which we shared after all that would have been a lot of caffeine for just one person. The drive was pretty non eventful - traffic was pretty good - until a miscalculation of gas to km ratio required doubling back to Merritt to fill up. At least we were only 40km past Merritt at the time this miscalculation was discovered....and we found some pretty cheap gas there! Oh what fun that was!!
We reached Lake Country, our lunch stop, at around 1:30pm. Z had found a winery called Arrowleaf where we enjoyed a very fresh farm to table lunch from their limited, but very tasty food menu. I was pretty hungry by the time we arrived so I opted to do the wine tasting after eating. The setting was very picturesque with a fabulous view of Okanagan Lake in the background. The winery has a great patio and also a large picnic area in which you can enjoy your food. We opted for the patio because it was covered and provided some relief from the blazing hot sun. I had the vegan just like a BLT sandwich and salad....instead of the bacon it came with sun-dried tomato pesto sauce, dried coconut chips, lettuce and tomato. Z had the three cheese grilled cheese sandwich and salad.
I found their Riesling the best tasting wine and ended up buying a bottle whereas Z enjoyed the Solstice Reserve and bought one of those. Arrowleaf winery is just up the street from another favourite winery, Grey Monk and we just had to make a quick pit stop there to buy a few bottles of our favourites.
Another 1/2 hour drive and we were in Vernon and checking into our hotel. It was still early enough and extremely hot enough for us to head out to Okanagan Lake for the early evening. We ended up going to Ellison Provincial Park which is on the northeastern shore of Okanagan Lake. We accessed the beach through the the campground and a short hike from the parking lot. It wasn't busy at all when we arrived. The beach is more pebbly and rocky than I would like, but regardless it was a great spot to sit and enjoy the scenery. The water was very refreshing and really provided a much needed cool down from the heat. It was still like 30C at 7pm.
We were sitting minding our business when we heard some noises coming from the trees. When we looked over, we saw a deer making its way down to the beach. It headed straight to the shoreline and proceeded to drink the lake water. The deer didn't seem phased that there were people around, it didn't seem afraid and didn't get spooked as more people took notice of this visitor. It went about its business drinking water ignoring the photos being taken and when it was finished calmly walked away back into the forest.
That was the first deer encounter of three on this trip. I've got to say that I've never been this up close and personal with wild deer before in my life.
Not much else could top off that beach experience!!
Sunday was another hot day and it was off to another lake for some R&R. This time we were heading to Kalamalka Lake. But we didn't just want to go to the most popular beach where everyone else would be going. No we wanted to go somewhere a little more secluded. Z found just the spot....and it included having to hike there which bodes well for our desire to be active! Cosens Bay beach cannot be accessed by vehicle. You either have to hike in, ride a bike or horse, or have a boat. The hike was a relatively easy 4km one-way journey (mostly down hill) taking us through some beautiful forest and along the cliffs above Kalamalka Lake. The views were nothing but breathtaking and really make me reflect on how lucky we are.
The beach was practically deserted when we arrived and we got to enjoy this serenity for some time before more and more boats started to arrived. At one point the horizon of the lake looked like we were under attack with the number of boats making their way to shore. The beach here was sandy, much to my delight. The sand carried on into the water which again was extremely refreshing from the heat. There were a few logs scattered along the shoreline which made great resting/leaning spots and so we just scooped out the best one and set up for the day. Our only regret was not packing a lunch so that we could have spent the entire day here.
When it was time to go we decided we'd take a different trail back. Seeing as our way to the bay was mostly down hill, the way back was mostly up hill. For the most part the trail is decently signed, however there were a few places where we thought better signage could have avoided us doubling back and adding about 2.5 extra km's to an already very hot hike. Not complaining though because along the way we once again encountered a couple wild deer. This time they were on the same path as we were hiking so after a bit of a stare down, they went on their way down the hill and we continued on our way up.
Vernon is home to Okanagan Spirits Craft Distillery. Here we got to sample some locally crafted liqueurs and spirits, and the tasting was free to boot! How sweet is that? It's a pretty cool establishment and worth checking out. They've won quite a few awards for their products.
Our last day we decided we'd spent the day at the popular Kal Beach. It wasn't too busy when we arrived in the morning and with the day being a little more overcast than sunny it didn't really get overly crowded; at least not compared to a previous day when we drove past it and said there was no room on the beach anymore. Z really wanted to SUP and he found a rental place by the beach and ended up renting it for 4 hours....because we could share it. My last SUP experience was OK, but it was in Maui on the ocean which isn't exactly the calmest of waters. Needless to say, I tried it there but couldn't stand up. So on a calm lake one would reason that I shouldn't have too much difficulty. And that's exactly what happened. So after Z enjoyed paddling around for an hour, it was my turn to give it a try. He's so patient with me, gave me a few pointers and helped me get on the board. After that it was pretty smooth paddling. It got easier the longer I did it, but it is tiring, or I'm just a wimp. Either way, I managed to stay out for about a half hour, didn't fall and really enjoyed it. It's a really cool feeling being on top of the water like that.
Strangest chance meeting happened one morning while we were having breakfast at our hotel. We bumped into one of our friends and her son while they were also having breakfast. The funny thing about this is they live in the same neighbourhood as we do and we've never bumped into them and it took Vernon to bump into them.
The morning we were leaving we decided to go for one last walk. Z found a trail by Swan Lake and it appeared that we could almost walk there from our hotel. But turns out we were a little incorrect. So after trying to walk there, we turned back and took the car instead. The cool thing about this area is that it's a wetland and is a breeding, nesting haven for many different bird species. We had the awesome pleasure of seeing an owl perched on a pole and it stayed there for quite some time before giving us a flying demonstration before disappearing in the horizon. This is also where we had our third encounter of wild deer. We were coming around a corner and lo and behold there were three deer on the path. They gave us the stare down again and if I could operate my camera a little better I would have gotten some better pictures, but instead they turned out blurry. Talk about frustrating. After a few minutes of trying to figure out whether we were a danger or not, they went on their merry way, bounce hopping away like only deer can do.
All in all this was a great road trip. And this about sums up our Vernon adventure. Our last stop before hitting the road back home was at Davison Orchards. We picked up some amazingly sweet cantaloup, a very tasty yellow watermelon, juicy nectarines, local pure apple juice, sunrise apples which were juicy and tasty, and difficult to have to share apple cinnamon bun and a peach pie. Of course, we also got the peaches I had come to get in the first place. These were some of the sweetest peaches I've ever had and I'm looking forward to being able to enjoy them throughout the winter.
We decided to take a road trip to Whistler for Canada Day and enjoy a couple extra days of just hanging out. The drive on the Sea to Sky highway is a favourite of mine because it's so beautiful and scenic and always reminds me of how fortunate we are to live in such a gorgeous country! We left early enough to miss any major traffic but even still the highway upgrades made for the Olympics have helped to keep traffic flowing at a reasonable pace regardless with enough 2-lane stretches and passing lanes.
Our first stop was Porteau Cove only because I've never been there before and wanted to check out what this popular divers' spot is all about. It wasn't overly busy when we arrived but by the time we were ready to leave there wasn't a parking spot left. We got to see a couple divers coming back from their underwater adventure, someone practice flying their drone, stand up paddlers, and just a bunch of beautiful scenic nature. I can see why this is a popular place to spend the day or even camp.
The rest of the drive up was quite pleasant and we arrived in Whistler around 11:30am. Luckily our hotel room at the Hilton was ready so we checked in, dropped off our stuff and drove over to Day Lots 4/5 which are free. With it being the start of summer break and Canada Day the lots were already quite full but as we circled someone signalled a spot that was opening, so we waited a couple minutes for them to load up and grabbed the spot....sweet, free parking for 2 days! By the time we parked the Canada Day parade was getting underway so we walked over to the parade route and watched as many of the local businesses showcased themselves with their floats. The local firefighters manually pulled one of their firetrucks along the route. The village was quite busy with tourists.
At 3 o'clock the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra was giving a free performance at the Olympic Plaza so we walked around a bit after the parade, searched for new Canada gear and just enjoyed the village before refreshing our sunscreen and waters and heading over to the plaza. The concert starting with Oh Canada, how fitting, followed by about an hour of
spectacular music by Canadian composers, one being Marcus Goddard - a horn musician with the symphony, and more well known composers such as Strauss, Vivaldi and Tchaikovsky. It was an incredible performance and just so awesome that the VSO puts on these free outdoor concerts in the summer.
It was nice to see that there was some snow remaining on the peaks of the mountains, though it was a lot less than normal given the extraordinarily warm winter we had. Given how hot it has been lately I'm not sure the snow packs will last very long unfortunately.
Whistler/Blackcomb has the best of both winter and summer activities. The mountain has positioned itself well to accommodate skiers in the winter months and mountain bikers and hikers in the summer months. It was quite cool to be able to hike on the same mountain at the same time as some hard-core skiers were still skiing in July!
We took the Whistler Village gondola up to the Roundhouse Lodge and then took the Peak Express chair lift up to the top of the world. The views from here were absolutely incredible with mountain ranges as far as the eye could see. We encountered a little bit of snow here, but it is melting fast! Seeing the village from atop of the world is pretty cool too. I had never been on the Peak 2 Peak before so this was something new for me. As we lined up for the gondola we noticed that the next glass bottom gondola was only a few minutes away so we decided to wait so that I could get the full experience.
The Peak 2 Peak is just an engineering wonder to me. The gondola connects Whistler and Blackcomb mountains by the world's longest free-span at 3.03km between ropeway towers and at its highest point is 436m above ground. The total length of the connection is 4.4km and the ride is only 11 minutes. What a neat experience to be that high off the ground and to be able to look below at the forest. Once at Blackcomb we took the complimentary shuttle bus to the 7th Heaven Express chairlift. But why take the chairlift up when you can hike up?
We took the Tree Line trail straight up the mountain to connect with the Lakeside Loop. The Tree Line hike/climb up took us about 20 minutes. We discovered quickly that most people don't go up this trail but rather go down it, but we don't like following what everyone else is doing. It was quite a nice hike up through the old growth forest. We heard a lot of birds and thankfully did not encounter any bears. Total distance is about 1.1km with an elevation gain of 235m and I could feel it in my breathing. At the intersection of the Tree Line Trail, Lakeside Loop and Overlord Trail we decided to take the Lakeside Loop to Blackcomb Lake. The Lakeside Loop is about 1.3km with an elevation gain of 43m. By this time the elevation change no longer phased me. It was quite neat to see and hike through all the different areas that are actually ski runs with Z pointing out numerous times where he had previously skied.
There were plenty of wildflowers to admire and the one thing that really stuck out was just how peaceful it was up there....all you heard was nature and your footsteps...no hustle and busy of city life. It was so calming!! The views of the different mountain peaks and glaciers was truly breathtaking. The sun was sweltering so at Blackcomb Lake we made the wise decision to dunk our hats in the lake before continuing on....the sun quickly dried any moisture so we twice dunked our hats again in the glacier runoffs flowing along part of the trail. Our way back was on the Overlord Trail which took us all the way back to the Alpine Walk back to Rendezvous Lodge. The Lodge was closed for renovations and unless I head up here another summer won't see the finished project. The hiking difficulty level on these trails was moderate and if we didn't have an early dinner reservation or if the weather had been a little cooler we probably would have completed the Decker Loop too but I just didn't have the energy for that adventure. All in all it was a great day!!
We enjoyed incredible dinners at 21 Steps (just as the name suggests that's the number of steps to get up to the restaurant) and Trattoria di Umberto which capped off each of our awesome 2 days. We experienced great atmospheres at both restaurants and would highly recommend both. All in all this was a great mini vacation.
We reached Lake Country, our lunch stop, at around 1:30pm. Z had found a winery called Arrowleaf where we enjoyed a very fresh farm to table lunch from their limited, but very tasty food menu. I was pretty hungry by the time we arrived so I opted to do the wine tasting after eating. The setting was very picturesque with a fabulous view of Okanagan Lake in the background. The winery has a great patio and also a large picnic area in which you can enjoy your food. We opted for the patio because it was covered and provided some relief from the blazing hot sun. I had the vegan just like a BLT sandwich and salad....instead of the bacon it came with sun-dried tomato pesto sauce, dried coconut chips, lettuce and tomato. Z had the three cheese grilled cheese sandwich and salad. 
Our last day we decided we'd spent the day at the popular Kal Beach. It wasn't too busy when we arrived in the morning and with the day being a little more overcast than sunny it didn't really get overly crowded; at least not compared to a previous day when we drove past it and said there was no room on the beach anymore. Z really wanted to SUP and he found a rental place by the beach and ended up renting it for 4 hours....because we could share it. My last SUP experience was OK, but it was in Maui on the ocean which isn't exactly the calmest of waters. Needless to say, I tried it there but couldn't stand up. So on a calm lake one would reason that I shouldn't have too much difficulty. And that's exactly what happened. So after Z enjoyed paddling around for an hour, it was my turn to give it a try. He's so patient with me, gave me a few pointers and helped me get on the board. After that it was pretty smooth paddling. It got easier the longer I did it, but it is tiring, or I'm just a wimp. Either way, I managed to stay out for about a half hour, didn't fall and really enjoyed it. It's a really cool feeling being on top of the water like that. 
The morning we were leaving we decided to go for one last walk. Z found a trail by Swan Lake and it appeared that we could almost walk there from our hotel. But turns out we were a little incorrect. So after trying to walk there, we turned back and took the car instead. The cool thing about this area is that it's a wetland and is a breeding, nesting haven for many different bird species. We had the awesome pleasure of seeing an owl perched on a pole and it stayed there for quite some time before giving us a flying demonstration before disappearing in the horizon. This is also where we had our third encounter of wild deer. We were coming around a corner and lo and behold there were three deer on the path. They gave us the stare down again and if I could operate my camera a little better I would have gotten some better pictures, but instead they turned out blurry. Talk about frustrating. After a few minutes of trying to figure out whether we were a danger or not, they went on their merry way, bounce hopping away like only deer can do. 
