Wed and Thur Sept 11/12 - Osoyoos to Creston

   Wednesday Sept 11 2013

Final Wine tasting in Okanagan. Sigh!

Today was a day to take things a little easier, ready for the big drive tomorrow. Janice stayed home to do the blog and rest her ankle and the other three musketeers headed off the Desert Cultural Centre for a quick tour and interpretive walk, after which they enjoyed a presentation on snakes (lots of snakes here). After a quick lunch we all headed to town and Janice got her wish of a last visit to her FAVOURITE winery (as far as the red wines go) … Young and Wyse …. Just the best red wines that they tried in the Okanagan…. GO if you can.  It is run by a couple. Michelle Young and Steve Wyse…. Very talented wine maker/oenologist. Cab Sauv. is amazing, as is the Merlot.

After the winery we headed in to town for a quick visit to Home Hardware, Gas fill up and a few bits for the trip tomorrow.  Sad to leave the Okanagan, but so grateful to have had the opportunity to explore it with close friends and enjoy fabulous weather.

 Thursday Sept 12th - Osoyoos, Okanagan to Creston

The Rig ready to roll out of Nk"Mip RV Park

Viewpoint over Kootenay Valley

We were up and on the road with a packed lunch by 9:15am… And of we went, climbing easily out of Osoyoos and up into the mountains (Selkirk) and then into the Kootenays   The drive to Creston BC was magnificent and Janice managed to drive for a couple of hours, her ankle being much improved.  We stopped at a couple of viewpoints along the way and ate our sandwiches on the go, Arriving at Mountain Park Campground and RV  Park mid-afternoon. We checked the internet to find that the time was one hour different and so we adjusted ourselves by eating dinner at 6pm “local” time, only to discover that by some freak of local ingenuity the valley had voted NOT to join in daylight savings time, so the time had not in fact changed…. But it was different 45 km further along the road… confused yet??? We were!!!

Had a great fire that night. Sunken fire-pit. Nice!

Derek-2 striking a pose

More Views of site

Again, Janice stayed at the site while the other three went on a short hike.  She was happily humming away making supper when Derek came flying in the door demanding paper towels, compresses etc etc. Apparently, Lin was tramping along the trail heading back with her head down, focusing on the ground and did not see a fallen branch overhead across the path and cut her head, which resulted in an impressive blood-letting, putting the two Derek’s into a bit of a panic.  After some TLC  and cleaning up she seemed fine… Thank goodness… it could have been pretty nasty. We lit a wood fire after supper and played a game of password. I will not say who won but a rematch is definitely on the cards… we laughed until we cried a few times. What a great day.

And Again

And again (see wood carving.. all over campground)

Unidentified guest hanging on to rig

SOLD!!!!

Out on the walk after setting up camp

Derek -2 practicing his balance in the stream

Tuesday Sept 10th - MissionHill, Lunch at Volcanic, Myra Canyon

Tue Sept 10^th – Mission Hill, Volcanic Winery, Myra Canyon Rail trail
NB: To save confusion our friends are Derek and Lin... so now we have 2 Dereks.. both with the same last name (no relation)

Yummy Tickleberry's ice cream

Well… what a day…. Very long and huge fun. We started out toward Kelowna with stops along the way to look at houses etc in Summerland and a stop In Peachland to enjoy the lake views (and see a Sycamore/Maple cross tree).. plus s top at the famous Tickleberry's for an ice cream treat.  We then drove to Mission Hill winery to show Derek and Lin this amazingly and beautiful building with it’s bell tower and fabulous architecture and views. We then went to Volcanic winery for a great lunch of gourmet smoked salmon and an angus burger with homemade vegetable chips. While it wasn’t as good as the first time Derek and I went, it was still good and we would recommend it as a lunch stop for anyone coming to the area who does not want to break the bank at Quails Gate or Mission Hill restaurants.

Unidentified visitor outside Tickleberry's

Derek (the other Derek) in Peachland

Fruit from Sycamore/Maple tree

At Mission Hill Winery

We left there and headed through downtown Kelowna and eventually, after a little bit of re-direction we made it to the Myra Station end of the Myra Canyon rail trail so we could see the trestles and enjoy the views. This section of the Kettle Valley Rail Trail (look it up…. Amazing and great walking/cycling) has several old trestles which have been re-constructed after a devastating forest fire in 2003. Janice managed to walk with her hiking sticks and we went a few kilometres to walk across a few of the trestles and through one of the tunnels. The drive up to the start point was pretty hair-raising.. but very much worth the trouble. After the walk we decide to go a different route home which turned out to start with a a 25 kilometre dirt road that wound through First Nation’s land and had us all bouncing around in our seats, wondering if we were actually going to see civilization again… quite the experience.. which had us silently questioning the GPS!!!!

Lin and gimp ringin the bell at the mission

Mission Hill Winery

However we did make it and our perseverance was rewarded toward the end of the dirt road, with the sighting of a young bear lazily eating at the edge of the forest at dusk…. Very exciting for us all!! The drive back became a bit of an ordeal but Derek got us all safely back tot camp before 10pm and we had another fire with some cheese, crackers and a nightcap. What a wonderful day… so much fun. 

Smoked Salmon Rose appetizer --YUM

Visitor on the Sun Umbrella

 VIEWS FROM OUR WALK ON THE MYRA CANYON TRESTLE RAIL TRAIL:::

Time with good friends...... PRICELESS!!!

That's Derek and Lin by the way

Janice had quite a conversation with this Raven (crow??)

JUST PLAIN HAPPY TO SEE A BEAR!!!!

LOVELY MOON!!!

Mon Sept 9th - Model Railway, Osoyoos, BC

Mon Sept 9^th – Model railway, Osoyoos, Campfire

Bit of a lazy morning, but we made it to the Model Railway in Osoyoos (photos to follow) and were again blown away by this place. It is over 4000 square feet of miniature railway… with everything you could possibly imagine in miniature (yes including a nude beach!!!) Just amazing and worth every cent of the admission price… a must see if you are in Osoyoos. What started out as a hobby in Europe has grown to be a passion for this whole family and they have worked to great a truly amazing exhibit.

After this we walked around Osoyoos and Derek and Lin were introduced to the wonders of a great Home Hardware!! And a typical Shoppers Drugmart! We decide to blow funds on renting a propane campfire from the RV resort (no wood fires allowed) and after dinner we sat round the campfire and enjoyed telling stories and sharing a few laughs.

Sun Sept 8th - Viewpoint ans Tinhorn Creek

Viewpoint above Osoyoos

Sun Sept 8th - Viewpoint ans Tinhorn Creek
Our first day with our friends and it was a perfect day. We packed up a lovely lunch of cold cut sandwiches and goodies and went up to the viewpoint to give them an idea of the area and to see Osoyoos from above. We then drove via other wineries to Tinhorn Creek winery where we sat out on their patio in the sun with a bottle of wine and our picnic... perfect!!! It is a great winery for picnic and tasting the grapes off the vines as Derek and I had done the week earlier. It really is a treat to be able to do these amazing things with good friends. We have discussed, and I think decided to add a day to the Okanagan portion of our adventure as the weather os so good and there is so much to do around here. So we will stay until Thursday morning. 

Picnic Lunch at Tin Horn Creek Winery

Tasting the Grapes

Enjoying the view

AWWW   ... cute!!!

Our good friends Derek and Lin

Having a gimpy leg has it's advantages

Thurs Sept 5th -Saturday Sept 7th Derek and Lin arrive - Vancouver and Back

Sept 5th - Vancouver
Today we got up early, did a final tidy and check, turned on timers and turned off the water and off we went. It took us a while to drive to Vancouver, but we enjoyed the drive. Unfortunately Janice couldn't drive (safely) with her bad ankle so Derek had to take the helm the whole way. We arrived mid afternoon and after settling in to our room (and switching rooms) we went out and Janice got her nails done locally while Derek tossed around for an hour. We then went straight to the Cactus Club restaurant and had a fabulous meal. Afterward Janice poured a long-awaited bath and soaked for over an hour. (Derek treated her to some bath salts). It was so lovely having a hotel room for a night.. like a mini-holiday. 

Sept 6th - Pick up Derek and Lin- Dinner at Evan and Kyle
What a great day. Not only did we get to pick up our friends, Derek and Lin from the airport for a 16 day adventure with us, we also got to see Evan and Kyle. 

We picked up D and L and headed back to the hotel to unload their stuff, then headed over to Evan and Kyles, where we were treated to a fabulous homemade meal of seasoned pork, sweet potatoes, beans, salad, followed by an amazing homemade cinnamon-apple baked cake/strudel ... WOW!!! We had a wonderful evening with them and shared some stories... it was so lovely to see them again after not being able to see the for so long.  After dinner and a lovely visit, we headed back to the hotel for an early night ... Derek and Lin were shattered (8 hour time difference)

Saturday Sept 7th- Vancouver-Osoyoos 

 Evan and Kyle kindly invited us back for breakfast at their place and they did us proud, with a yummy cooked breakfast. Even some Mimosas to toast with. After a tearful goodbye, and loaded with treats from them, we headed out for the long drive back to Osoyoos. It was a mainly clear day and we all enjoyed the changing topography en-route and the views. We arrived about 6pm and set to making dinner. So good to have our friends with us for the next two weeks as we wind our way to Calgary.