Friday Pool

Well, back to more mundane things. Time for laundry, haircuts, cleaning and catching up with family and friends. We've been taking care of business and enjoyed being with our friends at pool Friday night.

Home Again

We had a nice drive home today through the Hope Princeton route. We arrived back to Pacific Border RV Park, which has been our home since June 2002. The office and lounge are behind the trees, the fire pit with woodpile on the left and the indoor swimming pool, sauna and hot tub in the back building.

NK'MIP Desert Cultural Centre

Ron went off visiting old boilermaker friends while Carol, Roger and I went to this 20,000 square foot interpretive centre to discover the land, the legends, the people. It is a 9 million dollar structure which has interpretive education and research facilities offering insight into the sensitive ecosystem of plants and animals. The 'Osoyoos Arid Biotic Zone' is a continuation of the Sonora Desert that extends from Mexico right up to the Okanagan Valley and is Canada's only desert. Osoyoos receives over 2000 hours of sunshine annually. There were stories and films of the Indian Band's history and way of life. We saw a demonstration on rattlesnakes and could touch a bull snake. Then we walked around the land to the replica Indian Village. The were many steel sculptures depicting life as it was years ago. Here is a man spear fishing, a woman drying fish, a half carved canoe under cover and teepee in the background. The whole centre was very well done. Today there are about 500 people in the Band and they own and operate about 35 businesses incuding a vineyard, winery, campground and 5 star hotel.

Winery tour

Ron, the former beer drinker was our designated driver today as we toured part of the country. We went up to Oliver to Tickleberry's. It is a renowned ice cream and gift shop where you get a Frequent Licker's Card. You will be back. We looked at the local market and then went wine tasting at Jackson Triggs Winery. It was simply a room with tasting counter.
Next stop was at Tinhorn Creek which only opened in 1994 I believe but you could tour the vineyards, the storage area with huge stainless steel fermenting tanks, sit on the patio overlooking the whole place and enjoy the friendliest staff you could imagine. We loved the 4 wines we tasted. These old tanks are retired now as bigger ones are in use.

Off to Osooyos

After a great time with my sister and husband, we headed out. We stopped in Grand Forks to fuel up and saw this deer stroll by in the vacant lot across the street. It jumped when the dog and woman walked by but settled down to watch. We stopped in Greenwood, the smallest city in Canada to see Sandy and Michel, friends we met down at Catalina, CA. They've bought a lot in the new RV Park there.
We arrived at Roger and Carol's 5 acres on Anachist Mountain which overlooks Osoyoos. Apparently the name was actually Soyoos, but an early settler added an O to make it sound more Irish/English? It means where the 2 lakes come together and here they certainly do.

Best Small Art Town in Canada

Nelson was chosen as this by the 100 Best Small Art Towns in America and ranked fifth across North America. You discover many sculptures and murals depicting local scenes in the downtown core as you take the walking tour. There is a feast of authentic Victorian frontier architecture with 350 heritage homes and buildings. Alex's grandfather was one of the early architects and designed many of these buildings. This is Rosemary standing in front of the local tax assessment building, one of the buildings he designed. It has very intricate brickwork.
There are gorgeous gardens and planters everywhere and sitting at a sidewalk cafe is very relaxing. We went to the art gallery and enjoyed the local art and some quilts that were displayed.

Artisans and Craftspeople

We drove up to Balfour about 20 minutes away and took the ferry, which is actually part of the highway system, across to Crawford Bay. Here we toured the workshops of the black smith, glass blowers, pottery, woodworkers, weavers and handcrafted corn brooms. The brooms are made from the tassels of the Broomcorn plant, also know as sorghum. The shop is located in a historic old log barn and we watched the woman as she tightly wound the twine around the tassels on an antique machine, wove and bound the stems and chopped it top and bottom to finish the product. There are hundreds of brooms hanging from the rafters and walls and they sold 250 of their brooms which were used in the last Harry Potter movie.
The weaving store was made of straw bale construction and most interesting. The porthole shows the straw in construction and obviously, the walls were about 2 feet thick as you could see by the depth of the windows.

Off to Nelson

Off to see my sister Rosemary and Alex in Nelson, a small town of 9700 people, which is set on the north arm of Kootenay Lake. We left Vernon in cloud, following the beautiful emerald green of Kalamalka Lake. By Kelowna, we were in a downpour so thick we could hardly see the road but it only lasted for a half hour. Then it was highway 33 through Beaverdell, Rock Creek, and saw a doe and fawn, then a huge dark brown moose standing by the trees at the roadside. We met R and A at their mailbox on highway 3A and Alex guided us down to the cul-de-sac at the side of their property. We set up and walked across their property where Ron and Alex sat at the lakeshore. R and I joined them but headed to the porch when raindrops started. Then guys followed when the 1/2" hailstones hit them. A fast moving storm came in over the mountain and belted us with hailstones for 20 minutes, then slowed down and disappeared. Quite the unique adventure. We enjoyed a lovely fire on the beach after dinner.

Vernon Murals

It's been fun visiting here in Vernon. I love the history and here in the early 19th century, fur traders used the Salish native trials along Okanagon Lake to export furs. By the 1860's gold discoveries down at Rock Creek brought the usual miners, missionaries, followed by settlers and train lines. The irrigation ditch was established and enabled orchards and field crops. This area is actually the crossroads of the Dewdney Trail which we know from the Haney area and another north/south one.
Myrna and I went to another quilt shop today where I found a very unique wall hanging of a Geisha outlined on a 4 x 6' wall hanging, which you use specific fabric to fill in the kimono. Then we looked up some of the 27 Heritage Murals in the downtown area that depict the history, culture, scenery and folklore that make up the Vernon of today. this one shows the orchards and harvests.

Armstrong

Myrna and I went on a little outing today. We drove out Otter Road through the Spallumcheen Valley, a pretty, older farming community. We looked in the Pleasant Valley Quilt Shop where I picked up a length of cloth to make a book for Trey called Woodsy Wonders, all about bugs.
We went to the Brown Derby for a delicious homemade lunch. The whole place was fun. The sign out front says ' Not Your Average Cafe.' The menu said 'Listen carefully as your voluptuous and perky server titillates your taste buds with today's tantalizing tastes.' Needless to say, the server was a middle aged woman who's owned this delight for 10 years. We both had 1/2 a roasted chicken sandwich on Flax bread with potato, bacon and curry soup. Very nice.
We enjoyed walking around the town which was established in 1892. It had been a big celery producing area with Chinese laborers. The historic buildings and old Armstrong Hotel were very interesting. The blue hotel appears closed except for Rosie's Pub downstairs but was very colorful with hanging baskets in every window in the front, in an old horse buggy up on the left side roof and a historical mural painted down the side. We toured their art gallery and museum which was very well done. Armstrong is famous for it's cheese so we stopped at the Village Cheese Company where you could watch the cheeses being made and packaged. They have every gadget for the kitchen or cute gifts what you can imagine.

Silver Star Mountain

We did a little tour today. We were looking for an open house on Silver Star road. We didn't find it but went right up the mountain to the village. Known as a major destination ski area, it is bursting with summer activities as well. There is superb mountain biking, nature hikes and wildlife. The 3 storey houses were painted in multi bright colors.
On the way down, we looked through 2 open houses in the Foothills. Very fancy, $700 and $800,000 with a magnificent view over the Okanagan Valley with Okanagan, Wood and Kalamalka Lakes. Very impressive. Back home for a steak dinner and relaxing on the covered patio with 39 degree heat.
Right by Watson's house is the Historic O'Keefe Ranch. It showcases the western history with it's original buildings and furnishings. You can watch old crafts of blacksmithing and tractor rides come to life and attendants are dressed in period clothes. Myrna and I spent a day there last year and it was very interesting. The original St. Ann's Church had a wedding there on Saturday.

Off to Vernon

We had a nice drive over Highway 97 to Vernon today, about an hour. We didn't bother hooking up the car so I drove behind Ron. It's a very pretty area, with small farms and dry sagebrush on the hills. We went past Monte Lake, Westwold and Falkland which displays a large flag up on the mountain above the town. You could see ginseng farms with the black canvas covering the crops.
Got to Roger and Myrna's in Desert Cove, a nice development beside the Spallumcheen Golf and Country Club. Their house is at the end of the row, looking up to green hills. After dinner we sat outside and watched deer up on the hillside. Coyotes were yipping away as well..

Wares in Merritt

More family visiting. We drove the car down to Merritt today to visit my niece Carrie and Ryan, plus Charley, their 6 month baby. It's Merritt mountain Music Festival time so we wondered about the crowds but the thousands of music lovers were all up the mountain, enjoying the sounds or cooling off in the river. It was 39 Celsius today.
We enjoyed seeing Ware's house and new deck and really enjoyed seeing our newest relative. Here's Ryan and Charley with his Fuzzy 1 2 3's, cloth book I'd made for him. His reading skills are a little slow but his teething practice is going strong.

Downtown Kamloops

Kamloops says their downtown is a jewel nestled in a valley oasis where two mighty rivers join. That would be the North and South Thompson Rivers. They started restoration and revitalization in 1980 of this old area which has resulted in huge shade trees, cobblestone sidewalks, outdoor cafes and colorful flowers creating a friendly and relaxing ambiance. It is a vibrant core and people are enjoying things everywhere. They have "Live @ Lunch", open air musical performances day and evenings.
The city competes in the Communities in bloom Program and has won several times. The results are a sea of flowers around town. There is Marigold Row with an explosion of yellow and orange flowers stretching for three blocks. Tere was also a blooming friendly competition vying for the title of best planter pot. Many large hand painted pots brimming with beautiful flowers line Victoria Street.
Karen treated the 3 of us to pedicures so we walked through this area with red, pink and purple pretty toenails. It's very pretty here. I forgot my camera downtown so here's 2 sets of toes.

Visit with Karpuks

I'm discovering that Kamloops is a great little town. There are 30 Heritage buildings that you can see on a walking tour which would take about 2 hours.
More cleaning and installing going on today in the motorhome and house. Ron and Chuck replaced our bathroom ground fault switch today and finetuned the TV bracket.
We went out to my niece Kathleen and Stephen's new house today and took the burgers with us. I figure the unemployed folks have more time than the working ones. They have a lovely 3 bedroom, basement house and many plans to upgrade as time goes on. Their yard is huge, a delight for Alexandra. My sister Rosemary and Alex from Nelson were also there, so that was a bonus.

Mini Golf

Off we went to play mini golf with Shane and his two kids. You can imagine the laughs as we putted our way around the course. Sometimes you just can't get your game right and you can manage to get 7 strokes on a 3 hole.

New TV

Big excitement today. We went to Costco and both bought a new TV, ours is 32" and C and K's is 52". Needless to say lots of work was being done by the boys at home while I took the girls out for lunch.
This picture shows the red colored trees that were killed by the pine beatle. It's been a very serious problem for the last 5 - 8 years. I've heard that they've been able to harvest some and found a market in Japan as the wood has a blueish color to it.

Off to Kamloops

We had an easy pleasant drive down to Kamloops today. I saw log fences and even new log homes being built. It seemed that about 50% of the trees had turned red and been killed by the Mountain Pine Beetle. We arrived at the Chevron cardlock to fuel at 3 p.m. and filled our propane tanks. Then we motored over to Chuck and Karens and parked in front of their house. He even ran a line out and plugged us into 50 amps. Bonus. Karen had the whole family over for dinner and to see us so it was lots of fun.

Family and FunTime

We're having a great time with Ron's niece and family. We've been out for Chinese food and enjoyed playing cards.
This morning I went to the farmer's Market downtown and sampled Bannock Bread for the first time. It is made with flour, baking powder, salt and water. This woman is using her mother and grandmother's recipe and it was delicious. She just kneeded it together, made the middle thinner to cook faster and popped it into hot oil in 2 electric frying pans, for about 4 minutes on each side. This is an old staple in the Native Indian diet and customers were lined up to buy it.

Sightseeing

We had a great visit with Ron's niece Birget and Matt last night. While they were working today Ron and I went touring. We started at the University of Northern B.C. It was opened in 1994 and has diversified and re-energised the city. It's satellite campuses and outreach initiatives have made a landmark contribution to all of northern B.C.'s development. It is now building The Northern Sports Centre which will be a key facility for local resident as well as high level athletes training and performing in national and international competitions.
I looked through the Art Gallery and bought a small statue of a Kermodei Spirit Bear. These rare bears, unique to Northwest B.C., result when a black bear cub receives a recessive white coat gene from both parents. They are not found anywhere else in the world. They are half a pound when born and grown to 250 - 450 pounds as adults.

Prince George

We left Kitimat today and finally, camera in hand, we saw a black bear run across the road in front of us. It's moved very fast. That's a car approaching behind it so you can see how large it was, heading into the bush. From May to August when the berries are plentiful, the bears are there eating all they can. Later in the year, the bears are on the river banks, eating all the salmon they can catch. Fishermen have to give up their favorite spots when the bears come to fish. It’s evident that we are just on the edge of the wilderness here. When Gisela went for her walk this morning, she was halfway across the parking lot to her front door, when a large black bear stood up behind the garbage bin scavenging, trying to open the top. Needless to say, Gisela backed up carefully and headed across the street until it lumbered back into the bush. We saw another one by Vanderfoof, then a deer by the roadside. A great wildlife sighting day for me.
We arrived in Prince George at 5:40 and parked at Sintich RV Park for 3 days. This large P.G. man is at the crossroads of Highway 16 E/W which intersects with Hwy 97 N/S. The original one was 40' tall, made of spruce wood in 1960 for the P.N.E. float and was a symbol of the importance of the forest industry here. This one replaced the old one in 1983 and is fiberglass and sheet metal and painted to look like wood.
Thousands of years ago the Carrier Indians settled here where the Fraser and Nechako rivers attracted the wildlife that supported them. Alexander McKenzie canoed past here in 1793 and Simon Fraser stopped in 1807 and built Fort George in recognition of King George 3rd. The settlers started with fur trading in early 1800’s and Pacific Great Eastern Railway linked the community to southern markets in 1952. After that progress picked up with the lumber industry, 3 mills and Prince George becoming in the administrative hub for the north half of the province. Today, Prince George has a population of 85,000 and is recognized as B.C.'s northern capital even though it's near the geographical center. This guarantees it's importance to the region as as the transportation, commercial, service and cultural centre.

More Wild Life

We went to pick Gisela up and on the lawn beside her apartment were 2 deer munching away on the fir trees. We went to Terrace for lunch, picked up a tasty cheesecake and then played Golf, a card game with Gabby and Rene. A curious squirrel came to eat at the dollhouse feeder outside the window.

Forests and Natives

There is a large Native population in the Terrace area. This totem pole is set in a downtown shopping plaza. There is a Native Center and carving shed located at town founder, George Little's original homestead now moved downtown by the railway.
On the highway between Terrace and Kitimat, the original logging has all been reforested. This shows a 31 year growth of the new trees.

July 2nd

Another holiday today. We caught the shuttle bus with Watsons and went to Minette Bay, down by the Indian Village for Dragon Boat races. It is a very picturesque setting and fun to see. Sure looked like hard work. Next was a trip to hospital Beach where Watsons picked up a piece of driftwood which will become a decorative post in their front yard for their name sign.
This is where the Delta King was moored in 1953 and early construction crews lived. It got it's name because the first hospital was also here.
We passed the old Canadian National Railway station where Ron and his mother arrived Sept 11, 1957. Bridgit arrived with her family by boat in 1954. the road was pushed through in 1958. this railway station is no longer used and looks pretty sad and lonely.

Happy Canada Day

We woke to a lovely sunny day and all took our lawn chairs down to the curb of the campground and watched the parade. There were many floats, even one of the high school with some friends on it. The parade finished at Riverlodge, the recreation center, where there were many International food vendors, very representative of the varied nationalities of people who immigrated to Kitimat in the 1950's. Then we congregated at the Legion where all the school reunion people of the 50s, 60s and 70s gathered. Everyone had a great time.
We sat around a campfire, roasted wieners and watched the fireworks at 11 p.m. It wasn't dark enough before that.