Okanagan

Now we are moving from Jasper and the mountains and down towards the Okanagan  Valley - which is quite a drive, some 380 ish miles, via Clearwater and Kamloops. But we have got to stop on the way - so we stop after 2 miles in Jasper to get Zara a house warming present of glasses with Rocky Mountains in the bottom.

Our first real stop is Mount Robson, the highestof in the Canadian Rockies at 3954 mtrs. But you don’t get an idea of its size till you get to the visitors centre and then suddenly it’s towering above you! Magnificent!

Edit em - we also manage to measure Alex in terms of a moose(he doesn't look too happy about it) - he's the same height as a 4mth old moose!

We decline to walk the trails as it would take days but retrace our steps about 1km to the Overlander falls. A quick picnic and a stroll to the falls reveals a beautiful wide waterfall which is the natural upstream barrier on the Fraser River to migrating salmon. The falls are named for the pioneering explorers, 148 men plus one woman, who passed through the area exploring the Rockies on the way to search for gold in “them thar hills”. You have to marvel at their tenacity for working through thick forest, mountains, rivers etc to do what they wanted to do, improve their lives.

We move on to Clearwater and try a local Provincial Park to overnight in. Whilst nice it doesn’t really offer much so we move on to a little place called Dutch Lake. There is a little lake, surprisingly, and Alex and Emma get in the water which is much warmer than the glacial lakes and Zara fishes. We meet a lovely couple, Chris and Jen, from Victoria on Vancouver Island, and their two boys.

As there is no overnight stay there, and a nice local warden to enforce it, we move a couple of kilometres to a boondock site beside the North Thompson River. Chris and Jen join us in their truck camper and we have a few gin & tonics beside their propane camp fire under the stars watching satellites pass overhead whilst they impart local knowledge about Vancouver Island and gift us a back roads map book - invaluable! We are thinking our itinerary might change to have longer on Vancouver Island.

Waking up next to the river our companions have left early (ships captain works strange shifts!) and we head to the local fish hatchery.

They have a community pond stocked with rainbow trout, provide fishing kit and some instructions and Alex and Zara are happy fishing for an hour. Alex catches one all by himself, as does Emma but Zara and I luck out - we could probably just pick a fish out but enticing them onto a hook is eluding us!

We move on to Kelowna and stay at the lovely Sperling winery and vineyard with views to the hills - after the tasting it’s 6 bottles please! We up the home cooking skills and produce yummy calzone pizzas on the BBQ washed down with a bottle just purchased - wine doesn’t last long here in Canada!

Saturday 1st July is Canada Day so we are up early and into Kelowna for their free festival and families day. What a brilliant day this is, lots for Alex to do, especially a mini obstacle course with the local karate school and making a wooden boat. Alex enjoys land zorb balls and Zara is in heaven with a sausage dog parade and races. Em edit - we get in the spirit of things with Canada print buffs, Canada tattoos and pins!

After some lunch in downtown it’s back to the beach to listen to the music and for Alex to play in the water as much as he likes. Em edit - we try to find the Ogopogo (okanagan lake's cousin of Nessie!) but we have to make do with a model for Alex to climb instead. But there is also drama - a wildfire had broken out on the nearby hill. Aerial fire bombers provide a fantastic display of their skills and after a couple of hours the fire is under control - it was no more than a kilometre from housing and maybe 2km from where Wendy is parked. Downside is the nighttime fireworks are cancelled because of the fire and unavailability of fire cover. We stay overnight boondocking on the road as tomorrow we have an appointment.

Sunday (so easy to lose track of the days) and it’s off to Bear Creek Provincial Park to meet great friends we met in Kouchibougouac National Park back in May. We arrive and Jeremy and Lisa are there along with their son Jack. We greet and hug each other like long lost friends and then walk the canyon with Jeremy scaring Emma with tales of rattlesnakes. The water in the canyon is a bit low but was a favourite swimming hole for Jeremy and Lisa.

We spend several hours on the okanagan lake beach with the paddle boards being well used as well as the water pistols. Em edit - I nearly fell in paddling with the boat wakes - must improve my balance - Lisa is a pro! We can see why this area is called the California of Canada - we like it a lot!! Then it’s off to a local winery, Quails Gate, and more tasting. Feeling slightly under-dressed as there is a wedding party at the winery, we tackle two of their wine tasting menus under some expert guidance. Their Chardonnay is a revelation and converts us back away from the heavily oaked stuff we get back in England. But this time just two bottles are purchased - we could so easily blow the whole budget on wine and beer in Canada!

Back to Jeremy and Lisa’s house to stay the night. Their lovely balcony overlooks 5 wineries and that is Lisa’s local “pub crawl” as well as the lake - jealous or what!!

Their family are there and have cooked for us all, so we tuck into beautiful butter chicken curry and drink and chat the whole night away sharing travel stories whilst the children play happily with each other.

A late rise on Monday with modest hangovers followed by the Canadian version of a full English Breakfast rounds the weekend off. Kelowna and the Okanagan Valley are great and our hosts difficult to leave.

But, Vancouver Island is awaiting a long way away and a late ferry so reluctantly we have to leave.

We call in at Hope on the way. Famous for being where Rambo was filmed, they even have a large wood carving of him.

A chance look in an indigenous art gallery reveals some lovely artifacts and a malachite bear is added to our collection of memories. As are the tales of the owner especially an encounter with fishery police asking for her licence - response of “my face is my licence” is just the best!

Being a bank holiday weekend the traffic from Hope to Vancouver is horrendous and we worry about getting to the ferry - but arrive with a little time to spare. The ferry from Horseshoe Bay to Nanamio is great, no real crowds and delivers up a wonder of nature just before light fails - a juvenile humpback whale breaching right in front of us! Zara spotted it and sees it four times and we all see it at least twice. What a welcome to Vancouver Island! Alex also gets in a bit of handwriting practice watching the sunset!

Guy