B.C., ALBERTA, B.C.
November 20, 2010
And so Kaledan was our place of residence from early September to late October where we rented a small place overlooking Skaha Lake. We nicknamed the house we were in the “banana house” because of its yellow colour. It was a magical place to watch the half-dozen deer show up on our lawn almost daily and to watch two playful cats roar around. One Saturday an aerobatic team of pilots took their planes through wild twists and turns while releasing coloured smoke as they performed just above the lake right in front of us! It was great! The reason we stayed in Kaledan about 10 km south of Penticton in B.C.s Okanagan Valley, was to better explore the area thinking that one day, when we settle down (still trying to find that in the dictionary) we would move here. Exploring the back roads was great. As it is all our belongings are in storage in Penticton.
The heat of the Okanagan, the natural beauty, the laid-back culture, the vineyards makes you think of southern France. Did we mention the vineyards? We lived in Vernon in the northern end of the valley from ’87 to ’94 so we do know the area. The valley itself runs about 175 km north to south and maybe 15 km wide. It is the warmest place in Canada, very arid, produces a large variety of fruit and…oh yes…has rattlesnakes. Did we mention the vineyards? Penticton, with 30,000 people, is one of three larger towns in the valley and is the southernmost. Very laidback but known for one of the biggest triathlons in the world. There is lots of amazing road riding areas as well as huge areas for mountain biking. And so we took advantage of that almost every day since the weather while we were there was dry and warm. And to prepare us for going to Europe next spring, we did drink the local wines, but only to help the economy you understand. Not to mention the month-long wine festival during which all the local wineries, some world famous, provided wine tasting, 4 tastes each…for free!! Plus we took in the Saturday farmers’ market held in the downtown area of Penticton. It was usually busy with crowds and street entertainers and was easily as big as most of the markets we’ve been to in Europe.
During this same time we went to see close childhood friends in Kamloops, about 3 hours away, partly to help them lay a new spiffy looking hardwood floor. I let him think I knew what I was doing and with proper handling managed to blame him for all the mistakes. Worked out great…they got a new floor and I learned a lot. He and I are now for hire. We don’t expect to make the same mistakes…probably… maybe.
One of the most amazing spectacles of nature is the world famous salmon run which occurs every year and ends in the Adams River near Chase in B.C. just off the TransCanada Highway. Millions of salmon return after having been born there four
years earlier and having spent their life in the Pacific Ocean. The river is red with fish which are there for the females to lay their eggs and for the males to fertilize them. They are within days or even hours of death. Four years from now the new hatchlings that manage to survive will be back to help turn the wheel of life and death, part of nature’s endless beauty.
It wasn’t all giggles and laughs during this time. Our computer crashed. We almost lost all our data not to mention three years’ worth of work on a specific project. But thanks to an amazing computer techie, the day was saved. He got himself a bottle of wine. Did we mention the vineyards in the Okanagan valley?
October 22 we left Kaledan, sad to do so but very contented, heading to Canmore which had been our home for eleven years until we sold our house in June. We had offered to take care of friends’ cats and house so they could go away. As cat lovers and especially partial to these two, it wasn’t a hardship. We also connected with friends.
Canmore has had an infestation of rabbits since someone released caged ones a few years ago. Even the CBC, Canada’s national television network has come to town to report on it…news days in Canada can be really slow. With these furry appetizers readily available for takeout, it is not uncommon to see a coyote come onto the lawn, snatch one and disappear. The cats got to witnesss this event one day…… yeowling, hissing, hair straight up…they knew danger was just outside their window.
Mid November, Dan came down with a brutal flu which included three days of fever (at least 110F, so he said!). To indicate how bad it was, his wine consumption for that time was a grand total of…zero!!! Must have been a bbbaaaaadddd flu.
November 19 it was out of Canmore with a sad goodbye to our best friends (the cats). The Rocky Mountains are now in full winter with almost 30 cm of snow in areas. The TransCanada highway on our route was closed part of yesterday. But it was safely, though slowly, over Rogers Pass, one of the most avalanche prone road sections in the world, to Kamloops for a short stay.
We will be in the US from November 22. The best way to contact us will be by email or better yet by Skype…if you want to see our pretty faces.
By the way…we’ve just booked our flights to Europe next spring so those of you who are there…get ready…here we come.
We’ll send another piece from warm, sunny Arizona.
