Thursday, July 3, 2008

family reunion...cherries...and more!

We arrived back home tonight, after duly celebrating our national holiday...we'll soon be turning it into a week-long event!

We packed a lot into these last few days.

We spent a few days at a family reunion in Oliver (located in Canada's only desert).

We ate cherries...

...and watermelon and rollkuchen, of course!

We sang "Oh Canada" in four part harmony...

...played ladder golf...and had a wonderful time catching up with those cousins we see only every three years.

Oh yes...and did I mention cherries?

I had one last feast before we vacated our campsite...Okanagan cherries are the best!

From Oliver we drove through Osooyoos...

...and east up a very long hill. From this vantage point we could see Osooyoos Lake and the desert area we had just left behind.

We passed by rolling pastures, with cattle grazing around 'the shack'...it reminded me of the book I was reading.

Yup...I finally read "The Shack"! I'm still mulling over the story-line...but it definitely makes one think. I'll save that for another day.

We spent the last few days at Kettle River Provincial Park...camped next to the river and the famous Trans Canada Trail which runs alongside it.

We biked over trestle bridges and through grassy meadows...

...all part of the old Kettle Valley Rail route. We cycled into Rock Creek this morning, before packing up and leaving for home. We chose Highway 33 through Kelowna for our route home...and just so we could cross over the newly constructed Bennett Bridge spanning Okanagan Lake. This new floating bridge was officially opened about a month ago...and replaces the concrete floating bridge which served for fifty years. We crossed without incident...and carried on our way!

We encountered a few annoying RV'ers, who let the traffic pile up behind them...

...but were thankful for safety on the roads...especially when we passed scenes like this!

The weather...the company...the scenery...it was all the best! You'll hear more about it sometime soon. And now, it's good to be home again...and see what's happened while we were away.

Happy July 4th
to all my American friends!

15 comments:

  1. Looked like a lovely time!
    :)
    Hugs
    Candy

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  2. Wonderful pics and I am glad you had a good vacation break. We missed you in blogland but enjoyed your posts you postdated. I am sure we will be treatead to some more pics and stories as you unpack and get 'rested' at home.

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  3. sounds like you had a wonderful time judy. i love our family reunions, they just don't seem to happen often enough. we usually have it at fairmont hotsprings, the bc relatives consider it half way from manitoba to bc...lol.
    those cherries looked so lovely...i could eat my self sick straight from the orchard. happy july 4th to you to....and all you south of the border.

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  4. Your vacation holiday looks perfect. I so love all the beautiful places you share with us.

    Happy Birthday to your country and ours. We're just perfect neighbors.

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  5. Judy, that cycyling over the trestle bridges looks like so much fun. Was it hard work, lots of inclines, could it be done on a tandem bike?
    Oh, those cherries look magnificent, I'm off to find a box myself, or maybe I can convince my good man to drive me to Keremeos to get some. Were they ready there?

    Woah, lots of questions, I'm just glad you made it home safe and sound.

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  6. Lovella...the old rail bed trails are very gently sloped (we travelled both ways and hardly noticed the incline). We want to take our bikes to Kelowna sometime soon and ride the new trestle bridges on the Kettle Valley Trail there. I'm not sure about the tandem bike...there were some rough spots and lots of gates to open and shut through farm fields where we just were.

    The cherries are late this year...some varieties were fully ripe...other trees still needed a bit of sun. There were lots of cherries at the stands in Keremeos.

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  7. Nice time indeed with family..I love those reunions. Thanks judy for sharing all the pics too..now I want cherries!!

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  8. Thanks for stopping by on your road trip! I am gaga over your pictures. As I ahve never been to Canada, I am just dazzled by the beauty of your far reaching landscapes. Those cherries look better than to eat! Too beautiful! Looking forward to your continuing saga! Blessings! Carolyn

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  9. It looks like you had a wonderful time. It is so interesting to me to see what it is like in your part of Canada. Such beautiful pictures you have shared. And, the cherries - my mouth is watering.
    Now, one question. Ladder golf?? I have never heard of it. Is it a Canadian game?
    Have a nice weekend.

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  10. Kim...'ladder golf' or 'bolo golf' or 'Mexican golf' (it goes by many names) is not Canadian. We first saw it played at an RV park in Iowa a few years back...and have since seen it in parks and backyards everywhere. It's a great outdoor game...I'll do a blog on it one day soon.

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  11. my goodness! you must have had such a lovely time!

    Im just spending my time at home cleaning up while my husband works :) no outing this year.. maybe next :)

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  12. That looks like such a lovely trip! Thanks for the great pictures.

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  13. That's some beautiful country you were traveling through...and I envy you those Canadian cherries!

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  14. What a wonderful trip! Great memories and adventures (as well as fabulous photos!!)

    blessings,
    kari & kijsa

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  15. Exquisite photos! I have heard of the Okanagan cherries before...hmmmm, now I want some! Looks as if you spent a fair amount of time near a stove...hope you had lots of company!

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