beside the beaten track...

Every journey...long or short...is an adventure!  And so I'm taking you back on our roadtrip to Oliver this past weekend...to share a few snapshots of the 'weekend that was'.

I rather like this quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson...'Do not follow where the path may lead.  Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.'  However, when one is trying to reach their destination on time...the road well traveled is usually the one to take.  We were most grateful that we could travel the highway on our trip up.

With Canada Day falling on Friday, we planned to travel to the Okanagan Valley on Thursday.  Wouldn't you know it...on Wednesday afternoon the Trans-Canada Highway just east of our place was closed due to a massive mud slide. The eastbound lanes were buried under thirty feet of mud...closing the highway in both directions and stopping train traffic on the CN rails nearby.  With the Fraser River running through the middle of our valley...we don't have a whole lot of options when it comes to detours.  Traffic was re-routed to the other side of the river...and many traveler's spent hours in line-ups.  Though we knew the crews were working around the clock, we had little hope that the highway would be open in the morning.  We were resigned to limping slowly along the detour route...but just as we left home, we heard on the radio that the highway had re-opened.  We were among the first to travel through the mud-slide zone...


 

...where we saw camera crews and maintenance vehicles, and not much else.  We passed a mountain of mud and debris at the spot where it had been stock-piled...but the road itself was clean and bare.

It was down this slope that the river of mud and boulders came rushing down.  It's not the first time that a mud slide has closed this stretch of highway but it couldn't have come at a worse time...the start of a holiday weekend.  Thankfully, no one was seriously injured...and one day later it was business as usual for both the cars and the trains.  Oh...and motor homes bound for Oliver!

A traveler without observation is a bird without wings.

~Moslih Eddin Saadi

When we take the RV...we always take our bikes along. Things are much more interesting up close...from the saddle of a bike...than from the seat of a vehicle whizzing along.



We biked past vineyards, orchards and fields of fresh market produce.

There's a great biking/walking trail along the Okanagan River which runs through Oliver. 

On Canada Day we took our tennis rackets along on our bikes...and went in search of courts. 

We found a park where families were enjoying some holiday fun...



...while near the river a gal shared a quiet moment with her horse.  And in the very back corner...where only locals would find them...

...were the tennis courts.  It's July...and we had our first game of tennis for the year.  Hopefully there will be more.

We also toured Okanagan Gleaners...located right near our campground.  It's an amazing place...which does an incredible work.  I'll save that tour for another post.

Some watched fireworks...we saw fire trucks!  And we heard from many that we had to make a stop at Tickleberry's for ice-cream as we left town.

And so we did...and we were in good company.  The parking lot was full...and the line-ups were long...but it was all good!  We even found some relatives to share a table with.

This buck stopped by Tickleberry's at the same time we did.  He seemed a little lost...I don't think it was ice-cream he was looking for!

The Okanagan Valley is a haven for fruit pickers and young people looking for adventure in the summer time. 

If it was adventure these kids were looking for...I think they found it.  With one behind the wheel of the bus...and nine pushing...they would not be arriving at their destination any time soon!

On Sunday afternoon we left the Okanagan behind and headed for home...

...back to the familiar mountains of the Fraser Valley.  Thanks for joining me...on the road again.



Have a great day...