We’ve been relaxing and enjoying the end of summer for the last six weeks. As we prepare for our trip to Europe in two weeks, I thought I’d share a few interesting pictures I took around home.
Summer sunset
The next pictures were taken a couple weeks ago when I was doing my morning puzzles beside the pool. I like the reflected images.
This next one is a Northern Flicker. I’m glad someone enjoys the ants on our patio…
Northern Flicker
And finally, these next shots were taken today when a storm front moved through town. These looked like they were right out of Ghost Busters.
I’ll post more often when we are traveling. Until then, time to pack.
After a slow start, we headed south to See Ya Later Ranch Winery.
We started with lunch on the patio.
It is a lovely location with a playground and picnic area…
And it also has a location for weddings.
Another shot of the moon setting over the hills.
The hawks were also looking for lunch…
After lunch we had another wine tasting.
Followed by a look around the wine and gift shop.
And while most of us were enjoying the wines, our designated drivers (Big G & Little G) were enjoying themselves watching the kids playing.
More stunning scenery in this picture…
And another interesting shot courtesy of Ell.
For dinner we headed to Elma in Penticton, where every table was full on a Tuesday night. The dinner was amazing, and the view, as usual, was stunning.
Another day in wine country, and another round of wine tastings. It’s a rough job, but someone has to do it…. We started at Stags Hollow with a lovely tasting.
In addition to tasty wines, it has lovely views.
Then it was off for a little Mayhem.
Followed by one of our favourites – Meyer.
Our tasting was accompanied by tasty treats.
Unfortunately, the wasps were also hungry.
That picture, and the next two are courtesy of Ell.
Then it was back to the condo for snacks and bubbles on the balcony.
The weather was much better today, and we decided to have a slow day to enjoy the weather. We started with lattes on the patio, where I watched to moon set over the hills.
Here is another view from the patio…
Then I went for a walk along the Summerland Centennial Trail. The first section was along a small stream.
Then there was a section along a residential street. This picture was taken in front of someone’s house.
And then the trail went along the clay cliffs. The cliffs were stunning, and the sky was an incredible blue.
But of course this is wine country, so we had to have a wine tasting too.
And then we stayed for dinner.
The food was fantastic and the view was equally amazing.
And then it was back to the patio for an after dinner drink, watching the setting sun illuminate the hills across the lake.
We enjoyed our visit to the Okanagan so much in April that we decided to make a return visit in late August. The trip started off a little shaky with a two hour delay to our flight to Vancouver, due to mechanical problems with the incoming flight.
Our plane finally arrives
It was very late when we arrived in Vancouver, but we had built an extra day into our schedule to protect against exactly this sort of thing. And on Friday we drove from Vancouver to Summerland, on Lake Okanagan. It is a full day drive, but not a ridiculous drive – about 5 hours.
On the Road
Some of the scenery is stunning, though it was cloudy so you couldn’t see all that much at times.
Our first stop today was at Arrowleaf winery. We arrived shortly after they opened at 11am to be sure we could get their legendary cream puffs.
Yummy
It is a fabulous location with lovely views.
They have a lovely patio where you can eat the cream puffs along with snacks.
And of course, the wine tasting.
Wine Tasting at Arrowleaf
And then it was off to Spearhead, which was recently named the top winery in Canada, for our second tasting.
With the recent award, Spearhead is getting a lot more tastings than they have in the past, so we ended up in the overflow tasting room.
Tasting at Spearhead
When I say “overflow” I really mean it. It was basically the wine storage area.
Tasting Room
It was perfect. We love this personal touch when things get complicated and they have to get creative. And we were even treated to an unexpected bonus tasting of an older Chardonnay from the owner’s cellar. It was the perfect end to our first day.
I know that some of you are interested in perhaps taking the Canadian in the future, so today I’ll talk a bit about the accommodations, services, and overall experience on the train. There are three levels of sleeper service – berths, private cabins with bunk beds, and private cabins with a double Murphy bed. The prices vary somewhat between the three levels (actually, they vary a lot, but you get my point). We opted for the middle level, so that is what I’ll show here. During the day you have a private cabin with two comfy chairs, which you can pull around to directly face the windows if you want.
At night these are converted into bunk beds. Don’t worry, they set up the bunk beds for you while you are at dinner. They are really quite comfortable, and (all considered) very roomy.
The room also has a small sink, with drinking water.
The sink has a very nice feature – a small table that flips up to cover the sink and provides a small table. It’s perfect for setting a glass of wine during cocktail hour. You are free to bring your own alcohol onto the train, as long as you drink it in your room.
They try to maximize the space in the rooms, so the hallways are narrow. Very narrow. It makes it interesting when walking down the hall when the train is traveling fast, or when meeting people coming the other way.
You can always sit in your cabin if you want, but you don’t have to stay in it. You also have access to the observation car, though seating can be limited at popular times.
There is also a games area with tables along with a selection of puzzles and games.
Coffee, water, and a selection of snacks are available throughout the day.
And of course, there is the dining car for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The meals were very good, with lots of choice and a different menu every day. There were three sittings for each meal, and you had to pick your seating time the day before. For the first two sittings, the dinning car was packed, which made it rather loud. The tables were also small, which is a hazard of traveling on the train, I guess. All table were for four, so you always ended up sitting with someone else, which can be a good thing (a chance to meet someone new) or a bad thing (having to talk with someone you don’t know for the full meal). On balance, it was a good thing.
And before you say anything about the dining car not being crowded at all, this was brunch on the final day on our way into Toronto, where we had a table to ourselves.
Finally, there are a range of activities and talks every day, giving you a chance to learn about the regions of Canada as you pass through them. The activities include Bingo (not my thing) as well as wine and beer tasting (definitely my thing).
This picture is a last view of the prairies on day two, and gives you a good idea of why they call this part of the world “big sky”.
We stopped in Winnipeg about 2:30 AM and by the time we woke up in the morning we were well into northern Ontario, so the scenery for the day was “trees, rocks, lakes, followed by more trees, rocks and lakes”. Beautiful to look at, in its own way, but not great for pictures, so I’ll leave you with this “once-a-trip” picture where we are meeting the Canadian going the other way, from Toronto to Vancouver.
We spent the day traveling across the Canadian prairie. I grew up in this area, so it was nice to see it again from the train. This picture is fairly typical of what I remember from my childhood.
The small pond you see in this next picture isn’t called a pond on the prairies. It is called a slough – pronounced “sloo”.
There were a number of farms with collections of old abandoned farm machinery. This one is a threshing machine, from the days when horse drawn wagons were used to bring the cut grain to the thresher. Long before my time…
Finally, the snow geese were migrating to their nesting grounds in the high arctic. The white dots in this picture are geese – thousands of them.
Day three is taking us through north Ontario – lots of trees, rocks, and lakes.
We flew out to Vancouver, but decided to take the train home because … well, just because it sounded like a cool thing to do.
The Canadian has several different levels of service. All the way from spending four days in a basic seat, to a private room with a double Murphy bed. We opted for something in the middle – a private room and toilet, but with seats during the day, and bunk beds at night.
It’s cosy, but in a good way. At first, the trip out of Vancouver was through miles and miles of rail yards. Not a great start, unless you are a train enthusiast.
Though even here, it does offer unique views of well known Vancouver sights. This picture is of the “Golden Ears” bridge, from an angle that you can’t usually see.
As we headed up along the Fraser river, we saw more and more of the mountains.
And the river …
And more mountains…
During dinner we were treated to stunning views of the Fraser canyon. No pictures – I was eating, and it was getting dark – so you will just have to take my word for it. After a good night’s sleep, we were treated to truly stunning views on our way into Jasper. As you will see, there are often trees along the track, but you still get wonderful views through the frequent gaps. In some ways, they even make the views better by giving some perspective. I’ll post some of the best shots from the hundreds I took this morning.
This next picture is of Mount Robson, the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies. The summit was completely cloud free – something that apparently only happens about 12-15 times a year.
This next one is interesting because even though it is the end of April, the ice on the lake was just beginning to break up.
And more snow covered mountains.
We stopped in Jasper mid afternoon and had a chance to stretch our legs, and restock our supply of B.C. Pinot Noir. It is quite a picturesque little town.
Here is another picture, showing a street in Jasper with a totem pole, pride flags, and our train with the mountains in the background.
Next we head onto the prairies. I’ll try to keep you updated, but (mercifully) without quite as many pictures.
