Teal Sky

A Fresh Start For The New Year 2009

Waking up in Kelowna in a new year to a light snowfall, we enjoyed our last views of this part of the lake. We had a lunch reservation at the beautiful Hooded Merganser restaurant in Penticton on the south end of Okanagan Lake about an hour drive away – unfortunately not the beautiful expansive views we knew were there because of the snow but still a quiet, peaceful feeling prevailed to start the year. We decided this should become a new tradition of going out for a nice lunch to start the New Year.

By the time we checked into our townhouse there was about a foot of snow on the driveway, no shovel and the Mini couldn't plow through all of that. We borrowed a shovel and realized how nice the Kelowna condo had been without having to think about management of the white stuff. The next day we got our path shoveled to the hot tub (Priority One!) and the patio in back cleared so we could make the mad dash for the soak. If it were Denver the sun would shine, the snow would melt but it was Osoyoos: the valley cloud settled in and the temperatures stayed at or below freezing. We empathized with Lewis and Clark: stay the course of adventure.

We headed to nearby Mt Baldy to snowshoe with a group from the Rec Center and literally rose above the clouds. Awesome! It was like we had been beamed up to the Rocky Mountain sunshine. We returned several more times to snowshoe, examine the sparkling snow crystals that formed with the fog ice, see bald eagles against a bright blue sky, and enjoy the warmth of the sun. We also returned several times to our local restaurant, Breeze, which had a good menu, friendly atmosphere, and view of the Lake Osoyoos. We felt like ambassadors from the USA as we celebrated Inauguration day at Breeze with the other patrons, passing out "I voted for Change" stickers: the manager also let us post some Obama paraphernalia and tune the TV to the parade in DC.

More wineries to explore, and a Men's Curling Bonspiel championship weekend kept us occupied. We didn't think there was Curling in Denver until we searched the web and realized Denver was holding the USA tryouts for the Olympics in Vancouver 2010 (The torch is planning to travel through Osoyoos January 2010!). We ate a bit of humble pie but a few beers later, we were right in the mist of all the fun. We also were told by several to stop by the Railroad Museum, which we finally did and found it completely captivating – wonderfully executed, full of interest and humor. Just when we thought there wasn't much to do, little things of interest popped up and made us glad we were having the opportunity to explore this corner of the world. Eh?!

Osoyoos, British Columbia

Fog Ice on Grass Blades - Crowsnest Highway

Schedule

Itinerary Highlights.

Fun things to do.

Keep Your Stick On The Ice,

Pam and Henry