Okanagan Valley, BC

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We took our time driving through British Columbia and decided to spend a week in the Okanagan Valley. How lovely! Just north of central Washington State, a string of lakes run north/south through an arid high desert. The valleys are irrigated and chock full of very nice wineries and fruit orchards. It is quite the Canadian vacation spot. We visited some wineries and bought lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. I made marinara from a box of tomatoes @ $0.40/lb. Patti made a great peach soup, which was really like a delicious peach smoothie.

We said goodbye to our friends as they headed east and we headed south to Washington.

This time, we got boarded at U.S. Customs and had to go outside while they searched the bus. We also had to open all the storage bays. We forgot about the bags of firewood we had in the back of the Honda ever since we left Seward, Alaska. Definitely not allowed to cross borders with that.....but no one even looked in there and we ended up taking it all the way to Dallas in October. What do the kids say, “My Bad?”

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Photos

Okanagan Valley
Kinda reminds one of a European setting

Prince George, BC
Canadians love their flowers

Stacked Logs
Lumber mills are a large part of the economy

Canadian Petunias
Someone must water these on a regular basis

More flowers
These first seven photos were taken out the bus window while driving down the road....NOT by the driver, however.

Driving down to the Okanagan Valley
Long grade down the mountains

Gear Down and Use Jake Brake
The longest downhill grade we ever drove

Burrowing Owl Estate Winery
Someone had a birthday, so Patti and Bill took us out to lunch here in Oliver, BC

Quail's Gate Winery
We had lunch at their outdoor cafe--very nice

Quail's Gate
Charming original vineyard building with lots of flowers

Mission Hills Winery
The outdoor restaurant at this very modern winery complex in Kelowna, BC

Vineyard grapes
Ripening nicely for the harvest

Oliver BC sign
Canadians love their beer, and we love their sense of humor