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Published: September 10th 2013
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LaCasa Resort, Okanagan September 8, 2013 – From Banff National Park to the Okanagan in BC
I’ve just managed to post my last entry, having arrived in the Okanagan at the LaCasa Resort where the WiFi is much better! We are staying here (at the very top of the resort – bit of a walk down to the lake, but still, we need the exercise!) for 5 nights. Hopefully a time to relax, catch up with some work (and book the accommodation for the last few weeks of our 3 month trip!).
The weather (hey, don’t knock it, I managed 3 sentences before mentioning it!) has brightened considerably and we’re back in the hot sun again. The Okanagan is known for its sun and a summer retreat for many Vancouverites. The kids have returned to school so we’re looking to enjoy the area without the crowds.
It took us a good 6 hours to get here, stopping off initially at the Visitor Centre at Field to soak up all the info we could about the fascinating Burgess Shale (see last entry) and in the hope that some of it will sink in as far as the boys are concerned!
View from our deck
LaCasa Resort, Okanagan Once at the resort, having taken a slight detour into Vernon for food, we head straight out to one of the outdoor pools on the resort. Luckily there’s a pool on this level so ours is just down the road and we’re able to walk there and back in just our towels. It’s warm and empty so feels like ours for the hour we’re there.
Being high up in the resort means we might have a steep walk down to the lake (and subsequent climb back up!) but it does mean we have a lovely view down to the Okanagan Lake and an impressive deck with an array of very comfortable outdoor furniture to enjoy it from. I’d love to see the sunrise tomorrow morning but as I’m writing this late into night, it’s not going to be likely – even with the hour we’ve regained since leaving the mountains!
September 9, 2013 – Okanagan Lake
No sunrise for me but I’m sitting very comfortably on the deck typing this blog as the sky darkens and the stars start to appear. For a place bugged by wasps we’ve enjoyed a very pleasant
barbecue on our deck without any annoying visitors. I guess they must retire early.
It’s looking good for stars tonight so maybe we should get the camera out and try for one of those long exposure shots. The weather (there she goes!) has been perfect today with temperatures rising towards the 30 degree mark. And what better way of spending a day with those kind of temperatures than in and out of the water, be it the warm Okanagan Lake or the pools in the resort.
As I mentioned it’s a bit of a trek down to the lake but it’s a nice one as a trail winds its way down the hill thus avoiding having to walk on the road. The boys comment that it feels more like Greece than Canada as we walk down with swimwear and towels in the rising heat. It’s probably because it feels so different to the cooler temperatures we were getting in the Rockies towards the end of our stay there, likening it to leaving the cool UK and stepping off the plane in hotter European climates!
We head down to the lake itself and find a mini waterpark there
complete with inflatable trampolines all anchored a few metres out. We’re a little apprehensive as it’s a bit rocky and we can see a kind of lake seaweed as the water gets deeper. Wondering what it will feel like to brush against this as you’re swimming makes some of us more apprehensive than others (!) and passing ducks eye us suspiciously. But this is the warmest lake we’re ever going to swim in so it’s an opportunity we really can’t pass up. Taking the plunge (literally) we throw ourselves in and swim out to the floats where we clamber on and jump off a few times. The inflatables are excellent for catapulting people off the end and Steve sends Matthew flying a few times! (I wonder if now is a good time to tell the boys the legend of Ogopogo, the Cryptid lake monster supposedly living somewhere in Okanagan Lake?
After the lake we dip into the second of the 2 pools on the resort. The lake was surprisingly warm – for a lake – but this is even better (and without the green slimy stuff). We follow that with a game of crazy golf before grabbing some lunch
back at the house and then returning for a game of tennis, bit of beach volleyball and another dip in the pool. And the best thing about all this (apart from all the exercise) is the lack of people. In some ways it feels like a ghost town but in a good way. The kids have returned to school, the weather is as hot as you’d want it and we have 5 days here. Perfect.
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