A road trip to the Okanagan Valley......a few days we said. Away from work....away from office politics....away from the comforts of our homes ....being with nature.....living a minimalistic life.....but tasting some good wine!
I couldn't have asked for a better travel companion. Karen left it to me to plan out...and I did. But of course like all plans....we accommodated, we changed....and we went with the flow.
Day 1 (Friday) - We start from Calgary about 10am in the morning. On to Revelstoke....stopped for a quick lunch at a......D Dutchman Dairy, Sicamous for some ice-cream.
Then straight on to Fintry National Park where we were camping for the night.
Fintry Provincial Park
Karen making sure the trailer is anchored tight at the Fintry Park.
The Okanagan Lake at the back of the Fintry Park....few steps away from our parking spot for the night
Day 2 (Saturday) - Walk around Fintry before we head to Okanagan Provincial Park...stopping along the way at wineries which fancied us.
Indigenous World Winery - On our way we just happen to see huge billboards of this winery. It looked interesting and so we stopped to have a look....and we were not disappointed. Indigenous World Winery is BC's only 100% Indigenous owned winery, blending traditional Syilx culture with modern style. Did some tasting and also ended up buying a couple of bottles each.
Then onwards to Mission Hill, the popular winery.
Indigenous World Winery
Tasting some wine at Indigenous
After nearly 3 years...back at Mission Hill!
Hainle Winery - Read quite interesting bits about this winery and so we decided we had to check this out. This is an award-winning organic winery as well as the birthplace of Ice Wine in North America. It is said that the owner by a stroke of genius turned a disaster into a lucrative miracle. Rather than allow an early frost to obliterate an entire year's worth of grape production, Hainle recalled his own Germanic tradition of turning frozen grapes into delicious dessert wines. Apart from the numerous awards the winery has managed to collect over the years, two of the wines were also selected for the Royal wedding of Prince William and Princess Kate.
Okanagan Falls Provincial Park, now officially named sx̌ʷəx̌ʷnitkʷ Provincial Park, is where we were booked to stay for the rest of our trip. This is located within the traditional territory of the Osoyoos Indian Band.
Okanagan Falls Provincial Park
Deers roaming on the road next to the entrance of the camp area.
Just outside our camp area
Day 3 (Sunday) - After breakfast we headed out. We were travelling to the furthest end....to Osoyoos.
On our way, we realized we just zoomed by a Garage Sale! We looked at each other...."Want to check it out"? Yes! Why not? And Karen ended up being the next proud owner of a set of Blue suitcases
Nk'Mip Cellars - The archer statue marks the entrance to the winery. This is North America's first Aboriginal owned and operated winery. Additionally this is also a resort! There is also a golf course. It would be nice to come here for a short break. We did their wine tasting fees of which would be waived if one bought their wines....and of course, we did!
Faustino Estate Cidery - Tiny cidery by the side of road. Interesting place. We stopped. The number of flavour combinations...a little mind boggling. When in doubt...choose all is what I say. So I did end up with few bottles!
Castoro de Oro Estate Winery - So many dream of running away from one's dull and un-interesting lives and starting a winery but here was a couple from Calgary who did just that! I would love to do just that....if only I could!
Ruby Blues Winery - The website said that it was the funkiest small boutique winery in this part of the world. The tasting fee was a smile. It was pretty crowded / busy. Mostly it was groups that was there to do the tasting but as we were just the two of us....we were quickly squeezed in.
Ruby Blues Winery
"When I get tired of shopping, I sit down and try on shoes."
Checking out the Bohotique parked outside the winery.
And of course we had to stop by Tickleberry's ice cream shop in Okanagan Falls......very near to where we were camped to try their famous ice cream. The shop must have grown over the years. They even had quite a big gift shop and we ended up picking some delicious smelling lotions.
Day 4 (Monday) - We were returning back to Calgary today cutting our trip short since Karen had some work in Edmonton. On our way....we still managed to squeezed in another tasting session in another interesting winery.
Blasted Church Vineyards - It says that the property once housed a wooden church built early 20th century. The church was dismantled using controlled dynamite explosion and reassembled in the centre of Okanagan Falls. That makes me think this is how the Vineyard got this name.
The sign leading towards "Blasted Church Vineyards"
Entrance to the Blasted Church
The sign read...."You're about to sin". This meant we are not allowed to go beyond that point!
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