Sunday, May 15, 2016

Kelowna, BC

Our travel meter has logged another 500+ miles and some very beautiful
territory since my last post.

The map below shows our route:
From Lincoln Rock State Park in Wenatchee, Wa
North into Canada and Kelowna, Brittish Columbia
From Kelowna to Banff National Park, Alberta.


I spent 11 days at Lincoln Rock State Park on the shore of the Columbia river
while Kate flew to Chicago to visit her BFF Mary.

Lincoln rock is just outside of Wenatchee Wa at the eastern base of the Cascade Mtns.
My site had full Hookups and 50amp service.
Great Verizon service makes it an ideal place for me to hang out and work while
Kate is out of town.


After Kate returned we packed up, and headed north to visit our friends
Pat and Rob.   You may recall that we spend quite a bit of time with them
bouncing around the desert in the winter time.

Pat and Rob have a brand new Minature Australian Labradoodles named Olivia and
they were anxious to show her off as well as show us their home town.


We stayed at Bear Creek Provincial Park on the shores of Okanagan Lake just
across from Kelowna and only about 10 min from Pat & Robs house.

The campground has no services - so dry camping - but the flowers were in bloom
and we enjoyed the heady mixture of pine, roses, and campfires.

Pat and Rob brought their Montana over to the park and camped with us for 2 nights.

One morning headed to town we had a herd of Dall Sheep right outside the park.


We enjoyed lunch and 2 dinners at their lovely home and got a taste of BC hospitality.


Saturday afternoon we strolled along the wonderful waterfront park.


There was musicians playing, a beer festival going on, and everyone was out with thier dogs
enjoying the warm sunny weather.


At one point we had 5 doodles all rubbing noses.
We must have met a dozen doodles walking along the waterfront.


The town has a wonderful international feel to it.
Walking the park you see people from all over the world.
Inland from the waterfront for a few blocks is a vibrant entertainment district with
pubs and restaurants.

Kate and I both fell in love with this beautiful Canadian city.


We watched this guy getting lessons on this water powered hoverboad.
After numerous failed attempts he finally got into the air and hovered for about 20 seconds.

Next week he might be flying high!


Our first night was steaks on the Grill.
Our second night we had this wonderful ham cooked on the grill.

After dinner Rob & Pats Grandkids put on this wonderful show with songs
from the Sound of Music and Scottish Dancing. 



Dinner and a show.     How do you beat that!
Thanks so much R&P for your hospitality and friendship.
We both had a wonderful time and already are talking about when we can come back.

This morning (Sunday) we sadly said good bye and headed north then east thru
the Canadian Rockies to our next destination - Banff National Park.

The 300+ mile drive took us along lakes, rivers, streams, 4 National Parks, and
some incredibly beautiful scenery.

The weather was perfect for a drive thru the mountains.

Trans Canada Hwy 1 - 3 Valley Lake
Because we had 7+ hrs to drive today there was not much time for stopping to
smell the pines...   or clean the windshield - so sorry about the bug splattered
thru the windshield photography. 

TC 1   Glacier National Park BC
A few photos while riding thru Glacier National Park.
We also drove thru Mt Revelstoke NP
Yoho NP
and Banff NP 

TC 1  Glacier National Park BC

TC 1 Glacier National Park BC

TC 1  Banff National Park Ab
We are now in Banff National Park at the NP Campground.

Its a pretty campground, full hookups with 30amp at about 5,000' elevation.

We are starting to sense the longer days as we move further north.
Its currently 930 pm and bright as day out. That is
only going to continue until I'm saying the same thing about midnight.


We will stay here in Banff for 3 nights, then travel 180 miles up
the Icefield Parkway to Jasper NP.

After a couple of nights in Jasper we will head 200 more miles north to
Dawson Creek BC and mile Zero of the Alaska Highway.

It looks like we have a couple of clear days ahead of us so we should have 
some pretty shots of the beautiful scenery here in Banff next time.

Till then....

6 comments:

  1. OMG!!!! Do you have any idea how jealous I am??? Talk about eye candy, that is such a beautiful part of the world. And Olivia is adorable. Can't wait for your next post. Safe travels.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Can't wait to see these pictures!! Safe travels! Sue B

    ReplyDelete
  3. Your driving never ceases to amaze me. You don't seem to get tired. I love seeing the sites as we sit in our chairs at home. I m anxious to see where you are taking us.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I didn't see any bugs on your photos. Enjoy the journey.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Greg,
    I have to stop showing Pat these posts; makes me look bad. You are a great traveling pair. All the best,
    Rick and Pat

    ReplyDelete
  6. OK, now it can be told: you got me hooked, lined, and sinkered! I started out looking for info on Boya Lk. and decided to follow your blog, as well as turn a good friend onto it who's about to pick up his own F250; the 5th wheeler comes later this year once he's retired, and then ... look out North America!
    Glad you liked Kelowna. I did a great road trip in June '15 from Seattle to Victoria, up Vancouver Is. to Pt. Hardy, where I caught the ferry to Pr. Rupert, and then a long clockwise arc along Hwy. 16 to Pr. George, down to Valemont via Hwy. 5, and into Kelowna and the Okanagon before heading back to VCR and SEA. Lord, what magnificently beautiful country BC has! I'm now planning a land-only version for later this Summer, which will take me up to Boya Lk., and then back down to Dawson Creek and Kamloops.
    Safe travels to you and keep up the great blog!

    ReplyDelete

We love to hear from you... Please leave us a comment and let us know you are reading. If there is something that you'd like to hear about please let us know. Thanks for visiting!