Tight spaces in the camper, but we are having so much fun making it all work! (there is of course room to stand up when we have the pop topped on Bones so our backs are holding up... but the super firm mattress pad might be a different story)
View of the lake and from our campsite
We got up the next morning to a bit of a cloudy sky, but not too cold like it had been up in the mountains. Kis and Kels went for a short run around the park, and then we got to take warm showers at the campground before heading farther south down the valley to Kelowna. We went for a mid-morning hike just outside the city of Kelowna which offered a nice view of the city and lake.
Okanagan Lake in the background
This region is known for its wineries, breweries, and distilleries, so we decided to take advantage of the local offerings. Our tasting rooms excursion started with Tree Brewery, which was just down the street from the park where we had hiked, and a couple blocks from downtown. Kels's favorite was the apple cider, which tasted pretty much like just really good apple juice (for adults). The blonde lager was also delicious, and well as their Hop Head IPA and Thirsty Beaver amber, which Nate preferred.
Behind the taps at the Tree Brewery tasting room! One of the great things about the tasting rooms was the opportunity to interact with the people, both those offering the tastings and those there to enjoy them.
The next stop was just down the street at Calona Vineyards, which is the oldest winery in the Okanagan Valley. We tasted all of their wines, and settled on a bottle of the Sandhill Syrah as our favorite to take home.
The next stop was a few blocks away at Urban Distilleries, a tiny one man micro distillery, where we tasted the "Spirit Bear" vodka, gin, rums and single malt whiskey. The gin was quite unique, having a blend of lavender and apple flavors mixed into it. The whiskey, however, was our favorite, and was different than anything we'd had before because instead of aging it in a barrel, he ages it in the bottle and then you get to pick which kind of oak you want to add to the bottle and for how long- a personalized recipe. We got a bottle with medium plus toasted French oak. Apparently the surface area of the oak in the bottle helps to age the Whisky quicker and more efficiently than whiskey in a barrel. After our tasting adventures it wasn't long before we were sleepy and found a place to park in one of the local neighborhoods for the night.
For day two in the Okanagan, we started out the morning with a hike to Myra canyon park, which follows the old rail path around the canyon rim, through tunnels and over amazing high trestle structures. A passenger train ran up until the mid 1960s, and then a wildfire burned down many of the original trestles in the early 2000s, but they have since been rebuilt.
Kels out on a trestle!
In front of the tunnel, Kiska got a little nervous when we were first going through
It was a nice walk down the middle, but watch your step to the side or skinny things might fall a long way down
After getting in our hike for the day, we decided to pick up where we had left off the previous day on our wine tour. We drove little north of Kelowna to a smaller town called Lake Country, where there were three different wineries to taste: Arrowleaf, Ex Nihilo, and Gray Monk. We ended up with a bottle of Pinot Gris from Ex Nihilo and had an appetizer with a glass of wine at the Gray Monk, but all three wineries had great offerings.
Sneaking a grape at Arrowleaf, the vineyard had a beautiful view out on the lake
Ex Nihilo vineyards and tasting room
From the restaurant at Gray Monk
Now it's off to the Canadian Rockies and Banff National Park!
This all looks so amazing, and not just for the beer and wine tasting : ) Thanks so much for sharing your experiences so we can all live vicariously through you!
ReplyDelete-Casey