Canada - Part 4

My goodness, this trip has begun to move at warp speed and is almost coming to an end. I try not to think about the airline flight back, but just concentrate on my last few days of (life) fun.....

After Nadine and I left the Hot Springs, we spent the night in Osoyoos, Canada.

Somewhere down there is our hotel room......



It was a really charming resort town. I was now getting used to Canada sporting a nice desert look, instead of the majestic Canadian Rockies. Each is beautiful in it's own way.

When I woke up the next morning, this was the view from our balcony.





It was so beautiful and peaceful. Plus there were only five guests in the whole hotel, so our late night partying didn't bother the other hotel guests like it did in Ainsworth...you'll have to ask Nadine about that.

We left Osoyoos around noon to head back to Langley. As we drove through Oliver, I realized we were driving through the wine capital of British Columbia. It is also an area that grows many kinds of fruit, but grapes are my favorite...



One thing I noticed is that when someone planted an orchard, they planted on the ground that is considered the "Front yard." Why waste the open space that could be another 20 or 30 trees? So they planted trees practically to their front door.

There is a house behind those trees...



On we drove, past beautiful lakes...







Desert terrain...



And snow capped mountains...



To finally arrive back at Nadine's home in Langley.



But we wouldn't be staying long. The next day we were off to Victoria, the Capital city of British Columbia.

To be continued.....

Canada - Part 3

Nadine and I left Banff, Alberta, Canada and headed for Ainsworth, Canada. Our destination was the Hot Springs. The way my muscles felt, I was ready for some steaming, hot mineral water. Perhaps I could feel 60 years old, instead of 70 years old. Perhaps feeling my own age was too much to ask for....
We made a quick stop at Lake Minnewanka. Gorgeous!!



As we drove towards Ainsworth, it was evident that winter had already arrived.



Here is one of the many sites that mark the Continental Divide...





But before I started feeling anxiety about being behind in my Christmas shopping, the landscape once again turned to Autumn.



We stopped along the way to view the great Columbia River.



The sun was setting behind the mountains before we arrived at the ferry to cross over to Ainsworth.



Alas, we missed the ferry by only 4 minutes and had to wait 1 hour and 40 minutes for the next one. We were the only ones in a dark parking lot. Now being from a metropolitan area, I'm looking over my shoulder every few minutes anticipating a car-jacking or robbery. I never expected Nadine to say, "There is a coyote beside the car. No, it's too big, it's a wolf." What???? I look and see something the size of Cujo running towards the treeline. The unexpected is sometimes worse than the expected. Thankfully the wolf found fresh meat elsewhere and never returned.

The next morning I saw this view when I looked outside my hotel window...



And I ate this delicious breakfast...



The Hot Springs consisted of a large pool heated to 97 degrees...



A plunge pool that was 32 degrees...it took my breath away...



And a cave and pool that was somewhere between 104 and 108 degrees.



It was a relaxing and interesting experience. My muscles never felt better.

But it was time to move on. The time had come to once again watch the landscape of Canada change as we headed towards Osoyoos, Canada...

But first I sat on a moose.



And so did Nadine.



Never be too old to do something silly........

To be continued......

Canada - Part 2

Nadine and I spent two days in the town of Banaff, in Alberta, Canada. It was a picturesque town. I thought it was a touristy, ski town. However, I found out it was much more than that.



The first afternoon we took a gondola up the mountainside to really survey the landscape.

Destination: The top of this mountain...



Is this thing legal? Do the Canadians inspect their gondolas????



The view as we ascended up the mountain became more spectacular every minute.



At 7,500 above sea level, you can look across the valley and have a birds eye view of the Rockies...



And look across a lush, green valley.



The town of Banff is just to the left of the picture.



I came, I conquered, I rode the gondola....



Back down on solid ground, I visited Banff Park, with it's beautiful glacier lake.



Pretty typical of my husband, he found a live webcam, 3,000 miles away that he could view me on. I stood across the street of this building, while he stared at me and asked me to wave. Every time I did, people would look around and wonder who I was waving at....crazy American....



This is Nadine and her sister Carla. Carla has lived in Banff for 20+ years. From her, I learned this tourist destination is also a wonderful, close-knit community, where everyone looks out for each other.



Carla is so laid back and welcoming. Sitting in her kitchen watching her cook, is a place you could stay for days. She is the consummate hostess. She prepared a wonderful meal without ever breaking a sweat. This salad, which she created, was not only beautiful, it was absolutely delectable!



She also made a delicious lasagna and a chocolate zucchini cake. She invited a close friend of hers for dinner, who was a wonderful and gracious dinner companion. I would love to be neighbors with these women.



But all good things must come to an end (why??) and so my time ended in this wonderful and beautiful town.



O Canada, our home and native land....



To be continued.......

Trip to Canada-Part One

I left on October 18th for a trip to Vancouver, British Columbia. My friend Nadine offered to fly me out to visit with her. Although the flight went well, I must say I'm no fan of flying. I now seem to spend a part of each day trying to figure out someway to get Bill to drive out here to pick me up. But I spend the rest of my day enjoying the beautiful country that Canada is.

I landed in Seattle, Washington, and Nadine came to pick me up. On the way back, we are going to stop and sight see some in Seattle. For now, it was just a drive-by.



Seeing this sign let me know I really survived the airplane ride. I could quit asking people to pinch me....



This is Nadine and her mother. I've known Nadine for 14 years. It was great to finally meet her mother after hearing about her all these years. What a wonderful woman she is.



Letting no moss grow under our feet, we headed out the next day for a two day drive to Banff. The mountain scenery was breathtaking.



Staying off the freeway to enjoy beautiful Frazer Valley, was rewarded by a three hour delay when a truck dumped its lumber load on the roadway. We were stranded in the only part of the trip that had no view. It also had a dog the size of a baby moose, which ensured we stayed in the car....



On the road again, I never got tired of seeing the beautiful Coastal Mountains.



I woke up to this view in Revelstoke, British Columbia. What a beautiful town. However we didn't stay long, as our destination was Banff, Alberta, Canada.



Shortly into the drive, I got my first glimpse at the snow-topped, Canadian Rockies.



Sometimes they didn't even look real, but like a beautiful painting...








Eventually the sometimes scary drive (Canadian truckers!!) came to an end, and we arrived at The Caribou Lodge.



Dinner was at The Keg, and was a scrumptious meal of steak, scallops, shrimp and asparagus served with a Bearnaise sauce. Yum!!!



You gotta love a country whose currency looks like play money, and has a pic of Richard Dreyfus on it....jk....



To be continued........