30th April 2012

After travelling all day from Banff to Kelowna, which is about 7 hrs, we were very greatful to finally check into a motel, have a meal and get some sleep.

Kelowna is a bit more than half way between Banff and Vancover. It is the largest city located on Okanagan Lake. All through the Lakes District they keep referring to their beautiful sandy beaches which confused me a little as it is miles inland. What they are talking about is little sandy patches on the edge of the lakes where they build boat ramps and parks. They are lovely spots but obviously dont compare to what we know as beaches...... Kelowna is a very fertile area and is the gateway to the orchard and vineyard area of the Okanagan Valley.
We have been lucky to have seen quite a bit of wildlife along the way. In Kelowna we came across a marmot, quite an unusual looking animal!!!!!

The "beach" at Kelowna

A Marmot..........

From Kelowna we headed down toward Osoyoos. This is more of a desert like landscape which is also famous for their vineyards.....Its like the Hunter Valley of British Columbia. It is also only a couple of kilometers from the USA boarder.

Emily with the Unity Rider. The nine feathers the rider carries
represent the nine known Indian Bands of the 1880's.

The landscape around Osoyoos.



From Osoyoos we headed toward Vancouver and within a couple of hours found ourselves back in mountain country and again surrounded by snow! We found a nice lodge at Manning Park and decided to spend the night. This was Em's last chance for a play in the snow, so after a good nights sleep, she ventured out in the cold build her last snowman!!