RedApe
08-31-2009, 01:06 AM
Each year, the MacDaly clan (all 2.5 of us) spend a good deal of time in BC.
We have family in the Okanagan, on the Island and friends in the Lower Mainland. Our trips are of a vast itinerary, are rarely slow/boring:
Camping
Wine tasting
Fly fishing
Wheeling (both casual and official events/competitions)
Dinner n' Movies (drop kid with Grandparents, and we go on a date)
Weddings
Beaches
Hiking
Photography
Mowing lawns
Embarrassing myself (this one aint tough)
Repairing under ground sprinklers
Hunting rats in a garage
etc
This summer's August trip was much the same....INSANELY busy, with familiar elements of the above.
Arriving in Peachland BC on the 14th of August @ 10:12pm, fully burdened for 2+ weeks away from home, I unpacked the truck and hit the swinging deck chair facing the 180* view of the lake at the in-laws house, sprawled out like a fat-n-lazy cat...and promptly fell asleep.
Day 1:
Our first day in the Okanagan had us visiting and partaking in the Kettle Valley Railway ride in Summerland. This is a worth while excursion! A 90 minute train ride on a steam driven engine with 4 cars for passengers. The tour skirts the entire valley of Summerland, just below Giant's Head mountain. http://www.kettlevalleyrail.org/ for more information.
Day 2:
An old past time of mine that I haven't had the opportunity to delve into much in the last 5 years is Fly Fishing. I've been at it since I was walking, dad being an avid outdoorsman, but since moving to Calgary, well house/career/family happened. :)
Fortunetly for me, Courtnee's dad has always WANTED to try the sport...even went as far as getting a fly rod, but never ended up going out. So, for the last two summers, the two of us have tackled a number of Lakes in the region.
Eneas Lakes Provincial Park, accessible by 4wd/quad only, was our choice both years. A small set of lakes, spaced 0.5+ Km's apart or so, provide excellent surface fly fishing by boat, and limited access from shore. As we were boatless, from shore was our only option. Within the first 30 mins, I'd had 5-6 strikes and on the seventh I landed a 1Lbs+ Rainbow. My trusty combo of Royal Coachman and floating line did me well that afternoon. Darryl, with a sinking line and Mosquito combo didn't have much in the way of luck. He changed over to the RC mid afternoon, but by that time the wind had picked up, and casting into the wind for a newbie to the sport is very difficult.
http://macdaly.com/camping/ok09/camp.jpg
http://macdaly.com/camping/ok09/camp1.jpg
http://macdaly.com/camping/ok09/camp2.jpg
View from Eneas Lk FSR, towards Princeton Ave
http://macdaly.com/camping/ok09/camp3.jpg
Stop to look at damage by Pine Beetles
http://macdaly.com/camping/ok09/camp4.jpg
Stringing fly rod at Upper Eneas dam
http://macdaly.com/camping/ok09/camp5.jpg
Day 7:
Our very own Nathan and Meghan rolled into the Okanagan on the 20th, and wanted to meet up. On the eve of the 20th, the 3 of us did some exploring in the vast network of back country roads on the south side of Hwy 97C, northwest of Peachland. Brenda Mines was our primary destination. Brenda Mines was an active Copper mine until 1990, and has been gated since. This was where Nathan attempted to get into an arguement with a local from the Bovine community. Retribution was had at Nathan's expense as he realized he had B.S. Spattered all over the side of his Tacoma.
http://www.brendamines.ca/ for more info and a history of the mine and surrounding area.
Peachland Lake was our next stop, where we got out and revelled at the capacity of the campground to host a small group of Expeditionists on their way to...oh...say Whipsaw?? The winds were quite hefty, and cool at this point, making for a chilly airdown on the side of the lake.
We continued on towards the Headwater lakes, exploring some tributary roads as we went. I was able to find a handful of roads that ended with 4 point turns for me in the 4Runner, and 21 point turns for Nathan (problems with the R&P or some such).
On one such trail, now into the dark hours of the evening, we again tempted fate with a second run in with the local Bovine rag-tags. No amount of urging or persuasion was helping us here, so we again retreated under white flag.
Now way past dark, we're heading back towards Peachland Lk, with me in the lead. I 'rounded a corner, and noted I was missing a set of bouncing headlights. Hrm...there was nothing tough back there...where are they? I begin backing up the trail 150m or so to find someone attempting to coax Kermit the Frog into some evening wheeling. A medium sized toad crossing the trail had caught Nathan's eye...and with not doing so well with the rest of the locals this particular eve, decided to make friends. This...was a success. :)
We ended the evening with a climb up a quad trail that seemed to go up into the darkness for ever. After following the trail for a couple of 'clicks, and dozens of mods to paint by the West Coast Pinstriping crew, we again made a 21 point turn to descend back to the Peachland Lk FSR.
The outing was very enjoyable...
***Pics to come from Nathan and Meghan***
Days 13-16:
With the need to be back in Calgary on the 31st, the MacDaly's headed for the Nakusp area (Kootenays) to do some camping on the Arrow Lakes. We decided on the very scenic Hwy 6 from Vernon to Nakusp for our route. Very remote, with TONS of FSR's just waiting to be explored!!! A newer GPS must be in my inventory from Santa this coming year.
A campground in a small village called Burton was our destination. 180* view of the lake from our campsite, made for a very peaceful time in the area. The campground is privately owned, and not well known. McDonald Creek Provincial campground, 10 Km's N was full and completely booked. Burton's Historical campground was less than half full! Boat launch, flush toilets and hot showers...how can it get better?? $20 a night, that's how.
Our only complaint was the number of aggressive Wasps that harrassed you with every meal, snack, pop, juice etc. We will definetley make this a stop for us in the future.
http://macdaly.com/camping/ok09/camp6.jpg
Clark Griswold impression
http://macdaly.com/camping/ok09/camp7.jpg
Needles cable drawn Ferry
http://macdaly.com/camping/ok09/camp8.jpg
This pic, and all below it are taken from the campsite
http://macdaly.com/camping/ok09/camp9.jpg
http://macdaly.com/camping/ok09/camp10.jpg
http://macdaly.com/camping/ok09/camp11.jpg
Day 17:
Travel was slow for us. It was HOT for the entire trip, with Rogers pass seeing in excess of 35*. As such, the A/T Oil Temp idiot light in the 4Runner was complaining. This lead us to a handfull of stops after some of the more gruelling hills. We left Nakusp at 12 noon, and arrived in Calgary at 9pm.
Hope you enjoyed sharing in our adventure...until next time.
We have family in the Okanagan, on the Island and friends in the Lower Mainland. Our trips are of a vast itinerary, are rarely slow/boring:
Camping
Wine tasting
Fly fishing
Wheeling (both casual and official events/competitions)
Dinner n' Movies (drop kid with Grandparents, and we go on a date)
Weddings
Beaches
Hiking
Photography
Mowing lawns
Embarrassing myself (this one aint tough)
Repairing under ground sprinklers
Hunting rats in a garage
etc
This summer's August trip was much the same....INSANELY busy, with familiar elements of the above.
Arriving in Peachland BC on the 14th of August @ 10:12pm, fully burdened for 2+ weeks away from home, I unpacked the truck and hit the swinging deck chair facing the 180* view of the lake at the in-laws house, sprawled out like a fat-n-lazy cat...and promptly fell asleep.
Day 1:
Our first day in the Okanagan had us visiting and partaking in the Kettle Valley Railway ride in Summerland. This is a worth while excursion! A 90 minute train ride on a steam driven engine with 4 cars for passengers. The tour skirts the entire valley of Summerland, just below Giant's Head mountain. http://www.kettlevalleyrail.org/ for more information.
Day 2:
An old past time of mine that I haven't had the opportunity to delve into much in the last 5 years is Fly Fishing. I've been at it since I was walking, dad being an avid outdoorsman, but since moving to Calgary, well house/career/family happened. :)
Fortunetly for me, Courtnee's dad has always WANTED to try the sport...even went as far as getting a fly rod, but never ended up going out. So, for the last two summers, the two of us have tackled a number of Lakes in the region.
Eneas Lakes Provincial Park, accessible by 4wd/quad only, was our choice both years. A small set of lakes, spaced 0.5+ Km's apart or so, provide excellent surface fly fishing by boat, and limited access from shore. As we were boatless, from shore was our only option. Within the first 30 mins, I'd had 5-6 strikes and on the seventh I landed a 1Lbs+ Rainbow. My trusty combo of Royal Coachman and floating line did me well that afternoon. Darryl, with a sinking line and Mosquito combo didn't have much in the way of luck. He changed over to the RC mid afternoon, but by that time the wind had picked up, and casting into the wind for a newbie to the sport is very difficult.
http://macdaly.com/camping/ok09/camp.jpg
http://macdaly.com/camping/ok09/camp1.jpg
http://macdaly.com/camping/ok09/camp2.jpg
View from Eneas Lk FSR, towards Princeton Ave
http://macdaly.com/camping/ok09/camp3.jpg
Stop to look at damage by Pine Beetles
http://macdaly.com/camping/ok09/camp4.jpg
Stringing fly rod at Upper Eneas dam
http://macdaly.com/camping/ok09/camp5.jpg
Day 7:
Our very own Nathan and Meghan rolled into the Okanagan on the 20th, and wanted to meet up. On the eve of the 20th, the 3 of us did some exploring in the vast network of back country roads on the south side of Hwy 97C, northwest of Peachland. Brenda Mines was our primary destination. Brenda Mines was an active Copper mine until 1990, and has been gated since. This was where Nathan attempted to get into an arguement with a local from the Bovine community. Retribution was had at Nathan's expense as he realized he had B.S. Spattered all over the side of his Tacoma.
http://www.brendamines.ca/ for more info and a history of the mine and surrounding area.
Peachland Lake was our next stop, where we got out and revelled at the capacity of the campground to host a small group of Expeditionists on their way to...oh...say Whipsaw?? The winds were quite hefty, and cool at this point, making for a chilly airdown on the side of the lake.
We continued on towards the Headwater lakes, exploring some tributary roads as we went. I was able to find a handful of roads that ended with 4 point turns for me in the 4Runner, and 21 point turns for Nathan (problems with the R&P or some such).
On one such trail, now into the dark hours of the evening, we again tempted fate with a second run in with the local Bovine rag-tags. No amount of urging or persuasion was helping us here, so we again retreated under white flag.
Now way past dark, we're heading back towards Peachland Lk, with me in the lead. I 'rounded a corner, and noted I was missing a set of bouncing headlights. Hrm...there was nothing tough back there...where are they? I begin backing up the trail 150m or so to find someone attempting to coax Kermit the Frog into some evening wheeling. A medium sized toad crossing the trail had caught Nathan's eye...and with not doing so well with the rest of the locals this particular eve, decided to make friends. This...was a success. :)
We ended the evening with a climb up a quad trail that seemed to go up into the darkness for ever. After following the trail for a couple of 'clicks, and dozens of mods to paint by the West Coast Pinstriping crew, we again made a 21 point turn to descend back to the Peachland Lk FSR.
The outing was very enjoyable...
***Pics to come from Nathan and Meghan***
Days 13-16:
With the need to be back in Calgary on the 31st, the MacDaly's headed for the Nakusp area (Kootenays) to do some camping on the Arrow Lakes. We decided on the very scenic Hwy 6 from Vernon to Nakusp for our route. Very remote, with TONS of FSR's just waiting to be explored!!! A newer GPS must be in my inventory from Santa this coming year.
A campground in a small village called Burton was our destination. 180* view of the lake from our campsite, made for a very peaceful time in the area. The campground is privately owned, and not well known. McDonald Creek Provincial campground, 10 Km's N was full and completely booked. Burton's Historical campground was less than half full! Boat launch, flush toilets and hot showers...how can it get better?? $20 a night, that's how.
Our only complaint was the number of aggressive Wasps that harrassed you with every meal, snack, pop, juice etc. We will definetley make this a stop for us in the future.
http://macdaly.com/camping/ok09/camp6.jpg
Clark Griswold impression
http://macdaly.com/camping/ok09/camp7.jpg
Needles cable drawn Ferry
http://macdaly.com/camping/ok09/camp8.jpg
This pic, and all below it are taken from the campsite
http://macdaly.com/camping/ok09/camp9.jpg
http://macdaly.com/camping/ok09/camp10.jpg
http://macdaly.com/camping/ok09/camp11.jpg
Day 17:
Travel was slow for us. It was HOT for the entire trip, with Rogers pass seeing in excess of 35*. As such, the A/T Oil Temp idiot light in the 4Runner was complaining. This lead us to a handfull of stops after some of the more gruelling hills. We left Nakusp at 12 noon, and arrived in Calgary at 9pm.
Hope you enjoyed sharing in our adventure...until next time.