Calgary Trip - Part 5 - Kelowna & Penticton, BC

The Canadian Okanagan is breath-takingly beautiful. The closest thing I could compare it to is Lake Chelan but I think the Kelowna and Penticton area is superior. There are so many lakes, so many things to do, and has gorgeous scenery. The summer weather is perfect: warm and dry.

We were in Kelowna and Pencticton two years ago. I blogged that vacation.

My highlight of this section of this year's trip was having dinner on the patio of Earl's (in Kelowna) with the sun setting over Okanagan Lake.

We briefly visited four wineries near Kelowna including one that was named "the Versailles of wineries" by a New York newspaper - Mission Hill.

My hubby wanted to pose this.

What a beautiful spot! A great place to kiss.

Another winery with great scenery is Quail's Gate.

In Penticton, our primary activity was floating down the river channel between Okanagan Lake and Skaha Lake. It is just over 4 miles long. That day, the lazy river was just a little too lazy! Our time on the water was about 3 hours! It is fun but I actually got bored. I wish I had photos of us. I think the company in charge of the float down the channel could take photos from the shore and charge people! On the school bus ride back (after floating on the channel) there was an impromtu sing-a-long with the radio. Sugar by Maroon 5 was the song.

We visited Penticton beach after supper at Burger 55 - a great cheap eats location.

For our return trip the next day, we went south through Osoyoos, BC, to Oliver, Wa, then through Omak and on Highway 20 through the North Cascade mountains - another gorgeous drive. We stopped in Winthrop, Wa, for the huckleberry ice cream. They had the best deal on ice cream of the entire trip!

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Calgary Trip - Part 4 - Lovely Lake Louise

Note: My hubby wrote this post.

I had set two goals for this holiday: to get A to wear a cowboy hat and to get into a canoe on Lake Louise. We’re a canoe family. Kayaks are fine if you like palindromes, I guess, but you notice that you’ve never heard the term “canoectavist”. Exactly.

When you google images of people canoeing on Lake Louise, you’re never quite sure whether it’s real or photoshopped. As far as practical details go, you don’t bring your own canoe. There’s a thriving business that rents out red canoes by the half hour. It’s $50 for 30 minutes, and $60 for the full hour. We went for the briefer option so as not to keep the landlubbers waiting. A went in front, myself in the back, and C was the passenger in the middle. 

It was amazing. The only way to describe it, once you are out there on the turquoise water, surrounded by evergreen-clad mountains complete with an ascending glacier on one end and a castle-like hotel at the other, is that it’s like you have stepped inside a postcard.

The boys, in their tweenish manner, were trying to play it cool beforehand and not sound very excited. But once we were out paddling in that near-Narnian scene, their cynicism melted away and they freely expressed their awe.

After that absolute highlight we took a few moments to pose for some photos and tour the Chateau Lake Louise.

Grandma and Grandpa had purchased tea and were enjoying in wingback chairs at a table off the main lobby, looking like the King and Queen of the Chateau!

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The Big City

One of the "A-maze-ing Laughter" bronze scultures.

My hubby had a work-related conference in Vancouver. We tagged along for a portion. On our first evening, we went to White Rock beach at sunset which is a beautiful spot.

One goal that I had for this trip was to go to Queen Elizabeth Park. My parents have a photo of me there when I was a little girl. I haven't been back since so I thought it would be fun to recreate it. I had trouble finding the park since I didn't have a good map and couldn't use my phone. Once I found the park, I couldn't locate the "good" part of the park and was wondering what was up. Once we started exploring, we eventually found the Bloedel Conservatory (we didn't go in)

and the great view of downtown Vancouver.

Plus some pretty gardens.

Queen E. Park is the highest spot in Vancouver (well, other than Grouse Mt, I suppose).

My boys and I ate lunch at Save-On-Meats which is super affordable and has yummy food. The location was a bit of an adventure since it is just on the edge of East Vancouver (which has a lot of homeless, drug problems, etc). The boys called the area "Sketch Town" as in, a bit sketchy.

We stayed in a hotel with lots of character - the Sylvia Hotel in English Bay. I enjoyed the historical photos on each floor. One elevator was out so we used the stairs sometimes. In one of the photos, the hotel was the tallest in the area at a whopping 8 floors! :) Check out the cool stained glass and the ivy-covered wall.

There was no air conditioning in the room so I was thankful we weren't there on Sunday night That day the temperature was in the 90s.

These fun scultures are located in English bay.

The grass surrounding English Bay was looking a little brown since there hasn't been much rain this year.

C enjoyed collecting shells.

This is a famous giant stone cairn - the Inukshuk. It is an ancient Inuit symbol of friendship.

It was the symbol of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

I did NOT enjoy driving in Vancouver. July is especially busy, parking is challenging, and the drivers aren't courteous at all. I was frequently honked at and even yelled at once, while I was parking the car. Quite a change from super polite Seattle area drivers. We had an accidental trip to West Vancouver over the Lions Gate Bridge. If you don't turn left at just the right time in downtown Vancouver, you will end up driving through Stanley Park and over the bridge without any chance to turn off.

Returning home, I survived a trip through the border, with my kids and without my husband. The border guard didn't bat an eye about that but chose instead to question that I didn't buy anything. Who can shop when you are with boys all the time! :)

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Calgary Trip - Part 3 - Rocky Mountains and Banff

Mount Rundle

Our very first stop on our trip from Vancouver to Calgary was the spot of the Last Spike.

I got the whole family to pose.

Trail, BC reminds me of a model railway layout. So picturesque!

As we approached the border between B.C. and Alberta, we had to pose for photos:

The Albertans - all of us were born in Alberta.

This was C's first trip to Alberta!

I took this photo from the car as we drove near Canmore, Alberta. It shows the view as you drive through the Rocky Mountains.

My favourite mountain is Castle Mountain which was also known as Mt. Eisenhower for a time, my dad told me.

Castle Mountain

I worked in Banff for two summers (1986 and 1987) while I was in university. One summer as a chambermaid and one as a waitress. We were surprised to find that the restaurant I worked in is still in business!

One of the most recognizable mountains in the Banff area is Mt. Cascade.

We hiked up Tunnel Mountain. That was quite a workout since it was a very warm day and there wasn't much shade on the trail.

Boys on the trail

That's Mt. Rundle in the background.

Unfortunately, there was quite a bit of haze.

That is the town of Banff in the distance.

We enjoyed eating lunch outside on a patio on a Banff side street. The main street was super busy so it was nice to find a quiet spot. Bucca Bob's has very reasonable prices. I had a donair.

One of the key spots to see in Banff is the Banff Springs Hotel. When we entered the lobby, there was a lady playing the flute (in costume) and she said "welcome to the castle."

The hanging baskets were gorgeous.

This is the view from the patio.

We also went to Lake Louise but that visit gets its own blog post.

On our return to BC from Calgary, we stopped at the Spiral Tunnels in Kicking Horse Pass.

There was a long, colourful train going through the tunnel so that was a treat since we could have stopped at a time when there wasn't a train going through.

This is Rogers Pass and you can see the snow on the mountains.

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Calgary Trip - Part 2 - The Calgary Stampede

Saddle Bronc Riding

When you visit Calgary in the summer you need to be really deliberate about one thing: either come during Stampede with the rest of the tourists or avoid it altogether (like many Calgarians do). Billed as "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth", it's mainly a big-time rodeo, but it's also a city-wide, ten-day, western-themed party.

We went all-in, in part because we wanted the boys to experience a rodeo with all its rugged masculine glory, and partly because we want them to see Calgary in full colour.

The actual rodeo events are in the afternoon. They include Bareback (horse) Riding, Saddle Bronc, Tie-Down Roping (of a calf), Steer Wrestling, and Bull Riding. Those are the events we attended. It was a really hot day and we didn't pay for the shade. The boys survived the heat and were well-entertained. 

This shows our view which was great. I used my zoom lens for the photos.

The clowns and commentators are first-rate also and really add to the show. Some of the cowboys during the Canadian National Anthem:

Bareback Riding

Tie Down Roping:

My favourite cowboy is Fred Whitfield. He is 47 years old and a Tie Down Roper. The announcers like to tease him about his age. He's actually not the oldest competitor. There is a chuckwagon driver who is 63!

Bull Riding

In this photo you can see that the rider didn't last long on the bull's back. The bull "won."

There is also barrel racing done by women but we couldn't see it very well from our seats.

I really enjoyed watching the rodeo highlights on TV every night. I think I have caught the rodeo "bug." We are thinking of going to the Ellensburg Rodeo in September.


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