Friday, August 30, 2013

pics from the okanagan, part two

as promised, a few more pics from our okanagan adventure.



the thrill of tubing

on the day we headed down the road to rent a boat-to-pull-a-tube was the day i got to shed my wimpy facade for all things scary.  kai tells me on this day, 'you were so brave to go tubing, you never ever do stuff like that; you don't go down water slides or jump off a ledge of a pool.  how did you get so brave?'  let me say one thing, if i had known what a crazy fast driver dede was behind the wheel i would never have gotten on that tube.  but i am so glad i didn't know because although it was a scary, white knuckle ride i had a blast on that tube. i was definitely outside my comfort zone.  thanks jade and jason for keeping me company on my two rides and sorry for the loud screaming i was doing... hope your eardrums are better ;) 







 
 


 

 








when we realized the boat wasn't going very fast the kind folks at the rental place upgraded us to a super-charged jet ski. that's dede on the tube... she tested it out for us.




this is my favourite photo of the day.


 




 


 


 



dede loving that super charged jet ski!

 






myra canyon bike ride

we visited the trestles and tunnels of the myra canyon; it was part of the kettle valley railroad.  bike riding the trestles and going through the tunnels was a lot of fun.  we rode for about 24km on well maintained paths.  being a former railroad, it was flat which made for an easy ride. 
 
we were up very high -  4100 feet elevation / 3000 feet above kelowna and the highest section on the whole kettle valley railroad - so you can't be afraid of heights although it was such a lovely spot that you get over the vertigo quickly, right dede?  the views of kelowna, the lake, and the trestles winding around the canyon are spectacular at every turn.  it was hard to not take photos!

the myra canyon section of the kettle valley railroad was built in 1914. it is quite amazing that the wooden trestles were built solely by hand; can you imagine the hard work that went into it?  the railroad was decommissioned in the 70s and eventually turned into a trail for hikers and bikers in the 90s when the trestles were repaired by a group of volunteers thanks to donations. after a devastating 2003 forest fire the trestles were rebuilt yet again and are now maintained by the myra canyon trestle restoration society.

the kids, however, were most impressed by the number of chipmunks that they saw; they were friendly little things.

if you are ever in the okanagan area and want some wow factor, the myra canyon trestles is a must see.  thank you patrycja for the suggestion!







 
 
 
 
 
 



feeding the chipmunks


 
 


don't look down!

 

a nice spot for a little picnic
 

 
 

for me, our okanagan trip was not the destination -- la casa -- that would influence next year's okanagan trip but the experiences we had while there.  sharing those experiences with friends made it all the better. 
 
can i just say what a fantastic time we had with dede and her beautiful family?  it was such fun to travel with friends.  there were so many moments of sweetness and laughter and to use kai's word "awesomeness".  i adore this family.

and, it was perhaps the most fun we have had in the water.  thank you dede, jason, jade, and chloe!

 



 
 
 
* some of these okanagan photos (part one and two) were taken by dede and her girls. 
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