There's Still Hope

My last post. Not of the 'At the going down of the sun, we will remember them' kind of post, but nevertheless the final day of the holiday had to arrive and gave rise to lots of chat about days spent, highlights, most memorable activities etc.

As for the final 24 hours, we awoke on yet another delightfully bright day. The view from our room looked fresh and washed clean by overnight rain and we were determined to make the best of our final full day.

From Osoyoos which, we later realise, is really close to the US border, and Washington State, we began the long haul back to Vancouver.  Our 400km drive took us first along the Similkameen River valley with hills on all sides, by no means on the scale of the Rockies but certainly more Cumbria than Cotswolds. Significant landscapes!

The whole valley is evidently well suited to agriculture, there being examples of large fruit farms, with significant distances between pockets of settlements, the occasional rodeo and cabins for anglers (we imagine - not much else to do here other than pick or eat fruit!) 

After swapping drivers at Princeton and now a passenger again I amused myself for a while trying to capture photos of the fabulous iconic trucks through the car windscreen as they charged towards us. Aren't they wonderful?

Keep on truckin' fellas.

Our main rest stop of the day around lunchtime had been chosen in hope - literally. Just outside the town of the same name, so called in 1848 as the 'best hope' for finding an inland trade route that bypassed the Fraser Canyon, and at the confluence of the Coquihalla and Fraser Rivers, are located the Othello Tunnels. 

The Fraser River valley

In Coquihalla Canyon Provincial Park outside Hope, a short but fascinating walk passes through a spectacular granite canyon where 5 incredible tunnels were blasted. 

Main entrance 

An engineering marvel completed 100 years ago this year as part of the Kettle Valley Railway, the tunnels were conceived by Andrew McCulloch. Undeterred by the challenges facing him to find a route through the rock, McCulloch was lowered down over the cliff edge in a woven basket with surveying instruments and from there was able to determine the perfect place to set explosives. With 5 tunnels and 2 bridges finally in alignment this created a way through using only 1/3rd of a mile of track rather than a precariously winding mile. When you see the height and thickness of the rock as well as the depth to the Fraser River below you would appreciate the sheer enormity of the task. Now decommissioned as a railway, you can walk through the tunnels which at times are incredibly dark. 

Tunnel 2

Torches advisable. 

Perhaps even more interesting for some is that this location, as well as several others in the nearby town, was used in the filming of 'Rambo: First Blood.' Remember when Rambo clung for his life to the rock walls and where the police officer falls out of the helicopter? The Othello Gorge, between tunnels 1 and 2. Although never acknowledged as Hope in the film there are 13 other identifiable locations in town which, with more time, we might have investigated. HRH appeared to know them all.

Can you believe this, the first Rambo film, is now 35 years old!??

Moving on. 

A final push saw us arriving in Vancouver's city limits at around 4.30pm and with a bit of skilled navigation and patient driving (I'll let you guess who was in which seat) we said goodbye to our trusty wheels and headed to our last hotel. With a sigh of relief I greeted the Receptionist's words when she mentioned we had a large corner room NOT adjacent to the elevators! HRH's reaction as we opened the room door?

"Bit of a long way to drag the cases! ....... Joke :-)" 

Farewell Canada.  It's been a blast.

Wineding Down

September has arrived, and so has the end of our time in the mountains. Given that we chose to return home out of Vancouver this required a circular route if we were not simply to retrace our steps. Fortunately HRH has a good friend who recommended an alternative route that would achieve our aim whilst at the same time providing us with a change of scenery and an added dimension. Wine. Well we certainly got that. Within half an hour of leaving Revelstoke, the horizon was already really different. The mountains, the Monashee range, are smaller, less alpine, and the route we were on, albeit Highway 1 (the Trans-Canadian Highway) only a single lane each side and still quite winding with huge trucks often thundering towards us. Exciting driving until suddenly, taking a turn south at Sicamous the scenic transformation was clear. Now the landscape was softer, the hillsides home to fruit trees. 

Taken through the car window - not altogether satisfactory.

We rolled past farms selling blueberries, homely ranches advertising accommodation, small lakes with boat-hire operations and fields of tall corn ready for harvesting. We even passed a farm cultivating Spruce trees, which seemed somewhat ironic after weeks of seeing nothing but fir trees growing naturally. I was also amused to see, in an otherwise rather dreary backwater called Enderby, a real-live movie drive-in!

And then we saw what we came to see:

The Okanagan Valley is a hot spot for Canadian wines, this area being particularly dry and sunny with well-drained soil, and bordered by the Okanagan Lake and the river of the same name. 

First sight of the lake. Note the verdant gentle slopes in the distance, dense with vineyards. 

My gift of the day was to be the designated driver. We had done our research and, combined with a few recommendations along the way, HRH had identified a lovely looking 'winery' to explore, before having lunch in their rather splendid-sounding restaurant. And so, with the sun once again gracing us with its presence we arrived at Quail's Gate. 

In a beautiful setting, on the lake, and fabulous food to boot.

The seared halibut with chanterelles, salty new potatoes and romanesque was as delicious as the view. 

His gift to me was to make me laugh. Having already quaffed a fresh light, white Viognier, ("No thank you. No starter. This will be fine instead") HRH selected a juicy Pinot Noir to accompany his tagliatelle. Swirling it gently round the glass he remarked on the clear evidence of its quality: 

"Mmmm. Look at the legs on that!" 

I knew what he meant ;-)

Lunch over, it was time to hit the road again. With one more vineyard visit on the agenda, closer to our overnight accommodation, and still another 30 miles or so away we pressed on. By now the afternoon was waning and it was clear the clouds were gathering. We caught the last of the light as we left Tinhorn Creek having booked a table to return later for dinner in their restaurant high on the hill. 

Tinhorn Creek - has its own green outdoor amphitheatre and hosts summer concerts. And there, above it, the restaurant from which we would look down over the valley at dinner.

Sadly that was where the day, and to some extent, our spirits faded. The clouds came over, the rain arrived and by the time we returned for supper a couple of hours later appetites for yet more rich food had somewhat deserted us. I guess we were also now thinking ahead to our last full day tomorrow, and the practicalities that go with driving into the city on a Friday afternoon, at the end of the summer recess, returning our trusty Chevrolet and a final night in Canada. Time to reflect. Time to stop. Maybe one more post tomorrow ..... 

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