August 2006
Swans "Art" Hotel
The first thing I notice as I walk into room #308 is the amazing array of artwork. The immense Roy Henry Vickers carving of a Tshimshian Halibut and Octopus Red Cedar House Post dominates the entrance way. An original Jack Shadbolt collage, Birds in a Tree #2, is tucked away in the corner of the living room, humble in its place, yet bursting with colour. The Toni Onley in the dining room is, unfortunately, too big to stuff into my suitcase and take home, like shampoo and shower caps.
To say I am in awe would be an understatement. I am standing in the middle of a private art gallery / hotel room, filled with the work of famous B.C. artists - who wouldn’t be drop-jawed? And then there are the antiques. Original Louis Vuitton luggage in the bedroom. Asian dressers with secret drawers. Light fixtures, vases, butlers and books. Too many to place in time.
I can easily (and literally) see why the renovated heritage hotel, the Swan’s Suites Hotel, is known as Victoria’s “Art Hotel.”
The next morning, in the Brewpub where breakfast is served, I spot three Toni Onley watercolours in the entranceway, and many First Nations artwork throughout. Too much to see to eat. Another work of art? My egg benny smothered in pesto sauce! Yum!!!
Black (Bear) Coffee
A tip from a friend led us to the Oso Negro coffee shop in Nelson. This is a great place to sit back with a cuppa and check out the passing Nelson scene - a bohemian hipster town where peasant dresses mix well with high-tech hiking gear. Oso Negro means Black Bear in Spanish, and is a reference to the global nature of the coffee biz; you can rest easy in the knowledge that the beans are fairly traded. If you're looking for something stronger than coffee - say a pint of the locally brewed Liplock Ale - check out the Library... the lobby-level bar in Nelson's Hume Hotel.
A New Okanagan Find
A recent trip to the Okanagan Valley led us to the best discovery of the weekend: our temporary digs at Bighorn Ridge Guesthouse in Okanagan Falls.
The charming southwest-style guesthouse is on a rise above the valley floor, situated on a lot that retains all of the unique flora and fauna that is indigenous to the area. Dry sagebrush and clump grass typifies the area, home to Canada's only desert. A few steps away from the guesthouse's patio I found prickly pear cactus growing in abundance... you can believe I kept my shoes on while exploring!! Grasshoppers, crickets, hummingbirds - Bighorn Ridge is a naturalist's dream.
Meanwhile, we were surrounded by wineries, literally... there are lush green vines growing on all four sides of the 10-acre property. Perfectly situated in the epicentre of wine country, a short drive south takes you to the wineries of the Black Sage Bench near Oliver, and a short drive north the acclaimed Naramata Bench near Penticton. But you don't even need to go that far; Bighorn Ridge's neighbours include Blue Mountain Vineyard (which produces my all-time favourite Brut) Noble Ridge, Wild Goose, and Stag's Hollow... plus others.
Jedediah Island
I recently had the opportunity for a fantastic day trip to a marine park off the coast of Vancouver Island. I managed to weasel us onto a friend’s sailboat that was headed out for a day of waves and wind. Our captain sailed us from Schooner Cove (near Nanaimo) and, after a few hours, we made our way past Lasqueti Island and then moved into calmer waters as we approached the marine park. I was excited to see the Arbutus trees growing like weeds along the sides of the islands as our boat slipped into Deep Bay at Jedediah Island. We hauled out the cooler and ate our lunch before taking the dinghy ashore to explore.
We found easy trails that led us through the shady forest to a large meadow that was once a working farm. In fact, the remnants of the old farmhouse are still standing and feral sheep peek out of the trees with their un-sheared fur hanging almost to their feet. The former residents certainly picked an ideal place for their home as it looked out over the shallow, blue-green waters of Home Bay. As we looked below the cliff, we saw six kayaks resting on the beach below as a group of kayakers enjoyed free camping on the island.
We then took a different trail back and passed by the grave of “Will”, the farm horse who had, in addition to the sheep, stayed on the island after it was sold by the owners and made into a provincial marine park (Will obviously had lots of friends as many token gifts were left by visitors at the gravesite.). Our friend explained that Jedediah Island was purchased by the Provincial Government from the previous owners in 1995. In addition, the estate of the late Daniel Culver committed over $1 million to preserve the island. A plaque to Daniel stands by the old farmhouse to remind us all of his connection to special outdoor places. The Friends of Jedediah, the Marine Parks Forever Society, the Nature Trust of British Columbia and other individuals and groups also undertook fund-raising activities to secure the future of this island.
We didn’t want to leave the peacefulness of the island, but the sails were calling and we had to head home. On our way to the boat we noticed three very strange looking goat-like animals that none of us could identify - obviously another remnant of the old farm.
I will most certainly be back to explore more of the island’s trails and the many inviting bays. But next time, I will remember my swim suit…
BC's Tasty Wine Region
For the second year in a row, my family and I chose to spend our vacation in Osoyoos, located in the Southern region of the Okanagan. Osoyoos is situated in Canada's only desert, which makes it a wonderful destination to enjoy the warm Osoyoos Lake and the hot sun all in a relaxing atmosphere. It is also part of BC's wine region and the wineries were calling! We decided we would tear ourselves away from the lawn chairs for a short trip.
One morning when a few clouds had appeared, my cousin and I left the boys and the Dads at home to take a scenic drive to a great winery...Tinhorn Creek. The Southern Okanagan region produces some of the best award-winning British Columbia wines and is riddled with wineries offering wine tours and tastings. Neither of us had been to Tinhorn Creek before. We drove North towards Oliver through bursting fruit orchards and came upon the winery, which is set atop the hill in this beautiful valley. The vineyards were filled with grapes growing to produce, in my opinion, some delicious BC wines.
When we entered the building we were greeted graciously with the offer to taste some wines. Regardless of the fact that it was 10:00 am in the morning - how could we refuse? We pondered on the deck overlooking the vineyard and the valley right down to Osoyoos Lake. What an amazing view! Did we really have to leave? We did -- the lawn chairs and hot sun were now calling - but not without a few bottles in hand to take home!
Doing Just Fine Driving
On my journey this last weekend I experienced utopia down the stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway (good ole #1), between Kamloops and Chase. I had Johnny Cash blaring in my ears and warm wind streaking through my hair, which was still wet from swimming in the North Shuswap Lake, but drying fast. I was a happy traveller and doing just fine. So fine in fact, I wanted to share it with you.
At this point on the road, the highway runs along the South Thompson river at the bottom point in the “V” between two cowboy-country mini-mountain ranges, with the meandering river splitting the valley in two. Train tracks run sandwiched between the riverbank and the roaring sound of motorcycles, RVs, and pick-up trucks pulling speedboats and dirtbikes. The hills on the highway side are covered in Ponderosa Pine, with green agricultural lands butting up against where the needles start. I drove by roadside fruitstands, rodeos and golf courses. On the other side of the river I could see eroding cliffs of dusty earth, farmhouses, cows, horses and riverfront mansions. I would have liked to transform the highway into a dirt path and ride horseback. Or perhaps just float along the river on a log raft or inner tube!
As Cash’s rail-driving song, Legend of John Henry’s Hammer, was hammering away in my ears a long train passed by (or perhaps I zoomed by the train). Perfect timing! Sunny day, good music, and a perfect one-hour drive down a road meant for driving.
Edible BC
What do you buy for the cook who has everything? Well, Edible BC has the answer. We needed to buy a gift for a friend and we knew he loved to cook, so off we went to Granville Island to the new Edible BC store. This store has approximately 300 BC-made products available and they change seasonally to represent the over 1,500 food products they have in their inventory. Cecilia was there to assist us and she offered to let us taste any item in the store (except the ones in the fridge). After trying many delicious dressings, sauces and oils we settled on the following:
Lobster-infused oil for bread dipping
Pinot Noir balsamic vinegar (you could almost pour this in a wine glass and drink it!)
Spiced sea salt (the best cooks must use coarse salt, apparently)
Flower coated shortbread (yes, the shortbread has beautiful edible flowers baked right in)
I was amazed at the variety of products that come from BC. It would be a great place to pick up some “made in BC” souvenirs, or to get some great dinner ideas. We topped this gift off with a wonderful bottle from our favourite wine store. The feedback from the gift recipient was: “We sautéed some shrimp in the Lobster Oil on Saturday – fabulous!” Maybe I will have to go back to the store and get myself some treats this time…
http://www.edible-britishcolumbia.com/store/main.php
Notes from Heading North to Alaska
A friend of a friend recently drove from Toronto to British Columbia, through the Yukon and north to Alaska - and then back to Toronto. Across Northern BC they took the Cassiar highway and had this to say about it: "basically it is THE only road... and very remote. It was a great drive. We saw tons of wild life including a linx and 3 kittens, our first of the trip. We then headed through Prince George towards Jasper. We were looking forward to the comparison of the Rockies to what we had seen... and well when we literally turned a corner in the road and were smacked in the face with Mount Robson... we both, slack jawed agreed -the rockies do not disappoint!!"
She also sent out an email with great notes from the entire trip, which I thought I would pass a few along to you. Subject: I almost miss the car....
Number of kms driven -15952
Number of nights away -37
Number of nights camped -22
(the remainder spent with friends, family and motels)
Number of bears seen -11 (5 Grizzlies)
Number of Moose seen-8
Number of Mosquitos seen -I don't know... lost count at 1 BILLION
Other animals seen... lynx, multiple fox types, elk, mountain goats, big horned sheep, countless bald eagles, sea otters, porpoises, seals, humpbacks and puffins... oh and mosquitos
Best animal sighting, 1 grizzly with 3 cubs
Scariest animal sighting, the mosquito
(scariest animal non-sighting, the 'no see em's')
Number of Cracks on the windshield -1 (pretty good considering......)
Number of kms driven on gravel/dirt roads -about 1600
Number of oil changes 1
Number of times we could have driven to Vancouver in the distance we traveled... 4
Number of times flipped raft (while white watering in GLACIER fed water) 5
Number of kms hiked in 4 straight days of chilkoot trail 74
Number of hiking boots to be thrown in the garbage 1 (kirsten's)
Cheapest gas on the trip $1.00/L (Toronto!!)
Most expensive gas on the trip $1.38/L (Eagle Planes Yukon -only stop along Dempster hwy crossing arctic circle to Innuvik )
Smallest town visited -Poker Creek Alaska population 2
Strangest named place visited -Chicken Alaska (named as such during the gold rush because town folk couldn't settle on how to spell ptarmigan)
Second strangest named place visited Wonowon BC (no, not a native name -named for mile 1-0-1 on the alaska hwy)
*It should be noted that in the north, there are so few people, if two or more homes lie in close proximity it qualifies as a town!!
Best Sunset -Tombstone Park Dempster hwy Yukon, sun officially set at about 1:30am (but lasts until sun rises at about 3:30)
Best adventure -Sea Kayaking and in Gustavus (esp after it stopped raining)
Most thrilling ride -charter flight to Gustavus where we flew UP a glacier, and DOWN another one until it met the ocean
Most exciting scenery -Glacier Bay National Park (followed by Dempster hwy to artic circle, followed by the Chilkoot trail)
Most physically challenging -hiking the chilkoot
Most mentally challenging- enduring 4 straight days of rain and bugs while sea kayaking
What we learnt on this trip?
1. That bugs in northern ontario are not that bad.
2. That we have bugs that bite from one end of this country to the other.
3. That bugs are always where you least expect them.
4. That this country is big.