A Sun Day on Silver Star Mountain

 

It's Monday December 15. It's chilly in the morning in Vernon with scattered clouds and a band of low cloud sitting in the eastern sky, between us and Silver Star Mountain.  At 9:30 the road up to the hill is quiet, the surface is bare and dry.  There is no snow at the side of the road until we are half way up to the mountain.  We drive through the cloud into a robin-egg blue sky.  The trees hold fresh hoar frost that sparkles in the bright morning sun. 

We park our car in the second line of vehicles and start the plodding ascent up Paradise Trail, a 7 km trail from the Village to the top of Silver Star Mountain. The beginning, Main Street Skyway, is a slow slog across downhill ski runs, and under the Comet Chair. 

 

Downhill Runs above Main Street Skyway

 

Today there are few down hill skiers to watch out for. The word is out.  Rain last week, no new snow.  The locals don't come up to the mountain unless they know conditions are ideal.  And at Silver Star, where about 7 metres of light powder will drop on the slopes during a ski season they are usually not disappointed.  But those of us who have endured ski conditions in other parts of Canada are more willing to take a 30 minute drive and check things out.  And, in the three seasons we have skied here, we have never been disappointed.  Sometimes the down hill runs might not be absolutely  at their best but the Nordic trails have never let us down.  Since our season pass offers either type of skiing (and snow shoeing and skating), we just load up the car and pick the best option for the conditions.

The groomers have done their magic.  The trail has been raked.  It is firm with a corduroy dusting of powder.  This might not be perfect, but it is damn close.  And any minor imperfection we may find, will not matter.  The winter sun is full on.  It is a brilliant day.

 

Paradise Trail, well groomed and in full-on sun

 

We have the trails mostly to ourselves as we wind through the forest to the top of the Powder Gulch Chair Lift. 

 

Top of the Powder Gulch Chair.  No downhill skiers, no Nordic skiers, just us

 

We shed a layer before reaching that rhythmic, almost meditative cadence of Nordic skiing. We are alone with the metronomic rubbing of our skis on the track and the squeak as we plant each pole.  We turn onto the Upper Paradise Trail and march upward into the sun and up to the summit. To the north we can see the Shuswap area, its valleys and lakes shrouded in cloud, the long serrated  eastern horizon of the Monashees and the Okanagan Valley to the south, dappled with scattered clouds.

 

Looking north toward the Shuswap from top of Silver Star

 

 

 We mingle with the downhillers being deposited from the Comet Chair and put on our discarded layer of clothing.  The trip down is cool and exhilarating. 

 

Top of Paradise Nordic Trail and top of Comet Chair: Top of Silver Star Mountain

 

Because the mountain is quiet today we find a table in the small and popular Bugaboos Bakery and Café.  We chow down a sausage roll and chicken curry pie, sip a smooth flat white and share a chocolate croissant, taking in one last view of the Monashees through the window.

We are home in our hot tub by 1 pm.  The locals might not call that a perfect day but it was good enough for us!

 



Fall Back into Winter

We left Vernon on Nov 10 for a three week trip to Mexico.  I left a pot of ivy geranium with its bountiful crimson blooms guarding our front door and a pot of bold yellow and purple pansies keeping their eyes on our back deck. It had been an unseasonably warm and long fall with no frost.  I did not expect them to last until we returned but could not  bring myself to toss them into the compost while they were still in full bloom. 

Silver Star Mountain Resort  December 3

Soon after we left snow blanketed Vernon and a metre was deposited on Silver Star Mountain.  Then a week of unusually cold weather cemented that snow to the ski runs.  My flowers had expired but we returned to wonderful early season ski conditions.
Two days after flying into the Kelowna International Airport, we were on the slopes.  It was sweet, about -5 degrees, soft fresh powder, and sun.  Below the valley was stuffed with gray cloud.

Looking east from Silver Star Mountain towards the Monashees

Within the last two weeks we have experienced a remarkable variety of ski conditions.  The first day was cool with the inversion.

  A week ago Friday the mountain was wrapped in mist, but the downhill runs were dressed with fresh snow.

 

Scenes off Comet Chair December 5

  Then a warming trend moved in accompanied by moisture.  First there was wet snow but that deteriorated to rain, except for the higher parts of the mountain.  We persevered, while most of the locals stayed home.  Wednesday was a wet day and the Nordic trails were mushy.  We stayed on the lower trails.  But by this Friday the air had cooled.  The bottom trails were a bit crunchy with the remnants of the earlier rain but we headed up to Coming Round the Mountain and the trails were good.  We inspected the new warming cabin and the intersection of Coming Round the Mountain and Alder point Loop.

 Captik Cabin, from the Okanagan Nations first language meaning "Legend" Dec 12

It did seem a bit strange though.  We had never been up on the Star without the trees being covered with snow.

Coming round the Mountain trail Dec 8

 Cooler weather now prevails and no precipitation is forecast for at least a couple days.  We will return to the upper trails tomorrow.  They will be perfectly groomed and we know we will have a good ski.  We also know we will have the trails to ourselves as Vernonites do not venture up to the mountain unless they think the conditions are absolutely perfect.  It will also be sunny, While we wait for snow the valley will be full of gray cloud and the mountain will be bathed in sunshine.

The 2014 Adams River Salmon Run

On October 23rd I join some Alberta friends for a trip up to Adams River to view the salmon run.  Every four years is a "dominant" run with millions of salmon expected to return and 2014 is one of these years.  The fall has been warm so the salmon are later than usual.  Even though it is late October, the wave of fish is peaking and we hope to see the river red with salmon.

The day is dreary, with intermittent drizzle setting a somber mood for our viewing of tens of thousands of crimson coloured Sockeye salmon waving their bodies to remain stationary in the creek, their green faces pointed upstream.  They are positioned in pairs, the males recognizable by a hump on their back and their long deformed snouts with razor-sharp teeth.

Silver scars mar their battle-weary bodies from their arduous journey upstream from the Pacific Ocean, into the Fraser River and up its tributaries to the very creek where they began.  Here they return to spawn, laying and fertilizing their round translucent pink eggs in the gravel. Of the 4,000 eggs that each female lays only two will survive and return in four years’ time to start the cycle again.  They will stay and guard their eggs for about 10 days and then drift into the shallows where they will die.  The sweet stench of dead Chinook salmon and earlier Sockeye hangs in the air. Their deformed, decomposing bodies are strewn along the shore or float motionless and bloated in the quiet pools of water.  This is not a killing field but the end of a four year life cycle that disintegrates and enriches the  land.

  A biologist wearing a floppy fish shaped hat holds his blood soaked hands above a gutted Sockeye, running his fingers over the orange flesh, pointing at the remaining eggs.  His sense of ease and knowledge draws us in and we see the slab of fish as a fascinating specimen.  He pulls out the fish's eye and pops out the perfectly round fish lens for us to examine.

Display of maturing salmon from egg to fry

  We return to our car feeling a mix of fascination and macabre, amazed at the force of survival of this cycle of life and death but wanting to wash our hands and escape from the lingering smell of fish.

The Last Days of Autumn

 

The last couple of weeks have been glorious. I've actually worn sandals and capris some days. The thermometer has not dipped to zero yet so the trees have continued to wear their brilliant yellow and orange leaves.

Some mornings there is mist in the valleys but often the sun melts it away and showers come and go as the cooler weather slides down over Terrace Mountain.

I finally picked the last of my tomatoes and raspberries a week ago.  I've planted spring bulbs and garlic and trimmed the roses.  The yard is ready for winter.







The late October rambles, hikes and bike rides with the Vernon Outdoor Club have again reminded me how special the North Okanagan is.  The occasional showers have cleansed the air after the long  and hot summer and the earth feels softer and smells alive again.  There is a fresh green hue over the hills.

View of Armstrong and the Spallumsheen Valley from Mount Rose Swanson

Just after Thanksgiving weekend we climbed up Rose Swanson, the treed mountain that sits just west of Armstrong.  It is named after the first Caucasian woman born in the interior of BC.  Rose was the daughter of Augustus and Catherine Schubert, two of the Overlanders who made the trek from Fort Gary via Edmonton and down the North Thompson Valley to Kamloops in search of gold.  Catherine was the only woman among 149 men.  She had three toddlers and was 5 months pregnant when the journey started.  The family ended up homesteading in the Armstrong area in 1862.  Rose married and had 13 children remaining in Armstrong until her death in 1942.
The forest trail loops up to several summits with rock outcrops.  The autumn sun shone warmly on us as we sat on the rocks eating our lunches.  We looked over the patchwork of green and rich brown fields in the  Spallumcheen Valley that stretches south.  Sunlight gleamed on Otter Lake and on the north fork of Okanagan Lake. It almost felt like a late summer day except for a freshness in the air and the show of autumn leaves.

Myra Bellevue Provincial Park

The following Sunday we hiked up to Crawford Lookout, in Myra Bellevue Provincial Park along the edge of the North Okanagan Highlands east of Kelowna. We walked among the stark black forest skeletons left behind by the 2003 fire that over look the eastern orchards, the urban sprawl of Kelowna and a smooth dark Lake Okanagan. Above us the hillside was decorated with patches of golden larch tucked within the green conifers.





A few days later we wind up a trail through bunch grass at the end of the Sunset Properties subdivision to sit on a huge granite shelf overlooking a still navy-blue Lake Okanagan.  There is a feeling of timelessness, a moment between seasons as the sun comes and goes between some thin clouds.  We ate lunch quietly, pensively taking in the view.

Having lunch overlooking Okanagan Lake on Sunset Properties hike

Our last Sunday hike for the season was, as it is every year, to Kalalmalka Park.  We parked at Cosen's Bay gate under a grey sky and start walking along Cosen's Bay trail.  Soon we head up a steep trail that takes us up to John's Jump.

Cosens Bay, Lake Kalamalka

 

   We look down at Cosen's Bay.  Despite all the hikes we have taken and all the views we have enjoyed, the view of Cosen's Bay always makes us pause.  The colour of the water is so unique, shades of turquoise  and green, and never quite the same.  The cottonwoods that fringe the beach have leaves so yellow they seem like lights along the edge of the lake. I never tire of this view.  We walk around to the other side of Rattlesnake Hill and stop for lunch sitting among the ripe grasses looking over to Middletown Mountain, Kal Beach and the apple orchards below us.

Lunch overlooking Coldstream

We can see the top of Silver Star Mountain dusted with some fresh snow.  We eat our lunches and chatter away. After 32 consecutive Sunday hikes this will be our last lunch-with-a-view together until next season. There is still one more ramble and one more bike trip.  The weather is good enough to continue but the season seems tired. It is time to take off the hiking boots and park the bikes.


I walked up past Davisons' Orchard this morning and just had to take one last picture of autumn, hard to believe today is November 3rd!

View of Okanagan Lake above Davison Orchard

Just now I have just checked the web cams up at Silver Star Mountain Resort and it is snowing!  The cumulative snow fall to date is 13 cm with a 4 cm base, not much but a beginning.  How's that for good timing?

Davison's: An Experience that is Good to the Core

"I love working here" says Dave, the guy who often greets me when I enter Davison Orchards Country Village.  He has a big grin on his face.  He doesn't tell me why he loves working here, he just points to the vista.  The mist in the valley is melting under the warm autumn sun.  The three humps of Blue Nose Mountain  define the eastern horizon with the tall rolling hills along the far side of Kalalmalka Lake, Middleton Mountain and the green fields of the Commonage providing the backdrop for the city of Vernon, nestled in the hub of three lush valleys.  Not a bad view to face during a day's work!

 

I ask Dave how many people work here.  "Hmmm about 80 during the peak of the season" he guesses, "there are pickers, packers, peelers, bakers, cashiers, the café and the market.  some with the animals, supervising the playground, directing parking..."
The animals?  I've been up here a lot, sitting the Aunt May's Deep Dish Café enjoying my morning coffee (usually with a piece of fresh fruit pie) and watching toddlers play in the grassed playground.

I've spent hours ambling through the Village Market, taste testing seasonal fruit and preserves, checking out the local produce and food products, the country décor gifts and kitchen gadgetry. But today, with my out-of -town guests, I wonder behind the village, past the picnic tables and into the Critter Corral. Here are the animals.

Two large turkeys, likely unaware of their good fortune of surviving Thanksgiving weekend, watch us with their pink eyes, their snoods and waddles shaking as they strut in a pen.

Children gingerly hold out their hands with food from the 25 cent dispensary for the miniature donkey and goats. Its calm and peaceful but squeals and laughter come from another corral,  the Crazy Cow Kid's Corral, where kids are climbing bales, playing on an old John Deere tractor that is immersed in a giant sand box, and riding bicycles.

 Just behind the corrals, the Johnny Popper Orchard Tour is returning from the pumpkin patch.

Little people and big people sit in carts made from large wooden picking boxes being towed by a chugging John Deere tractor, holding their freshly picked pumpkins.

Davison Orchards is a special place.  It started as a simple family orchard.  Purchased by English immigrants, Tom and May Davison in 1933 for $6000 (with financial help from the BC Fruit Shippers).  Davison's has withstood the test of time.  When Tom passed away in 1950 his nephew Bob, then only 17, continued to farm the orchard. In 1953 he and his new wife Dora moved onto the orchard and took the helm. Along with six children they produced  some of the best Macintosh apples in the valley which were sold to BC Fruit Shippers.
When their son Tom returned from Olds Agricultural College in Alberta in the early 80's, he came with fresh ideas and a new wife, Tamara, who had an eye for displays and a talent for marketing and sales.  In 1985 the two generations joined forces and began moving in a new direction. New varieties of apples were planted  and tomatoes added between the rows.  A market was started on the farm with a  "Honk for Service" sign to alert Bob, Dora, Tom or Tamara of customers while they were working on the orchard.  The next year they started growing and selling cucumbers, watermelons and pumpkins.  They attended fairs and farmers markets to promote their produce and the Davison logo was created from Tamara's "pumpkin man" display in 1989. 

Their own apple juice was introduced in 1994 and the Apple Crate Bakery was built in 1996.  Now a fourth  generation of the Davison family is involved in the farm.


The season opens at the beginning of May with the farm in full blossom and early produce for sale.

There are special events through the season: Mothers' Day, Fathers' Day, Canada Day but October is still the most celebrated month. This year bins and displays of pumpkins and squash overflow onto the picnic area, a tribute to a bountiful harvest.

On the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend the bakery sold about 700 pies, most were pumpkin or apple. The newsletter reports that  Grampa Bob says "its the best year ever for apples".  Boxes of a dozen varieties of apples line the shelves of the market, glowing  shades of green, red, yellow, and pink, so fresh you can smell them, and taste them too.

Dave slices a grapefruit sized Honey Crisp, currently the most popular variety along with the pink tinged Ambrosia and the yellowy orange Aurora.  Davison's is more than a farm or a market, bakery, café or gift shop. Its an experience but those apples remain at its core.

A Confession from a Fair Weather Cyclist

 

September and October are two of the best months for cycling in the North Okanagan.  With many sunny days, temperatures ranging from 15 to 25 degrees C, and back roads free of summer traffic, it’s a great time to explore on two wheels.  The weather tends to be so reliable that I rarely consider an alternative plan.  So when we ride our bikes up Bella Vista Road to Planet Bee Honey Farm and Meadery, even though the sky was dull and gray, there is no plan B. 

    

Observing the live hives we learn about the 6 to 8 week life cycle of the female worker bees, the drones who exist only for the purpose of fertilizing the queen bee, and the queen herself, who eats royal jelly produced by the workers, lays about 2000 eggs a day and lives to the ripe old age of 3 to 5 years.   We taste the variety of honeys but decline the mead (honey wine) tasting as we are heading back out onto the road.


It's now raining.  Determined to finish our tour, we ride the couple blocks to my house and abandon the bikes for the car.  Yes we love to cycle but the truth is, it’s the stops along the way that are the best part of the journey! 

With windshield wipers sweeping the rain off our view, we trace out what would have been our bike route: Down Bella Vista Road, continuing east on 30 Ave, a right turn onto 26 Ave and then a left turn on 25 Ave which continues east to a T intersection, then south on Francis Road.  A right and then left turn on to Pottery Road, which we follow to 476 Pottery Road.  Here, in a tidy clap board house, is South of Pine Street Fashions, our next destination.

 

 

We open the squeaky screen door and are greeted by owner Shella who asks if we would like a latte while we browse.   Being neither sweaty nor wet, there seems no barrier to trying on some of thenew fall fashions.

We leave, tossing our purchases into the car; no need to cram them into panier bags!  This justifies our car tour, even though the rain has stopped. 

 

We drive north on East Vernon Road, through the pastures of BX and acknowledge the steepness of the road up over Black Rock and how fast we would have coasted down 39 Avenue on our bikes.  Our final destination is the Vernon Museum (aka The Greater Vernon Museum and Archives), a place we have all intended to visit but have never quite made it.

Inside we walk along a wooden sidewalk, past the stories of fur traders, early cattle ranches and orchards, and the BC gold rush that pushed Vernon from a sleepy town to a transportation hub, the epicentre for stage coaches, paddle wheelers and the railroad.  We see the art of Allan Brooks, the namesake of the Nature Centre perched up on the commonage and the work of famous potter Axel Ebring and admire the vintage clock from the old Post Office.

 

An hour is not enough time and we promise ourselves that we will return. We leave the Museum under a sunny sky knowing that we could have biked the route, but we are not disappointed.  It was a great morning!

 

 

Cycling Across the Commonage

 

Our favourite cycling days are ones with warm sunny weather and great scenery.  We love to take time to explore interesting sites and visit inviting cafes and eateries. Sure the route could be done in one sweaty hour, but we prefer to savour the experience taking two or three hours. And there is no place better than the North Okanagan for such indulgent and interesting cycling!

We turn south off Okanagan Landing Road (25 Ave) at 34 St and then get on the bike route on 33 St to begin our tour along the Commonage. We lean into our pedals to tackle Mission Hill and soon see the north end of Okanagan Lake below us with the  green orchards of Bella Vista draped over the surrounding hills.

View of Okanagan Lake from Bench Row Road

The hilly grasslands between Okanagan Lake and Kalamalka Lake, about 24,000 acres, were originally intended for use by First Nations and early settlers for common use for pasture, thus the name Commonage.  In 1889 the government drew up a new agreement, taking over the area in return for establishing an Indian reserve on the north west side of Okanagan Lake.

We pause for a drink of water before heading up the hard packed gravel road to the Allan Brooks Nature Centre (ABNC) located  in an old weather station that is perched above the thirsty golden hills of late summer. Here the entire North Okanagan stretches out before us with raptors floating above, birds chirping among the grasses and kids scurrying around, intent on their nature studies as part of the nature camps held at the centre.

Massive Eagle on display at Allen Brooks Nature Centre

The ABNC is named after Canada's own "Audubon".  Captain Allan C Brooks, an early Vernon area resident, was an internationally  renown bird and wildlife painter and featured in several editions of the National Geographic in the 1920's and 30's.  Many of the birds he painted were from the Commonage, which is  rich with a variety of bird habitats.  We tour the centre and  walk along the grassland trail, fascinated with the multitude of birds and other animals found in the area. 

Allen Brooks Nature Centre

 

The summer schedule is busy with an evening speaker series, movie nights, and astrology nights. I eye the picnic tables, making a mental note to bring visitors up here for and picnic and one the best valley views.



 

 

We bounce down to Mission Road and turn down the Bench Row Road looking over fields of hay and contented cattle, benefactors of the secondary treatment wastewater used to irrigate these fields and 42 acres of forest tree plantation planted in 1988 to study its effect on neutralizing undesirable substances in Vernon's municipal waste water.  Developed as an alternative to discharging reclaimed water into Okanagan Lake, it's success is a subject of local debate.

Some of the 25 million seedlings at PRT growing services

Intrigued by the large growing trays of emerald green seedlings we turn into the driveway of PRT, a growing service for all commercial tree species grown in Canada.  We learn that forestry companies provide the seed which PRT then grows into seedlings during the long frost free season of the Okanagan.  The seedlings, approximately 25 million per season,  are harvested when dormant and stored in local cold storage facilities, and eventually shipped by the forestry companies to where they will be planted. 

 

Before reaching Okanagan Landing Bench Road we meet two horseback riders from Paradise Ranch.

Peruvian Paso horses from Paradise Ranch

 We notice they are using unconventional saddles and discover these are Peruvian saddles and the horses are Peruvian Paso horses, the royal horses of the Conquistadors. Started in 1996, Paradise Ranch has become one of the largest and most comprehensive training centres for the breed.

Paradise Ranch

 















 

Rather than taking the steep and winding road down to Okanagan Landing we opt for the more gradual paved trail extending from just east of The Seasons community development and down behind Long Acre Drive .  We continue along Okanagan Ave and link back onto Okanagan Landing Road with only 15 km clocked but having enjoyed another half day of local discovery.

View of Vernon Yacht Club from Bench Row Road

 

 

 

 





The Coldstream Valley Bike Loop

Our favourite cycling days are ones with warm sunny weather and great scenery.  We love to take time to explore interesting sites and visit inviting cafes and eateries. Sure the route could be done in one sweaty hour, but we prefer to savour the experience taking two or three hours. And there is no place better than the North Okanagan for such indulgent and interesting cycling!

It’s a sunny Wednesday morning when we rumble over the boardwalk in Polson Park.  The map in the Greater Vernon Hiking and Biking Routes pamphlet, has helped us decide on our route.  We angle up 11 Avenue, slowing to a crawl on the hill to Middleton Way.  A turn onto Sarsons Road and then onto Inverness Drive hooks us into Selkirk Drive where we pass the North Okanagan Regional District building. We coast down to the light at Highway 6, then turn on to Buchanan Road and strain as we climb another hill.

View of Coldstream Valley from Buchanan Road

As we continue along Buchanan Road, our effort is rewarded by the sweeping view of the Coldstream Valley, with its fields of tasselled corn, and green pastures reaching to the pine forests to the southeast.   Much of this land is the Coldstream Ranch, first established in 1863 by three former British army officers: Charles Houghton aged 24, Forbes George Vernon aged 20 and his brother Charles aged 23.  In 1891 it was purchased by Lord Aberdeen, then Governor General of Canada, who began growing fruit trees. Since 1994 the ranch has been owned by Keith Balcean who runs it much in the same way it has always been managed.

Small fruit stand on Buchanan Road

Near Wallace Road we buy peaches at a fruit stand and devour them sitting under a tree in the orchard, then continue to the east end of Buchanan where we turn north towards a row of greenhouses high on the hill.  The steep grade defeats us so we park our bikes and walk up to Lavington Roses agreeing that this route would make a nice car ride!  

            

  

Self serve at Lavington Roses

We walk into the greenhouse where rows of multi coloured roses and bold coloured gerberas grow. A fridge in the corner has a sign “Choose a bouquet. Put $ in the $ box, thank-you".  But flowers won’t travel well in our pannier bags, we’ll have to get ours at the Vernon Farmers’ Market.

A made in Lavington business

We mount our bikes and point them downhill toward Lavington. Behind the Lavington Market is Back to Earth Enviro Products and Soap Works, open Tuesday to Saturday 10 to 4.  Here is a world of delectable scents and soothing lotions, all made locally.There is a small selection of their cereal products that are now sold in 93 outlets in BC and Alberta. 

Inside Back to Earth Soap Works

We’ve worked up an appetite and chose to go for lunch at the Edible Canvas Restaurant where we sit on the back deck and share a huge burger. 

Patio at the Edible Canvas

We continue south on School Road, passing Laviington Park, its free swimming pool is inviting but we pedal on.  At the T intersection we turn right onto Learmouth Road going past Coldstream Willows Nursery, admiring its neat rows of manicured grass and trees and shrubs.

Coldstream Willows Nursery

 We head west on Highway 6, staying on the narrow shoulder for the couple kilometers before reaching Kalamalka Road.  The gradual downhill grade pulls us along with little effort towards Kal Beach.  Soon we are riding through Polson Park and on our way to Justice Park, across from the Court House. 

Music in Justice Park Wednesdays noon to 1:30 all summer

Here beside the boisterous waterfall we tap to the beat of Tasman Jude, a reggae band from Alberta, featured in this week’s “Jammin in Justice”, Downtown Vernon’s summer noon hour music in the park, a great way to chill out before we head home after 40 km and more than three hours of local exploration.