ROAD TRIPPING

I drove up to Salmon Arm and collected our mail around the beginning of the month.  I took the scenic route up the west side of Okanagan Lake and avoided a lot of stop lights.   After a quick turnaround in Salmon Arm, I took the faster route home but spent lots of time sitting in traffic at the aforementioned lights. 

This past Friday, Aileen joined me and we went to deliver our income tax papers to the accountant in Salmon Arm after I had gone through the mail and sorted everything out.  We took the fast way there this time.  We managed to have a short visit with Kevin.  He was in his truck just leaving when we got to the house.

We took our lunch down to the wharf but since it was cloudy, cool and breezy, we had to dress warmly to sit on a bench and enjoy the scenery and wildlife.  I wandered around with my camera while Aileen went for a walk. 

Heading home, we took the scenic west side route taking a side trip up Irish Creek Road where we saw flowers and picked up three geocaches.  Our days here are pretty mundane, with lots of reading and Aileen is doing a bit of gardening with Karen.  Aileen has been knitting also.  I’ve had a couple of small projects Karen has given me.  Most days we have a little happy hour out on Karen’s back deck.  And, every evening after supper, we walk up the creek to see what there is to see.

Yesterday, we went back to the Bridesville Loop Road where we geocached exactly one month ago.  This time the snow was all gone and I was able to find the caches that were buried under the snow.  I also found all but one of the remaining caches in that series.  That one had been destroyed by logging over the winter.  I found one more cache in the old barn on Wagon Wheel Road giving me 33 for the day.  We had an excellent day with the beautiful area and very little traffic.  When we sat out in our folding chairs at lunch time there wasn’t a speck of man-made noise to be heard.  Once again we bought two dozen eggs in the roadside cooler miles from anywhere, it seemed.   Too bad it is an hour and a half drive from here!

Along westside of Okanagan Lake

These Balsamroot were along the westside too

Wild Clematis along Penticton Creek

Clematis open

Mallard babies Penticton Creek

Mushroom clinging to the side of a cottonwood tree

Pink dogwood  in a yard we walk by

This squirrel found some cotton batting under some old foam and was lining its nest

Backlit cottonwood and Penticton Creek

Balsamroot on Irish Creek Road

Reflections in Penticton Creek

Squirrel nearly finished a Ponderosa Pine cone

Looking down on Osoyoos, BC from the viewpoint on Hwy 3

Along Hwy 3 Anarchist Mtn

Taken looking the other way from the house photo, more Balsamroot

This was quite the character, he posed for a bit then ran away.  I was shooting into the sun and my camera didn't like doing that.

Western Spring Beauty above and Sagebrush Bluebells below taken along the Bridesville Loop Road

An old barn on Wagon Wheel Road, Anarchist Mtn area off Hwy 3

Western Larch, new cones and last year's cone

Pink Dogwood taken with my iPhone