Update on Canada

The winter was not particularly severe this year – just a few days at –30 deg C back in November last year and not too much snow. Surprisingly, Spring has been very changeable – warm days followed by storms with snow, rain and wind. Nevertheless, we have made the most of the good weather and have been away on a few trips. We had a quick weekend trip to Jasper a month or so ago. The road there through the Columbia ice fields would have to be the most spectacular road that we have travelled in Canada – the scenery with the mountains, glaciers, rivers and so on is stunning.

A few weeks ago, I took a week’s vacation and we went off to the Okanagan Valley. It is a 7 hour drive west from Calgary towards Vancouver. Again the road through the Rockies is terrific with lots to see and a number of major passes – Rogers, Kicking Horse. Eons ago, the Okanagan Valley had a massive glacier in it – the glacier is now long gone, leaving behind a series of lovely lakes with Lake Okanagan being the largest. There are lots of terrific B&Bs in which to stay – we selected the "Hopeless Romantic" and it was really great. The area is noted for its vineyards and wineries – we visited quite a few, sampled some excellent wines and managed to bring a few back with us to Calgary. The area also has many golf courses and we were able to play a few rounds in the warm weather – our form was not too good so we have both enrolled for further lessons with our coach in Calgary and hopefully will improve.

I have attached some photos of our trip to the Okanagan Valley. They include our two favourite wineries – Quails Gate and Gray Monk, both or which are located on the shores of Lake Okanagan. There are also photos of the road through the Rockies – as you can see, there was not much snow although the scenery is still great.

Adrian & Janet