Sunny Oliver

It is a cold windy evening in Cochrane Alberta and Gail is finishing the dishes. We watched 2 episodes of " 24 hours " and had a Great Pasta Dinner. Lots to update. It was an uneventful trip from Kamloops to Oliver. It seemed like going home as we arrived at the Desert Gem Rv Resort. http://www.desertgemrv.com/ We have stayed there for the past 3 years as we passed through. It is a great park located centrally in Oliver and Gail likes to walk uptown. We spent 5 days there doing our usual activities. Most people don't realize that there is a lake in Oliver called Tuc-El-Nuit-Lake. There is a Lakeside Rv resort called Desert Lake RV Resort. http://www.camping.bc.ca/Desert_Lake_RV_Resort_1095MID.aspx This park is on the lake and is a spectacular location. We were told that the owners are trying to just rent to long term tenants rather that transients however it is worth a look and is listed in Woodall's.

Oliver is great for bikers. My favorite trip is Twin Lakes to Oliver. It is about 40KM to Twin Lakes which has a Golf Course. Gail and I drive up for lunch and I ride back. Yes !!! I let Gail drive the truck. The trip from TL to Oliver is all downhill through rolling hills and some steep drops. Breath taking scenery but not much exercise. It takes about 2 hours. The second trip was to ride to Osoyoos. There is a paved trail to Osoyoos and I always wanted to ride it. It was day that the temp went to 33 degrees. Off I went around 1 PM with the thought of a Peanut Buster Parfait at Dairy Queen. I got within 2 KM of Osoyoos and the trail terminated. Rats !!! I rode back about 5 KM and crossed a bridge and went down the other side of the river but ended up it Indian Land with a" DO NOT ENTER" sign on the road. By this time my I was hot and my DQ stop not going to happen. I called Gail and she drove the truck down from Oliver and picked me up. We then drove to the DQ in Osoyoos and had a treat.

No visit to Oliver is complete without a Pizza from Yum Yums. 250- 498-4039. We think this is the BEST Pizza we have tasted. A trip to our favorite winery, Tinhorn Creek, is always fun and this year we went to Osoyoos and visited the Home Hardware Store. This won the title for " Best Hardware Store " of the year. It is amazing what they have in it. If you pass through make sure you stop and check it out. Friday morning came and we left Oliver under sunny skies for Nelson.

Saturday afternoon we arrived at Birch Grove RV Park .http://www.camping.bc.ca/Birch_Grove_RV_Park__Marina_1074MID.aspx . This park is located 30 minutes past Nelson just 2 km before you get to Balfour. Got a site right on the water. We decided to take the ferry from Balfour across the lake bypassing the Kootenay Pass. This probably saved me $100 in gas and the ferry trip is FREE. It is a big ship holding about 120 cars. We visited Gail's Uncle Bob Dunn who is always a gracious host and had a tasty supper for us. Picture perfect weather. We got up early to catch the 8:10 ferry as it was the long weekend. Arrived 45 minutes before sailing but there were only 3 cars in the lineup!!! The ferry was only 20% full as we went across the lake for a 30 minute trip. Windy road around the lake and made it to Fort Steele Campground around 2 PM. http://www.fortsteele.com/ . We were at the fort last year so just spent the afternoon lounging in the sun. Nice Park in a beautiful setting. It is interesting that I paid $1.20/L for diesel in Kamloops but $1.45 in Nelsen. A search of the Internet revealed Nelson had the highest gas prices in Canada !!!

This morning we left for Cochrane Alberta going over the Crows Nest Pass. Traffic was light and easy driving as we missed the BIG Kootenay Pass. We turned left onto Highway 22 and came north to Cochrane. This is one of the most scenic drives in Canada. Today there was not a cloud in the sky. Just sun- rolling hills- with a back drop of the Rocky Mountains.
Arrived in Cochrane and are staying at the Bow Rivers Edge Campground. http://www.bowriversedge.com/ . A great resort right on the Bow River. Off to Edmonton tomorrow where we will visit family and stay for two weeks.