Breakfast – let’s start there, poached fresh cherries in a French
crepe followed by fresh summer fruits with home made yoghurt and Greek cream,
followed by mushroom omelette. Fresh juice – orange or pink grapefruit and tea
or coffee also on offer. A pretty good start to the day. This was such a good
find for a B&B at the end of our trip.
We got away just before 10 with the anticipation we would be
with friends in Sunland, Washington by 6 or 7pm. We wanted to call in to a couple of
wineries and did not know how long that would eat into the day. We abandoned
the idea of a visit to the desert centre; unfortunately time did not permit.
We filled the tank and headed for Summerland not far south
of Kelowna where we were planning our winery visits. There were so many to
choose from all the way down the valley. After trying to figure out the direction
signage, we finally found one of the wineries we had been recommended to visit.
A bit of a chat with the staff on tasting and our choices were decided. Off we
went again and just kept going. We were ready for the end of our road trip.
Driving into the hills behind Summerland the views over the vineyards were very pretty. It's a shame about the haze still hanging around.
At one point the valley closed in and we were travelling through a relatively narrow gorge. The valley opened out again further down as we came into Osoyoos
 |
| I liked the town welcome signs - always so colourful |
We managed the third degree at the border into the US and
with the aid of a map of Washington and Oregon that I had purchased in
Revelstoke and detailed instructions for the final few miles into Sunland, we
made it to Anita and Jim’s place by 4.30pm. It had been a hot trip which took
us from lush desert, wine and orchard country into desert country of central
Washington.
 |
| Sculpture on an Indian reserve |
 |
| Satellite dishes on the ranges |
 |
| Containers on the train stacked two high |
We found the house and were made very welcome. Temperatures
over 100⁰F
greeted us too. Well this is the middle of summer in the desert. Anita and Jim’s
place is located in a small community on the Columbia River. Very isolated,
quiet and simply sublime.
 |
| Travelling down the switchbacks into Sunland |
After dinner we went for a walk around the village and later sat
outside the house in the balmy evening waiting for the sun to fully sink. Out
came the Sky Map App on my phone and I finally worked out how it all worked and
managed to identify many celestial objects. I can still remember my northern
hemisphere constellations from my childhood.
The shift back indoors became necessary when the familiar buzz of
mosquitoes was in our ears.
 |
| American Goldfinch |
 |
| Down by the river |
 |
| Sun reflecting on the opposite side of the canyon |
No comments:
Post a Comment