MONTANA CANADA TRIP - Day 18. Vernon, British Columbia
A layover day, and we get to explore Canada's wine country. This is the only part of the trip where we experienced warm weather, and had to plan activities around the midday heat, instead of finding ways to keep warm.
Our host Roy suggested a short hike to a small waterfalls nearby, then a late lunch and tour at the Gray Monk Winery. We took him up on the whole plan. The hike was a pleasant two or three mile walk along the stream. We never did get a good look at the falls, but that's not a problem since we kind of overdosed on waterfalls in the past week. Good exercise.
Then we headed for the Gray Monk Winery, spending over an hour in stopped traffic along the way. (Okanagan Valley infrastructure has not kept up with tourist interest). The winery is one of the best known in the area, but one of hardest to get to. We turned off the highway, then down a narrow road, to an even narrower one, and then almost missed the small sign to the winery.
All worth it. We had a leisurely meal plus wine sampler at the Grapevine Restaurant. We arrived during the period between lunch and dinner when the waiters have time to chat and even the owner came over to say hello. All of this on a warm patio overlooking the winery. Here we are at the end of the meal. Very hard to tear ourselves away from this lovely place.
Such a lovely afternoon, and I wasn't quite ready for our day to end. Since I was at the wheel, I decided not to turn in on the road to our B&B, but to continue up the mountain to see where it would take us. We drove .. and drove and drove ...up, up, up with only scanty directional signs and no company on the road. Eventually we did arrive. The road went to Silver Star Ski Resort, which in the summer is a lively hangout for the younger crowd. It is an old resort. The Vernon Ski Club house in this photo was established in 1935. 
All the buildings in town are painted in very bright, contrasty colors -- a Victorian palate gone wild. We arrived at sunset. It was getting cold and dark so we didn't linger, but I'm so glad we took the high road that evening instead of going straight home.
Accommodations: Castle on the Mountain *****
More photos
Our host Roy suggested a short hike to a small waterfalls nearby, then a late lunch and tour at the Gray Monk Winery. We took him up on the whole plan. The hike was a pleasant two or three mile walk along the stream. We never did get a good look at the falls, but that's not a problem since we kind of overdosed on waterfalls in the past week. Good exercise.
Then we headed for the Gray Monk Winery, spending over an hour in stopped traffic along the way. (Okanagan Valley infrastructure has not kept up with tourist interest). The winery is one of the best known in the area, but one of hardest to get to. We turned off the highway, then down a narrow road, to an even narrower one, and then almost missed the small sign to the winery.
All worth it. We had a leisurely meal plus wine sampler at the Grapevine Restaurant. We arrived during the period between lunch and dinner when the waiters have time to chat and even the owner came over to say hello. All of this on a warm patio overlooking the winery. Here we are at the end of the meal. Very hard to tear ourselves away from this lovely place.
Such a lovely afternoon, and I wasn't quite ready for our day to end. Since I was at the wheel, I decided not to turn in on the road to our B&B, but to continue up the mountain to see where it would take us. We drove .. and drove and drove ...up, up, up with only scanty directional signs and no company on the road. Eventually we did arrive. The road went to Silver Star Ski Resort, which in the summer is a lively hangout for the younger crowd. It is an old resort. The Vernon Ski Club house in this photo was established in 1935. 
All the buildings in town are painted in very bright, contrasty colors -- a Victorian palate gone wild. We arrived at sunset. It was getting cold and dark so we didn't linger, but I'm so glad we took the high road that evening instead of going straight home.Accommodations: Castle on the Mountain *****
More photos
Labels: MontanaCanadaTrip Vernon Okanagan BritishColumbia wineries
posted by Nancy | 12:57 PM
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