Back to Rd 22

Saturday morning we wanted to take Chester for his walk before it got too hot but by the time we got to Rd 22, in between Osoyoos and Oliver, it was close to 30 degrees. We let Chester off leash so he can cool himself off in the river whenever needed. About 20 minutes into the walk we came across the old blue rope hanging from a tree branch. You may remember seeing pictures of Greg swinging out into the Okanagan River from this blue rope last year. At that time I was 9 months pregnant and not really in "swinging" mode. This year however...

Layla tried to talk me out of it. For some reason she thought it was too dangerous for me. I was nervous too. I was hot and the thought of cooling off appealed to me, but I am also a horrible swimmer and was worried I may get carried away in the current. I wasn't sure if I could touch the bottom or not and Greg didn't want to do a test run for me.

I got the courage to swing out above the river but my fear, or responsible caution, got the best of me and I didn't let go of the rope. Nope! I swung right back to the safety of the shore.

I remembered last spring when the run off from the mountains reached our lakes and rivers and caused them to be much deeper, faster, dirtier and much more dangerous than usual. The Okanagan River is definitely looking much murkier, a bit deeper where I can tell and the dead fish that floated by convinced me to wait until this period is over and the river has settled. Cop out? Maybe, but I am a REALLY bad swimmer at the best of times and, well, come July I'll be in there, I will.

For the record, Greg chickened out this time around as well.

On our walk back we saw a turtle sunbathing on the path. That was cool too but Layla already blogged that.

Back to OK Falls

As mentioned in my previous entry, we had gone to OK Falls on the weekend for a walk but I didn't think to bring my camera. Monday evening we decided to do it again. It was still 29 degrees after supper so we told Layla she could bring her new "floating swimsuit" and MAYBE she could go in the lake. I took my camera this time so you'll have to excuse me there are LOTS of pictures as it was quite a diverse walk.

We started out in a small alcove of the Skaha lake beside a campground. We crossed a small bridge and climbed some rock formations in the lake.

Then we went back across the small bridge so we could head to the big bridge which used to be the railroad line.

On the bridge there were these little look-outs. There is also a gate where you can jump into the lake. There is a ladder so you can get back up. There was someone fishing from the ladder that evening.

The gem of the walk, in our opinion, was a small waterfall we found hidden behind some bushes and trees. The Okanagan Falls that the town was named after no longer exists so to us, this is our Okanagan falls. In the next picture we can hear the falls but can't see it. It is on the left behind those trees.

This one was taken from the waterfall, looking out to the path.

Shortly after our waterfall, we followed a little path leading down to a very small beach area. There was a small boat on the shore, a picnic table, a dock and some carpeted stairs down to the lake. We took a small dip to cool off.

The next one Layla is yelling at Chester to come back...he didn't. He ventured off and found another beach area and we met up with him on the path.

We turned around and headed back to the main beach area. Layla was tired so she hitched a ride in Baron's stroller. No, it is not a 2-person stroller but they fit.

Here is a shot of Okanagan Falls (OK Falls) from behind some snake grass.

The rest of the evening we stayed at the dog friendly portion of the Skaha beach in Ok Falls. We were very excited to discover this because up until now we thought all of the good beaches banned pets. Good news for the furry fella.

It's Here, It's Really Here!!

With temperatures reaching 32 degrees this weekend it finally seems like summer is really here to stay. On Saturday we went for a walk that we hadn't yet done here before. We started on the walking bridge in OK Falls and continued for 45 minutes and then turned around and came back the same way. It was a beautiful walk following the edge of Skaha Lake but you'll have to take my word for it because I didn't bring my camera. That was a mistake. We'll take the camera next time. There were a few beach areas where we took a dip along the way but the gem of the walk had to be the hidden waterfall we found. It is tucked away in a cove, and not all that large but so picturesque. After our walk we stopped at the playground at the Skaha Beach (OK Falls side, not Penticton) before heading home.

At home, to stay cool Layla turned the sprinkler on and played on her swingset "in the rain". Baron chilled in the shade and did what he is best at, ate. Greg and Layla enjoyed running through the sprinkler.

Baron and Layla's sandbox was in a shaded area . Baron enjoyed getting his legs buried in the cool sand.

This is a northern flicker woodpecker on my front lawn. I swear I could do a blog just about different birds I see around here. I also found another robin's egg in our yard while mowing. Poor little birdies.

When Layla found out Charlie and Kenzie were getting their own blogs of course she wanted in on the action. I doubt she'll keep it up but I let her start one anyway. Here's the link: http://laylasland.blogspot.com/ I type as she dictates and she chooses the pictures, as well as the one for the header, as shown above. Enjoy!

Chester Gets Ticked Off

Not long after our walk at the fish pond, Greg, Baron, Alden, Chester and I were relaxing back at the Bourne's. Grandma and Layla were at the playground. Chester was laying on his back and Greg noticed something on the inside of his ear.



You guessed it! Chester had a wood tick burrowing into his ear. Luckily, Layla and I had spent about half an hour last week watching videos on youtube on the right and wrong ways to remove wood ticks. Greg had a wood tick in his hair from one of our hikes but it hadn't bit him yet so I thought we'd better learn up on it.


So when Greg came over with fingernail clippers to remove it I was able to say with confidence that that was a bad idea. I knew Layla was going to be very disappointed to miss the tick removal but we didn't want to leave it in his ear any longer that necessary.







Greg did a great job removing the tick with the head intact. In fact, the tick was still alive and scurried along the bathroom counter until he put it in the toilet to save for Layla to see. She was very excited about the tick and wouldn't let me flush him down until much later in the day. We all checked each other and luckily nobody else had ticks. I think I've had my fill of creepy crawlies for the season and it's only May. Good grief.

Good Ol' Magrath Fish Pond

While we were in Magrath we had great weather. It was 27 degrees on Saturday and we enjoyed it by going for a walk on the nature trail at the Magrath fish pond.

We came across a fallen tree that extended out into the canal. Of course we couldn't help but climb all over it. It was deeper than it looks, but luckily nobody fell in.

We stopped to take some pictures of the family.

Chester tried to climb the tree to get into the family picture but he really struggled. I guess dogs weren't made for climbing trees.

Layla saw some kids sliding down a steep dirty trail so she just had to try it out. Greg helped her so she wouldn't go tumbling head over heels. Besides her dirty bum she came out unscathed.

Baron and Grandpa were the first ones back to the car so Baron got to explore the driver's seat.

We all enjoyed our walk but there was one surprise along the way but I'll get into that in my next blog entry. Stay tuned!