Okanagan Gifts
of the
Laurie Carter & Bruce Kemp Little White Publishing
Gifts of the Okanagan Copyright Š 2011 by Laurie Carter & Bruce Kemp All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher or a licence from The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency. For a copyright licence, visit www.accesscopyright.ca or call toll free to 1-800-893-5777.
Little White Publishing 2-2095 Boucherie Road Westbank BC Canada V4T 1Z4 www.littlewhitepublishing.com
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication Carter, Laurie Gifts of the Okanagan / Laurie Carter & Bruce Kemp.
ISBN 978-0-9812451-4-0 I. Kemp, Bruce II. Title.
FC3845.O4C37 2011
1. Okanagan Valley (B.C. : Region)--Pictorial works.
917.11’50222
C2011-905679-8
Printed and bound in Canada by Friesens Cover and author photos by Bruce Kemp Photos by Laurie Carter & Bruce Kemp Book design by Mishell Raedeke Map by James White Photo page 21 courtesy of the City of Kelowna Photo this page: Vaseux Lake
C016245
To Sicamous To Kamloops
Enderby 97A 97
Mabel Lake
O‘Keefe Ranch
Armstrong
OKANAGAN VALLEY
Silver Star Mtn Swan Lake
Vernon 6
Fintry Provincial Park Lake
Wood Lake Duck Lake
West Kelowna
yra
Peachland
Big White
M
an
ag
an
Kelowna
Ok
97C Telemark
To Merritt
To Nakusp
Kalamalka Lake
Bear Creek Provincial Park Crystal Mtn
Lumby
rail ada T
s Can
Naramata
33
/ Tran
Summerland
KVR
on ny Ca
Chute Lake
97
Penticton Skaha Lake Apex Mtn
To Hope
Kaleden 3A
3
Okanagan Falls
Vaseux
Lake
Oliver Mt Baldy
nR
aga
Mt Kobau
n Oka
Keremeos Cathedral Provincial Park
Beaverdell
Osoyoos Canada USA
To Midway 3A
Rock Creek
Osoyoos Lake Sketch not to scale nor meant for accurate travel planning.
Introduction Gifts of the Okanagan 5
Introduction Moving to the Okanagan two decades ago was not my first
My life changed when I met Bruce on assignment in Ma-
choice. I had never visited the valley and had only a hazy
laysia. The Okanagan was completely new to him as well
notion of what to expect. Sometimes, though, you’ve got
and introducing him to my adopted home was a joy. It
to go with the flow, so I arrived with a semi-open mind.
was like a photography masterclass, working side-by-side
Almost overnight I fell in love, intrigued by this new land-
with a pro whose career has spanned the globe and who
scape so completely beyond my experience — a rift valley
was endlessly generous with his knowledge and enthu-
between the Thompson Plateau and Okanagan Highland
siasm. Bruce brought a fresh eye to everything I’d been
lying in the rain shadow of the Coast and Cascade mountains.
shooting and I saw so many things in a new light.
A region so dry that cactus thrives. It would be forbidding
It was several years before I convinced him to move west.
without the lakes, chief among them Okanagan Lake, stretch-
Again, like me, he left his family, friends, business and cul-
ing some 135 kilometres (84 miles) from north to south.
turally rich life in Toronto with great reluctance. I can only
I packed my camera everywhere, eager to capture the
thank a benevolent cosmos that he cared enough about
sights — mountain vistas and blooming sagebrush, cattle
our future to upend his life and come here to share mine.
roaming free in the backcountry and rattlesnakes tagged for
Together we continue to explore. It was my idea to do this
research, minuscule pink blossoms on an alpine meadow
book and Bruce’s idea to call it Gifts of the Okanagan, a title I
and bright red kokanee spawning in a neighbourhood creek,
think perfectly captures the sentiment we want to convey. We
ripe grapes glowing in the afternoon sun and vivid rainbows
make no apology for perceived omissions. These are the ele-
arching across the lake. I roamed the valley in every season,
ments of the Okanagan Valley that hold intellectual and spiri-
often returning to favourite places and recording, sometimes
tual value for us. We hope they strike a chord with you as well.
with great sadness, the changes I saw. I’ve never lost my sense of wonder at the rare and special images around me.
Laurie
Central Okanagan Gifts of the Okanagan 7
Central Okanagan The Central Okanagan is the commercial hub of the valley. Cultural amenities, a university, international airport, extensive shopping and a high-rise skyline mark Kelowna as its sophisticated core. Connected by the W. R. Bennett Bridge across Okanagan Lake, the Westbank First Nation and District of West Kelowna are part of the commercial explosion. The communities of Peachland and Lake Country retain more of a small town atmosphere. The region has not forgotten its agricultural roots, yet the industry has evolved to reflect a changing character. Local fruits, vegetables and preserves are widely available and the coterie of renowned chefs who have gravitated to the region fill their menus with the best produce. Kelowna is the birthplace of the Okanagan wine industry and a host of wineries from Lake Country to Peachland produce award-winning vintages. Recreation also continues to evolve. Golf courses, parks, beaches, hiking, cycling, fishing and skiing, both vertical and horizontal, are no more than minutes from city centres. A wide range of resorts attract vacationers and locals take full advantage of the outdoors.
Central Okanagan Gifts of the Okanagan 11
Cultural District Public art is a defining feature of Kelowna’s Cultural District. Standing boldly or tucked in quiet corners among the galleries, performing arts venues and historic sites, dozens of artworks enhance the downtown experience. This bronze figure, reaching high over the courtyard of the Rotary Centre for the Arts is the culminating element of Concept to Creation (2002) by Diane Gorvin, Philip Bews and Jonathan Yeltatzie.
The Sails Few people could tell you the actual title of the iconic sculpture that symbolizes Kelowna to so many. Commanding the sight line at the apex of downtown Bernard Avenue, Spirit of Sail (1978) by Robert Dow Reid is crafted in fibreglass. It stands 12 metres (39 feet) high, weighs around 1,820 kilograms (4,000 pounds) and figures large in vacation photo albums around the world.
14 Gifts of the Okanagan Central Okanagan
Graceful aging Central Okanagan wineries from Lake Country to Peachland present many faces to the world: grand and simple, quirky and conventional, elegant and casual. At this moment, intriguing vintages are aging in stainless steel tanks in a modest Quonset hut, they are absorbing oak flavour and cosmic energy in a pyramid and they are lying in state in an elegant barrel cellar. Vive la diffĂŠrence!
Central Okanagan Gifts of the Okanagan 23
to take flight in all but the most dire circumstances. Hustling broods of tiny chicks across the road, they cause the air to turn blue as drivers curse and frantically swerve to avoid pulverizing the dozy birds. Everybody loves them. Sightings of California bighorn sheep (below) are much more rare. Habitat loss has significantly reduced their numbers. One group roams the west side of Okanagan Lake and summer travellers on Westside Road may encounter them browsing along the shoulder. Another group lives among the rocky crags surrounding Vaseux Lake in the southern part of the valley.
Wildlife Once seriously endangered, ospreys (left) have made a dramatic comeback. They build huge, pick-up sticks nests, often on high platforms provided by farmers, municipalities and public utilities. Now relatively common, they soar above the water, rocket down in impossibly steep, fast dives and flap away with a struggling fish clutched in their talons. It is a very impressive sight. California quail (above) are an endearing feature of the Okanagan in spite of their steadfast refusal
32
Gifts of the Okanagan North Okanagan
O’Keefe Ranch St. Anne’s church was built on O’Keefe Ranch about 1889, part of a self-contained community that included a stagecoach depot, post office, blacksmith shop and gristmill. Cornelius O’Keefe founded the ranch in 1867, preferring to raise cattle on the rich local bunch grass than drive them from Oregon to the gold mining camps further north. The ranch once encompassed over 6,000 hectares (15,000 acres).
Historic Fintry The octagonal barn with its central silo is a prime example of the forward thinking of James Cameron Dun-Waters, who bought Shorts Creek delta in 1910. He renamed the property Fintry for his home in Scotland and turned it into a model agricultural operation complete with electricity generated by Fintry Falls. The barn, manor house and falls are preserved in Fintry Provincial Park.
40 Gifts of the Okanagan North Okanagan
Indian paintbrush An aboriginal legend tells the story of a young man, frustrated in his attempts to paint the sunset with his war paints. Unable to match the brilliance of nature, he sought guidance from the Great Spirit who gave him paintbrushes laden with colour. As the young man painted his masterpiece, he left the spent brushes scattered across the landscape and from these brushes sprouted the beautiful flowers.
Mushroom mania Lying at the edge of the Columbia Mountains, which could be dubbed the wild mushroom capital of the world, the North Okanagan hosts an incredible diversity of intriguing fungi like this rosy russella. Commercial pickers and savvy amateurs go to the Mabel Lake area for the autumn harvest. Those who don’t know a “tasty” from a “deadly” or just want to shoot mushroom memories should take a guided tour.
South Okanagan Gifts of the Okanagan 53
Okanagan legends and lore Looking north at McIntyre Bluff, the face in the mountain
only to find themselves apparently trapped on the lip of the
is plain to see. According to legend, the bluffs are haunted
bluff. But they spotted a little ledge and one by one, quietly
by a small band of hunters who ventured into the valley, still
in the dark, followed it. Old and blind, the last of the hunters
teaming with abundance in spite of famine all around. They
felt his way behind the rest until he reached the end of the
were successful and feasted on fresh fish and venison, but
ledge and realized that the others had fallen silently to their
as they rested after the meal, a party of Okanagan warriors
deaths. He returned to face his pursuers, stood defiantly,
attacked. Surrounded on three sides, the interlopers retreated
then with the war cry of his band, flung himself off the cliff.
South Okanagan Gifts of the Okanagan 57
Cattle b arons
The Haynes Ranch ruins north of Osoyoos stand as a crumbling reminder of an era beginning in the 1860s when a handful of men started to amass vast cattle empires throughout the Okanagan Valley. This spread was occupied by the son of John Carmichael Haynes, a local official and rancher whose widow was shamefully exploited by their former friend, cattle baron, Tom Ellis.
62
Gifts of the Okanagan South Okanagan
Extreme sports The best triathletes in the world compete in the Okanagan.
Falls and Oliver to Osoyoos, west to Twin Lakes and
Penticton hosted the first Ironman Canada in 1983 with a
back to Penticton; then run a full marathon, 42 kilo-
field of 23 competitors. The Subaru Ironman Canada now
metres (26 miles) around the streets of the city. Pro
attracts well over 3,000 athletes from 30-plus countries. Some
level male athletes finish the course in just over eight
4,500 volunteers man the course as competitors swim 3.8
hours while the elite women come in about an hour
kilometres (2.4 miles) in Okanagan Lake; bike 180 kilome-
later. In Kelowna, the Pushor Mitchell Apple Triath-
tres (112 miles) from Penticton south through Okanagan
lon hosts the Canadian Triathlon Championships.