Driving to the Okanagan ...

Our lunch spot, near the BC border

 I seem to have done a ton of driving holidays since I've been in Canada.  And, I must say, I love them.  It's so fun to take the whole day to arrive somewhere, stopping at quirky little places along the way (although C groans when I ask him to stop at yet another antique shop!).  The trip to the Okanagan was l o n g.  It took us about 10 hours of driving and stopping to get there.  But, along the way we saw some cool things.  Perhaps my favourite place was the super touristy Dutchmen Dairy, where we ate icecream and wandered around looking at the cows ... I wanted to take a calf home with me, they were adorable!  We have another couple of driving adventures coming up - a weekend in Cranbrook, about a 4-5 hour drive southwest from Calgary, with C's cousins and then a long weekend camping in Waterton, about a 3 hour drive south of Calgary.  In the meantime, here are some pictures from our time driving to and from the Okanagan.  Enjoy.

Two lanes, at last!

A snow ramp - each year, military personnel are stationed near here to blast the snow off the mountains to prevent avalanches on the roads!

Back to the single road ... and about to say goodbye to the mountains

Billboards on an Indian reserve

The BEST icecream ever - made right here at D Dutchmen Dairy!

This calf loved sucking my fingers, icecream or no icecream!

And this one loved licking my arm!

C and I plan to retire here ... the Big Chief Mobile Home and RV Park ... not!  Trailer parks are everywhere in Canada

Hammering in the 'last spike' on the Trans-Canadian railway

This is the last spike!  Gold plated of course!

Logging in BC ... everywhere!

Gophers wait for the train to cross, just like us!