Pocketful of Memory Cards

Soon after we'd moved to Kelowna in 1995 we took a short hike over a few of the Myra Canyon trestles with visiting relatives. Each June since then, I've declared "..that this will be the summer we finally bike the Myra Canyon Trestles". In January 2003 my desire to do the trek was renewed when Myra Canyon was designated a National Historic Site.  Then sadly, nine months later, 12 of the 18 trestles were burned in the Okanagan Mountain Park Fire .  I was rather annoyed with myself for not taking advantage of the opportunity to experience this beautiful trail.  How devastating it must have been to the dedicated volunteers  who beginning in 1992 spent three summers repairing and making these trestles safe, building a 4 foot boardwalk across each trestle, putting up guard rails, constructing benches at various lookout points and posting interpretive signage.  All labour, material and equipment was donated and once the restoration was complete, the vol...

I haven't posted on a Monday in a while...at least it seems that way.  One summer day runs into the other and if it wasn't for appointments with contractors and doctors I'd have no idea what day it was until I noticed my husband in bed past 5 on a Saturday morning. Today I'm grateful for the fact that there are still four official weeks left of summer with Autumn, my favourite season right on it's heels. I'm grateful for the time I spent in New York, all the sights we saw and fun we had, getting to know Tracy and Christina better, allowing myself to let go a little and not sweating the small stuff.   Though with the humidity making it feel like 45 degrees some days, and all the walking and bike riding we did there was  definitely a lot of sweating going on. I lost almost 8 lbs, for which I'm most grateful! I'm grateful we finally got out kayaking a couple of Sundays ago.  I'll have pictures once I find the cord for the small camera I ...

After much thought and an overview of the posts from the past two months I'm going to make some changes.  Since the blog title and description talk about a daily photo,  after Monday's post, my focus will be on regular (though not daily) photographs.  And since I love Kelowna and love sharing all the things that you can do here, I'm going to revive my blog " From the Valley and Beyond ". I've been keeping my ears and eyes out for things I'd like to do and thinking about experiences I'd like to repeat.  Over the next few months you can look forward to one photo per post that links to more detailed posts on From the Valley and Beyond.  I'm hoping for posts on biking the Kettle Valley Railway Trestles , an outdoor concert in the Mission Hill Amphitheatre, kayaking with friends, wine tasting and picnicking via bike through East Kelowna , birthday celebrations in NYC,  and events put on by Festivals Kelowna and Parks Alive .  Cross your fin...

Having friends from Ontario visiting this week has given me a new appreciation for the great place I'm lucky enough to live in.   Seventeen years ago we were living about 90 minute drive from Toronto, in a small city of about 65,000 people.  We decided to head out to Vancouver Island to live closer to my husband's family in Sidney B.C.  My husband applied for a job in Kelowna and when he told me about it  I was quite distraught.  In fact I burst into tears.    I thought we were leaving our home to be close to his family.  Kelowna was a 4 hour drive plus a ferry ride away.  That wasn't my definition of close.     My husband put his arms around me and assured me he wouldn't take the job if they offered it to him.  He never heard back from the company and a few months later we were living in Sidney with my in-laws, looking for work.  The economy wasn't really thriving in 1995 and my very experienced civil engineer knock...

My friend and I stopped at The Roasted Bean Coffee House  after our bike ride along the Mission Greenway this afternoon.  Despite our extreme efforts and  the heat,  I couldn't resist a cappuccino ..... or the brilliant colour combination Donna created on the patio.