No Peaches... but... something much better!

Sandy has been hearing some distressing stories... that people are dismantling old orchards (possibly peach ones!) and planting... grapes!

 Now Sandy has nothing against grapes... they can be beary yummy too but... why get rid of the peaches??

Well... apparently, the dry, rocky soil here is good for these grapes. It is beary similar to the soil and climate in... France!

 And what is so special about the grapes in France?? Or the grapes in the Okanagan for that matter? Well... they make wine with them!!! ...

Sandy blinks thoughtfully for a minute and then wonders what is so special about wine... what makes it so much better than peaches??? Well... wine is...

• very yummy to drink!! (Sandy is not impressed)
• great to cook with! (Sandy yawns)
• beary yummy to drink! (Sandy examines his claws and buffs them on his puffy coat)...

• Well, there is a wine made out of honey too... it's called Ambrosia! (Sandy is all attention!!!)

So with a bit of coaxing, Sandy went on a few winery tours... This one was called the Burrowing Owl... which seems rather odd (because owls fly and don't burrow)... until you realize that there is actually a small owl that does burrow in the ground. Anyhow... Sandy didn't get to sample any Ambrosia... but he did taste an Icewine (almost as good as honey!!).

In Search of the Elusive Peach...

You would think that... for a town that prides itself on being the peach capital of Canada, one would actually be able to find peach trees somewhere! But noooo... not so far!

What Sandy did find was tonnes and tonnes and tonnes (did we mention tonnes) of apple orchards!

 And these apples are grown via the escalier method (that's a French word, right Ben??). We think it means "step" or "up" - because the apple "trees" are trained to grow up and along trellises.

 It makes for beary skinny apple trees which are much easier to pick probably!

 Yummm!!! Fresh apples straight off the tree! But Sandy wasn't allowed to pick any - because they were still on the tree. This wasn't a "u-pick apple orchard"!

Then Sandy found a beary interesting electrical box... those aren't peaches though... those are apricots. Yummy! But where are those peach trees?? Sandy will have to continue his hunt... he's heard that fresh peaches are absolutely delicious... with peach juice running down your chin and arms... which, on second thought, might not be a great idea for a little bear!

In Search of the Elusive Ogopogo

This morning, Sandy got up beary early... even before the sun was up! He had heard that the best time of day to see wildlife (which would include the Ogopogo) is at dawn. So up he was, toddling off to the beach, eagle eyes at the ready.

 It is beary quiet out... and the beach and lake are deserted except for...

 A little bear... on a mission.

 Sandy stands patiently, gazing out at the lake, waiting... and waiting...

 With a muffled squeak of delight, he points out something in the water! Could it be Ogopogo???? No... just some weeds.

 But then... off the side, Sandy sees some ripples on the water... something is coming!

 Is that the head of Ogopogo????? Oooh... could it be????

 No... it is just a duck... or perhaps Ogopogo wearing a duck hat?

 No... definitely just a duck... Sandy is a bit disappointed and toddles off down the beach... surely Ogopogo must be somewhere??

 Sandy finds a picture of Ogopogo! Which is better than nothing...

 And even has his picture taken with the legendary denizen of the deep.

 Around the corner, Sandy finds a beary perplexing thing... can you tell what it is? No?? Neither can Sandy.

How about now??? No... it took Sandy a while too... it is supposed to be a replica of a peach!! This is the Okanagan after all, land of fruit trees and wineries! Maybe the giant peach has scared Ogopogo away from this area of the lake??

Off to the Okanagan

Sandy was rather surprised when he learned that we were no getting off the plane in Calgary, but continuing on to the Okanagan area of British Columbia!! What is this??? Mama has more business here... so now Sandy has a chance to visit wine-country! And maybe see the Ogopogo sea monsters (like the Loch Ness monster!).

As soon as he could escape from the hotel, Sandy scampered off to the lake... and crossed something beary interesting...

 There was this concrete sign post... and upon closer inspection...

 It turned out to be part of the Trans-Canada Trail!! That would be a beary long hike... all the way across Canada. Maybe one day...

 This is Okanagan Lake... supposed home of the Ogopogo monster... but all Sandy sees is an old tug boat.

 And some beary large cottonwood leaves that are definitely yellow. Fall is showing up, even here...

This leaf is beary large! Sandy is looking forward to doing some exploration of this area... maybe he'll even get to visit some wineries!

A Windy Corner

A visit to Winnipeg would not be complete without a visit to an iconic street corner... Can you guess which one it is??

It has a bunch of banks on it - this one is the Bank of Montreal... there is also the TD Bank, Scotia Bank, CIBC and the Royal Bank... basically all of the major banks in Canada have offices on this street corner.

It is a beary windy street corner as well!

There is a pretty caribou statue here...

And a military memorial...

And did we mention it is beary windy!!! Sandy was having to shelter behind the military memorial otherwise he was getting bowled over!

It's called Portage and Main!! Apparently it is the windiest (and some say, the coldest) street corner in Canada. Today is Sandy's last day in Winnipeg and then it's back out west...

Doors & Birds

Today Sandy bear found a little park in Winnipeg, which had a fountain in it! The wind was blowing the water onto the edge of the fountain, so Sandy had to be careful where he perched, otherwise he might have gotten a wet bear bum!

 This little park was full of murals - and the theme was Doors and Birds of the World.

 This mural is of a door and is actually on a door... of some utility shack...

 And here we have a green door that looks like it could be from Europe... with maybe some sea gulls and herons? And then something that looks like a picture frame?

 And then... a green door from somewhere... and a pink flamingo!! (Sandy could identify that bird easily!)

 Then a couple of doors... not sure where from... with a green parrot and some other birds..

 This one has a white door which looks like a North American door! And another beary fancy door with an owl next to it.

And finally... a door that is a curtain with a... hmmm... a toucan?? And a bald eagle (Sandy knows that bird too!)

Hmmm... clearly Sandy needs to study up on doors and birds!

Winnipeg (again!)

We seem to be doing a lot of repeats in the last little while... Lake Louise again... Winnipeg again. Mama is here again for work, part of preparing for her sabba-tickle. Still no sign of Jerry and Ben floating down... er... up the river!

Sandy was dragging his little feet around town, a bit dejected... but then he spied something beary beautiful... a huge (HUGE) rose!!

 Except it's not a "real" rose... it's part of a beary large art mural...

 This is the right side...

 And this is the left side. Beary beautiful... and quite a collection of different images - churches, guitars, roses, skateboarders!

 Then there were some murals on an outdoor patio for an Italian restaurant. They look like they might be from Manitoba... a pretty rainbow...

 A funky gnarly tree...

 An old homestead maybe...

And some clouds over a lake... maybe... There are all sorts of pretty things around, if we only start looking for them. Because to be truthful, Sandy wasn't all that impressed with Winnipeg - kind of "grungy"... But this is starting to change his view of this "old" city (more than 100 years old!).