A busy summer at Home

How can you complain about at summer in Canada?  We can't!

We spent the summer visiting friends, looking for new wheels and accomodation...a camper and spending time with family.  Ausgust was spent at Ken's mom and dad's place and Sept. and Oct. at my folks place, during this time we took several bike trips on our bikes, what fun.  The time we spent in B.C. this summer really made us apreciate the country and area where we live.  

But, never mind the good time this summer, the weather is turning cooler (slowly) and it is time to try out our new digs on the road...we are off to Baja for the winter!

A beautiful ride on the 'Ice fields Parkway' with turquoise lakes and hanging glaciers in themountains. 

With two bikes it is much easier camping with more room for "stuff", even if we insist on traveling light it is always nice to be able to carry and extra thing or two.

Visiting Shaun and Iris in their new digs in Edmonton was a perfect, good company, food and a little retail therapy.

 

Good friends George and Christine where in Canada from Austria and it was great to catch up and do a little camping with them around the Chilcotin.

The CPR railway running along side Gates Lake on the Pemberton-Portage road on the way to Birkenstock PP.

What a great view from the top of Mt Gardner on Bowen Island.  We have been to Bowen many times and at last we had the time (and the weather) to make to 4 hour trek to top and what a reward...a very nice view of Vancouver and the surroundings islands and inlets.

One of the main reasons we love coming home is getting together with family and luckily most of Kens' family was around for a reunion at his brothers place in Sarrento.

We are so lucky!  Willie, a longtime friend from school, owns a helicopter and took Ken and me on a ride for the day as he checked on a few of his jobs around the Okanagan.  My first time in a helicopter...I was thrilled, what a treat!

On the flight by Summerland a big old billy goat smiled for the camera is we circled a couple of times to get a good photo.

Also from the helicopter we had a fantastic view of our place, nestled between the Okanagan Lake and an apple orchard and Bylands Nursery.

Roxanne and I got away for a girls weekend to New Denver, did a few walks , ate some good food and totally enjoyed the peace and quite at the Dome Quiote Inn (what a great place to stay if you are passing through).

When we come home it means so much to us, getting together with friends, good food and drink with great company.  A fun night with Carey and Connie, and our hosts Phil and Tracey in their new home.

On the road again with our new rig...and loving it!

Travelling in comfort with a motorbike

Tent trailers made for motorbikes.  

Down-Under lots of the bikes pull trailers.  With prices of accomodation in Australia and the vast distances you have to travel between them it is good to carry your bed with you and they do it in style down here.

Complete with kitchens and lots of storage.

Made for any type of bike.

The worlds fastest Indian

One of our all time favourite movies, being bike nuts, is 'The Worlds Fastest Indian' starring Anthony Hopkins.  The story which the movie tells is about a bike racer is NZ and his dream to make it big so it only makes sense that we would seek out and find the real thing while we where in the country.

The cast of the 'Worlds Fasted Indian' at the tourist center in Invercargill, NZ.

The body from the real bike Burt Munro raced in the 1960's.

The bike that was originally used in the racer.

Hanmer Springs in South Island, New Zealand

Ken is having 'bike envy"!  Our first real trip without a motorcycle and even though we are having a great time we can't help but think this trip would be fantastic on a motorbike.  New Zealand has loads of twisty roads and fantastic scenery but also a lot of wet weather and traveling in Deep Purple is very comfortable and dry.

Ken stops to admire a couple of KTM 990's and a Husky 650(with a 32 L tank)that just came off some dirt...he misses it!

A New Trip

Today we are off to New Zealand for three months and then on to Australia for around 7 months.  A trip without a motorcycle so we decided to start a new blog with a new theme...gassmansgoneunder.blogspot.ca.  We can't wait to get started and we hope to hear from you

along the way!

Pincushion Mountian

Check out the view from Pincushion Mt. on the Youtube link below;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwyF9wKLNOk 

The map at the trailhead on Beach Ave, makes it look so easy.  

Once at the top the sun was shining and we our brow was glistening!

A Canadian flag marks the top of the climb and a great view.  A picnic table has been brought to the top thanks to the chefs at Okanagan paragliders and the chefs at The Gaushus restaurant.

Yes, if you look really hard you can see the flag!

Boucherie Mountian

Boucherie Mountian, if you live in Westbank you are used to looking at it, driving around in or even partially over it as you wind your way to one of our many wineries or on your way to Kelowna.  As things sometimes happen, I have hiked many places in the the world but not some right at my back door, Boucherie is a prime example of that.  So...on this return trip home I have taken the time to hike to the top several times and what a nice hike it is. Though not that long of a distance, the assent and decent can be quite steep but the reward at the top is magnificent...a 360 degree view of the Okanagan Lake from Okanagan Landing to Peachland.  Though these pictures may be somewhat duplicate, I felt the need to include all of them.  

The view north, up Okanagan Lake with Kelowna and the Okanagan bridge in the background.

Who's the "King of the Castle"?  Ken still loves to climb to the top of any rock pile he can find, like a billy goat!

The first time up Boucherie was on Thanksgiving weekend, in preparation for a big Thanksgiving dinner.  Share used an App on her phone to measure the elevation gain and distance of our hike.

 200 metres up and 4.5 km. long.

The second time up the mountian, I took my little sister, Sharon.  Along the way we stopped to read a few of the wishes left by other hikers on the 'wish tree'.

Some people also left stones placed around the tree making wishes for a better and healthier life for themselves and their loved ones.

The leaves and grassed are turning to lovely fall colours that are a nice contrast to the blue of the sky and the water.  And way off in the distance (you just can't quite see it in this picture) Little White Mountians is already capped with snow.

Sharon and I had to pose for a pic in front of Kelowna and the bridge so we could remember this beautiful afternoon.  But while I was setting up the camera for our picture....

There is this!!!  She just couldn't help herself...I guess there is a little aphrodite in all of us ;)  

What fun!!!