Beaver Lake

This summer we hadn't booked a cabin stay or two like we normally do. I guess with our trips back East and my studying for the GMAT and getting into school, it just slipped our minds.

So before the summer was over, I wanted to rent a place so we could have some BBQ, maybe do some hiking, have a fire, etc.

I found this retreat on Beaver Lake which is near Kelowna. There wasn't anything available in Penticton, Kelowna, etc. where we normally go so I decided to try this out. Maybe it would be a winner and we could come back.
It gave us a chance to take the new car for a long trip on the highway and I must say it was more comfortable. Tala and Unos had a lot more room as well in the back.

When we were getting close we turned off a road in Winfield (where we had previously stayed in a cabin a few times) and headed up a mountain dirt road for about 20 minutes.

The funny thing was there were cows everywhere. It seems that most of the mountain is part of some farmland where the cows are left free to graze.
I had thought that by going to the Okanagan, we'd get some hot weather as it was starting to cool down in Vancouver, but I was wrong. It was hot in the city, but very cool up on this mountain. I think the lake must actually be a bit of a micro-climate due to the fact that it is on the mountain.

The main attraction for us was to rent one of the motor boats they have and go for a little ride. We'd contemplated fishing as they also rented all the gear, but neither one of us wanted to clean a fish and we weren't too keen on eating them either so we figured we should let them live :)

Here is Mike driving the boat. Unos and Tala just loved it. Just like sticking their head out the car window, but 10 times better :)

They really wanted to get out and swim,



but it took them a while to figure out how to jump out of the boat.

As usual, Unos took the plunge first. Tala is always so hesitant to do anything new and he's sort of like "Out of my way if you're not going to do it." Then of course after having an example she follows.

Unos didn't last too long in the water. He never does as he doesn't have the lab coat like Tala does. She could swim all day and the cold wouldn't bother her because the water never really touches her skin. Here is Unos watching after being pulled back in. That is a bit of an art too, pulling them back in.
It was easy to pull Unos in, but Tala was a different story. First, she swam around for ever not seeming to want to come in because she loves the water.

Finally she started to look like she was trying to get in, so Mike pulled her in. We got pretty wet with cold water from our shaking mutts.

There was a little island in the lake, so we pulled up there and walked around for a bit. We threw some sticks for the dogs to retrieve.


Here is Unos literally biting off more than he can chew.

They compete pretty fiercely to bring in sticks.

It's really Tala's thing, but Unos will not be left out.

After they had got their fill, we started to head back.




Unos was ready to go first. Of course now he was cold and shaking and I bundled him up in towels for the short trip home.

When we got back we started a fire in the fireplace. We weren't allowed to have a campfire because of the fire ban :( but it was nice to have the fireplace given how chilly it was.

We had an unlimited supply of wood with an ax and a wood pile beside the cabin. Mike took advantage, he is good at making a nice fire.


We also brought lots of things for the BBQ, so we had some dinner after our adventure.

When we go "camping" no one is on a diet, so Unos and Tala helped us with the massive hamburgers we couldn't finish.

This had all the components of a great vacation for them.

We (mostly me) also did a fair amount of walking and hiking around with the dogs. There were quite a few trails to walk on. There were also as I mentioned earlier cows everywhere. Tala couldn't care less about them and totally ignored them, but not our little dummy. He was a mixture of scared to heck yet very curious about them. He would run up to them and just bark his crazy head off not knowing what they were. A couple times he got waaay too close and we had to call him back. He's so stupid, I'm sure that he might get kicked. The stupid dog still chases skunks for crying out loud. So that was that. I was nice to try it out but we won't be back. It gets a thumbs up for the boats and the fireplace, but the dogs have to be on leash around the main cabin area all the time, there are no outdoor fireplaces for the cabins and the cool air and the cows were not our scene.

Other than that we're doing well. Mike is actually in Fredericton attending a friend's wedding as I write this. I am getting ready to start school next week and am very excited. We're just enjoying the tail end of the summer and getting ready for a very busy year :)