Today’s drive took us from the southern suburbs to the north side of town. There is a tangle of multilane express routes many of which are under construction.  Add a few sprinkles of rain and some 6 ½ million people and even with a Garmin it wasn’t a flawless drive.  Not terrible though, only one U-turn.

Our new home is Bells Falls Campground in Waubaushene Ontario.  It is near Georgian Bay Islands National Park and a bunch of historic sites.  We got settled in just in time for the skies to open up.  Water surrounds the motor home like a moat.

Tonight we check out the new LED lights on the falls and the fireworks show.

Folks claim that best views are from the Canada side so we grab our passports and a jacket and head for Rainbow Bridge.

The US falls are brilliantly lit by the setting sun.  We get a glimpse or two of nature’s light show as rainbows come and go in the mist that billows into the gorge.  A queue of 10 or so creates a short wait at Canadian customs but all goes smoothly.  We claim a good spot in view of both falls and settle in the wait for dark.  We pass the time listening to a local band in the plaza below and watching zipliners soar through the gorge.

It is 9PM. Both falls are brightening, just white light for now.  As the sky darkens, colors appear and the water glows red, blue, green and gold.

The deep blue is my favorite.  9:45; BOOM, the test charge for the fireworks display echoes off the gorge walls.  It won’t be long now.

Lights on both falls drop to a pale blue and the pyrotechnics begin. It is not a huge show but with this backdrop it is still impressive.  The air is still and smoke collects in the basin between the falls filtering the light of the final charges.  Happy 150^th Canada.  Nicely done.  It is a great view from your side.

Rainbow Bridge US pedestrian customs is backed up a bit but our return to the US goes as smoothly as our departure

The Okanogan Valley British Columbia.  This must be where the Vancouverites come to play.  Mega homes dot the high bluffs above the river and dense thickets of condos and townhomes clog the riverbanks and lakeshores in town.  It was a beautiful place that brought them all here but what it has grown to be doesn’t appeal to me so much.  From Verona to Kelowna to Penticton you could shop for weeks and eat at a different restaurant for every meal.  They still squeeze in small vineyards; enough to support some 150 wineries.

A twisty trek up the hillsides in Summerland took us to Summerland Sweets, a maker of fruit based candies, syrups, honey, jams, and other stuff. We tasted more stuff than I can even remember and brought home an assortment of goodies: Boysenberry syrup, Pure Peach jam and fruit jelly candies.

I did do a bit of tasting but chose a vintage based on honey rather than grapes.  Planet Bee Honey Farm has dozens of variations on straight fermented honey.  I tried half a dozen ranging from sour cherry to oak aged wildflower with cardamom.  Each was a fun taste but I ended up with the classic mead as well as a jar of the wildflower honey it is based upon.

We checked out the Davidson orchard that is set up as sort of a family destination to get “out on the farm”.  Scarecrow people with pumpkin parts made up the Pumpkin Butter Band and other greeters.  A hilarious fuel oil tank cow and bull stood guard over the entrance to the playground.  It was all very cute.

In the orchard they trellise the apple trees.  It looks very strange but must be a way to deal with heavy snow fall and to allow harvesting entirely from the ground.  The honey crisp are just ripe and delicious.  September is sweet corn time here.  We bought a couple ears of peaches and cream (their version of bicolor) and it was the first ear corn of the season for us and was fantastic.  Of course they had a bakery that featured goods made with their local fruit.  My plum cake was wonderful as was Kent’s carrot cake.

Poppadoms Indian restaurant in Kelowna.  I can’t recall the actual names of anything we tried.  I had a potato filled crepe served with a lentil stew and two wonderful chutneys. Kent had halibut again but this time grilled and served with rice and a mustard chutney.  Delicious

We are entering the Okanagan Valley known for orchards and wineries.  Tomorrow is a day for exploring and sampling.  This afternoon we relax and enjoy the beautiful view of Kalamalka Lake from camp.  We have a ring necked pheasant for a neighbor.