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The tiny border town of Osoyoos in British Columbia is a wine, wilderness and adventure destination, write
Rajbir Deswal & Chander Koumdi
As one drives through the Steven’s Pass from Seattle, the Cascades mountain range, east of Puget Sound, looms in sight with its lofty peaks. It is an awe-inspiring view — the pass presents a commanding view down below, while snowy heights of the range almost touch the sky. The Columbia River, flowing along, manifesting its various moods sometime to our left and sometime to our right, is an added bonus.
Ski tournaments are held here in winters. We were on our way to Osoyoos in British Columbia (Canada). On the way we passed through beautiful Leavenworth — a quaint town having a unique German and Bavarian flavour — reached Wenatchee from where one takes a turn and drives alongside a river, that keeps company up to Osoyoos. You can also take a detour for the beautiful Lake Chelan from here, a major tourist destination. A major part of this lovely drive is through the famous Okanagan Valley with huge sand dunes on either side of the highway. On the slopes close to the river, are spread farms, ranches and fruit orchards. These splashes of greenery at the foothills and sprawling and spiralling yellow slopes of the dunes present a sharp contrast. All through the highway runs a railway track, confirming the region’s historical growth from a mining area, to a full-fledged agriculture economy. Lake Osoyoos with its beautiful views is another tourist attraction on the route. Some 50 km of Osoyoos is the famous Rock Creek, where gold was discovered in the mid 18th century. The scenic drive is full of tourist destinations. Mt Baldy is one such famous skiing destination on route presenting a bird’s eye-view of the entire Okanagan valley. North of Osoyoos is the beautiful town of Oliver, full of history, architectural gems, food, wine. On the same route at about 10 minute’s drive, lies the Spotted Lake which has about 365 round pools of water and saline deposits giving an impression of a dress with polka dots. Aborigines i.e. the Indians hold the Lake as sacred and congregate annually for a pilgrimage here. Close by is the Desert Model Rail Road Museum. It is like a tiny town showing a variety of moving slowing, stopping and zooming trains. There are many private beaches along the way where children and adults can enjoy alike, splashing in shallow waters, a sunbath or even get the thrill of riding jet skis. The area around Lake Osoyoos is full of canals, vineyards and wineries. This is why Osoyoos bills itself as Desert Wine Country. There are many Indian reservations as well, which are politico-cultural reserves where Aborigine Indians practice their own traditions, and where the State does not interfere in their day-to-day governance. We also visited a Reservation NK’MIP (in-ka-meep), an interesting mix of about 200 acres of dunes with vineyards flowing down to the shores of Lake Osoyoos. Osoyoos also has nine-hole desert links golf, a spa and RV camping. The 36-hole beautiful Gold Course created on the western dunes of Osoyoos was a good place to have our lunch before bidding adios to Osoyoos.
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