Apple Trip

 

   

      There are some activities in life that are so enjoyable that we make them tradition. Our annual Apple Trips are both practical and pleasurable. I have always enjoyed driving and there are certain trips or roads that give particular satisfaction. 

     One of those roads is the Hope-Princeton highway in southern British Columbia. It offers variety in terrain, several climate zones, and some of the most spectacular scenery anywhere. It is mountain driving at its best. There are many pullouts where travelers can take a break, or just stop and enjoy the sights. A few small towns along the way give opportunity for potty breaks, or picking up a cup of coffee, or grabbing a snack or two. 

     Our destination for the apples is the small orchard community of Keremeos, situated on the edge of the Okanagan Valley which is famous for a variety of fruits. In the past, we have always had three reasons for travelling this road. It was on the way to or from our holiday lakefront property, it was only a few miles from the little village of Hedley, where some dear friends of ours lived, and, of course the apples, straight from the orchard. 

     We had a favorite farm that we have been going to for perhaps 40 years. A middle aged couple, the Gumperts, owned and operated the orchard. We would drive onto the farm and follow the advice of the homemade sign "Toot For Fruit". Friendly Mrs. Gumpert would come either out of her kitchen, or running from the tree filled orchard. We rarely saw her husband who was always busy picking fruit or doing some other activity behind the scenes. We would follow Mrs. Gumpert into the large walk-in cooler and chose the type of apple we wanted, and perhaps buy a few pounds of prune plums.

    As the years went by, we could see them ageing and one day, it was not her, but her daughter-law, Lisa, who came out to greet us. That began a long business/ friendship relationship. We would remember and comment on things about each other from the year before. It was always a pleasure and the prices were great. 

   Fast forward to today, Sept. 2026. It feels like it is time to hit the road for our annual Apple Trip, but, things have changed. Two big events have to now be taken into consideration. We no longer own the property an hour away from Keremeos, and our friends who lived in Hedley most of their lives, have sold their home and moved to the Fraser Valley. Do we want to drive all that way just for a box of apples? We no longer have an family of hungry mouths to feed and we can only store or eat so many ourselves. 

    I may have sealed the deal when I was at the MCC (Mennonite Central Committee) annual relief sale on Friday. I purchased a quantity of Gala apples from a local farmer. It was for a good cause and I was hungry for apples. Now, if we do take a drive to Keremeos, it will be for the pleasant drive and to photograph some of the spectacular yellow foliage in the Princeton area.  

Cherry Run

 

A last minute decision was made and off we were to the interior for our annual cherry run. We heard that the cherries were very early this year and we did not want to miss them.

We went to Cawston and found the fruit stand where we purchased the Christalina variety two years ago. They are so much better than the Vans of last year. We missed them by three days, but the Lapins were coming on strong so we purchased 100 lbs. of them and then it was back on the road.

We had only left home at noon so we did not have too much time to dally, however, we did stop in at our friend's in Hedley. The 'good' restaurant was not open Mondays so our friends graciously invited us to share a meal with them. We also had a box of cherries for them.

We noted how much greener it was in the interior than in the Fraser Valley. This is a reversal of the usual pattern. We drove through numerous showers on the way home.

The next day we canned all the cherries we kept for ourselves, 42 quart jars. Of course, we still have a good supply of fresh ones in the refrigerator. These Lapins keep really well and are very firm and juicy. One of the best things about summer is all the fresh fruit and produce that comes on stream. We have certainly got off to a good start with the strawberries and now the cherries.

Beavers and Berries

 

We travel Highway 3 (Hope Princeton) quite often and I never tire of the variety and the beauty. We used to rush through it in the old days, but now I am rarely in a hurry and we love to stop at our favourite places, and occasionally a new spot. Just east of the Manning Park Lodge there is a road side attraction called Beaver Pond. It has been many years since we stopped and explored here. It is a small meadow that was flooded many years ago when the beavers decided to build a dam here. Not much changes over the years, but this time, in mid August mind you, we discovered a bumper crop of ripe succulent Saskatoon berries.

 

 

 

 

These berries are not all that uncommon in the interior, but by August they are usually done, with only dry raisons left on the branches. We ate our fill and were happy to have been rewarded with more than a Beaver Dam.

Deja Vu

 

Sorry for the poor arrangement of photos but 'Blogger" does that every so often and I cannot move the photos around.

 

We took a day trip to Keromeos on Sunday to 'get out of town' and to purchase some cherries. It was a good trip, overall, and our objective was achieved. We even found a few Saskatoon Berry bushes on the Old Hedley Road. By the time I thought of photographing the purple ripe berries, I had eaten them all and there were only these red ones to photograph. These were the only wild berries I ate as a kid. We would scour the country roads for them, pick for hours on end, and then my mother would bake a pie for us. Every time I bite into one of these berries, the nostalgia overwhelms me.

 

 

 

 

 

Every few years we take the Old Hedley Road, either east or west, and always enjoy the fresh view of the river valley east of Princeton.

 

Monday morning we got to work to can most of the 50 lbs. of cherries we bought at our favourite orchard on the Upper Bench Road in Keromeos. They had been picked only hours before and they were fresh and ripe. Plucking stems, sorting out the very few bad ones, and canning them was an all morning project for busylizzy, mostly. I was able to help but I had a major setback in my battle against gout.

 

Here is the story. We get the cherries because over the last year, I have had the occasional bout of gout. (I like the sound of that) On Sunday I ate at least several pounds of cherries. These are Vans and they do not at all cause an adverse reaction in my digestive system. Eating cherries in the past has always given me very quick relief from the painful gout so I should be good, right? I had a hamburger (beef, which I am supposed to stay away from) on the road and that is the only thing that might had triggered the gout. But all those cherries??

Anyway, at 3 am on Monday I awoke from the pain. I have been eating cherries ever since.

 

This was our first trip together, to the Okanagan, since we stocked up on apples last September. I blogged at that time about the traffic tie-up we had between Hope and Chilliwack. Wouldn't you know it. It happened again. It was at almost the same place on the highway and the time spent was almost as long. The Rosedale overpass was barely visible in our rear-view mirror and it was highly entertaining watching the vehicles try to turn around on the two lane highway and then proceed the wrong way on the shoulder, only to wait in a traffic tie-up at the overpass as they thought they would motor through Rosedale and back onto the Freeway. We stuck it out and it was fine, even though we were quite low on gas.

 

The traffic was very heavy, as it is every weekend, and we do not usually travel that way on the weekends. We were reminded again why. We also wondered if the newly raised speed limit was a contributing factor to the big truck roll-over.

 

On a side note, our peas from our garden are delicious this year. We have a bumper crop from one small row (maybe 8 ft. long)and we harvest this much every day. Yes, we are entering the fresh local food season.

Last Photos From Vancover Island

Around the Island

 

Mt. Baker from Vancouver Island.

 

Snow caps on the Olympic Peninsula.

 

A dazzling beach house.

 

Boats and more boats everywhere you go.

 

A pastoral scene near Duncan.

 

Captain Cook.

 

Chinese Dragon at the gateway to China Town in downtown Victoria.  

 

China Town gate.

 

Clock tower.

 

Cowichan Bay.

 

A window display in a shop in Cow Bay.

 

A Fisherman's Wharf houseboat owned by a local diver who has displayed his various finds while diving in the harbour. It is mostly diving equipment, cell phones, and digital cameras.

 

Victoria's inner harbour with the Empress Hotel in the background. We did a lot of walking that day, but every minute was enjoyable.

Seafood and Other Delights

 

We set out for Mill Bay on a lovely evening for a nice seaside dinner.

 

The restaurant is built out over the water and as they advertise, "Every table is a window seat".

 

My three companions had the special which was jumbo prawns in pasta.

 

One cannot travel to Vancouver Island and not have Fish 'n Chips, my favourite even miles from the ocean.

 

We lucked out because it was the manager's birthday and every patron got a complimentary piece of Strawberry Shortcake.

 

Victoria's inner harbour with the Legislature in the background.

 

 

A bike shop in Cowichan Bay

 

A street scene in downtown Victoria.

 

An old abandoned stone church near Duncan.

 

The famous Empress Hotel on the Inner Harbour.