explorecanada – A Pursuit of Life – Barefoot& High Heeled

Palette Adventures in Golden, BC

Adventure and fine dining. Two things that go together like me and wine. Meant to be. One of my absolute favorite destinations ever, is Golden, British Columbia. Literally, I just love that place. The energy there is fantastic – as well as the natural charm. With the green river flowing through it, the majestic mountains surrounding, and the small quaint size of it. I just cant get enough.

Golden has loads of activities on offer from, cycling, hiking, white water rafting, paragliding, and so on and so forth, I intend on spending quite a bit of time around there this summer. Endless excitement for my little adventure loving heart.

This time around, it was a weekend road trip with one of my long time gal pals.

Even though it was raining, it didn’t stop us. I am a damn trooper, it takes a lot more then that to stop this gal. There is nothing like hitting the open road, cranking your tunes, and laughing with one of your nearest and dearest. It’s always a nice change for myself as I do tend to do a sufficient amount of solo travel. It’s not my fault I like spontaneous adventures, and I don’t always have the time to wait for anyone else to join. Besides, ‘me time‘ rocks too!

Obviously aside from physical activities, Golden does offer a fine little culinary scene. One I also need to explore more of. I ever so graciously received a gift certificate from Tourism Golden for The Island Restaurant, an establishment in which I had not yet had the pleasure of being acquainted with. I love trying new things! Clearly. I think that goes without saying.

The Island Restaurant is a beautiful log building, and the location was prime with a patio that was over looking the river. It has such a warm and inviting atmosphere that draws you right in.

Mother nature decided to be a gem and hold up on the rain for us so we could enjoy the splendid patio ambiance.

Yes, I was already in my happy place with the way things were progressing – and it was about to get a whole lot happier when the vino started flowing. Anyone who know’s me, know’s that wine is a hobby of mine. It’s an art, one that I like to enjoy.

Before I decided on the bottle, we were offered a sample. A generous one at that. She said these two mixed together would taste the equivalent of Summers night. So off I went to experience it.

Wait it was a bit difficult, so I tried another route.

Yup, sold! Pretty darn delicious. Bring on the Summers Night.

Clearly I am a total class act, 100% of the time.

The service was top notch! Super charismatic, and above and beyond. Right from the get go.

We were having the best time ever. Having an awesome person taking care of you, always takes the experience way up as well!

Since you can’t live on Vino alone, it was time to begin our culinary journey.

I decided to try the Elk for my Entree. I like to keep things as local as possible no matter where in the world I am, so I figured you can’t get much more local then Elk. It was served as an Elk patty plated on top of rosti potatoes and roasted vegetables.

With a side of salad, and a pastry stuffed with cheese.

The Elk had a very interesting flavor to it. I mean the flavoring they added was great, but the meat itself has quite a different taste to me. I am not sure I would be ordering Elk myself again anytime soon. However, everything else I had was ridiculously good.

Natasha went for the Mozzarella & Grape Quasadilla.

She also loved hers, and couldn’t resist in finishing every last bit.

Clearly we had to top it off with dessert, and went for the Apple pie. Freshly baked and perfectly delicious. Party in my mouth. Ok, that was the wine.

Looks like someone was enjoying their vino

I can tell you one thing, if you come hungry, you absolutely will not be leaving hungry. They take very good care of that. Perhaps I should have worn sweat pants…..

I was also treated to a tour by the chef. I always love a behind the scenes look at things. We even hung out with the owner for a bit.

The whole experience was so much fun, it was hard to leave. ‘No, I don’t want to go!’

Although I did leave in the end, and I know one thing for a fact, well two things actually. Firstly, I am going to be back in Golden in no time. Secondly, I will be visiting The Island Restaurant again. It has the view, the ambiance, the service, and the cuisine. Everything you could ever ask for in a culinary experience. When you wake up in the Golden area, don’t miss out on the chance to heighten all your senses.

Snow, and the shoes for the occasion.

Winter time entertainment. It come is all forms, shapes and sizes. I love a good ol’ winter adventure sesh, especially when you find yourself amidst a beautiful balmy winter day. Not to mention in the stunning Northwest Territories region of Canada. It’s not uncommon to find temperatures dipping down to -50c in January/February, yes freeze your limbs right off kinda weather, so -22 was feeling like a Arctic summer dream. I always say, once you get past -30c, its just friggen cold, and the number of it no longer matters.

That is where my fire place comes in handy, oh yes, a nice toasty warm fire. I get that bad boy blazing in the winter, so when you come in from the ridiculously cold conditions, and need to thaw your lungs since the air pretty much froze in there – your house is like a oven sent from heaven! I absolutely adore it. It’s a winter pleasure for sure. Every season has its perks, no matter what, you can always make the most of any situation, and this is an example of me looking on the the bright side of any circumstance.

Being a balmy winter day, my friend Krystina and myself decided that we needed to get out and enjoy some time with mother nature and all her winter glory. Gosh, its damn stunning out here in the winter. Sheer winter blanket beauty coating all the tree’s and landscape. So I kicked off my high heels, covered my bare feet and we dawned the best shoes for the wintry occasion, which happen to be none other then, snowshoes, and we hit the trails at the golf course just outside town, in Hay River, NWT.

Literally I hadn’t gone snowshoeing since high school, which was quite awhile ago now…. I mean at the very least it was 16 years since I had a pair on – which made this little excursion extra exciting. Not that snowshoeing is a great level of difficulty, its just a nice, relaxing form of winter exercise.

Once we got out there and got ourselves together, it was GO time! Initially it was feeling cold ass out there with the wind chill. Even through my 3 pairs of socks my toes were feeling frozen, but we trooped on. Knowing that once we got our blood pumping we would warm up.

It really didn’t take long before frozen toe syndrome was a thing of the past.

The trails at the Hay River Golf Course are very well done. Full of snow shoe and cross country skiing tracks.

It’s apparent that these are pretty popular winter sports from all those tracks. We were in awe of the winter wonderland-esque beauty that we were surrounded by. Totally engulfed in it.

There wasn’t the best path markings, and we did get lost in and amongst it all for awhile, not in a bad way though, in an adventurous way. As any good traveler knows, “It’s not always the destination that’s important, its the journey along the way”. Oh, and we did at one point find our way, or should I say, ‘Ricardo’s Way‘, so we followed the snowy brick road.

It was so peaceful, calm and serene. At many parts the snow was being blown off the branches giving the effect as if it was snowing. There was another area where there were birds chirping, and squirrels playing. It was majestic to say the least.

In the end we covered just shy of 6 km of distance, and killed a few hours, enjoying every moment, stopping to bask in the endless splendor, playing background music(when my phone was actually working), and held up trees….

Oh, come on now, who doesn’t like to spend some time holding up a pine tree?!

I say when my phone was working because the darn thing kept freezing and shutting off on me….. So I would stick in my shirt and un-thaw it. It’s not as though I have loads down there, so there was plenty of room for it. Worked like a charm I tell yah. Iphones clearly aren’t built to brave arctic winter conditions, but she did well considering. We even had icecycles on our hair and eyelashes.

Being awesome kept us warm though. It never fails.

We knew we found base again when we came into view of the club house.

Yes we were melting with enthusiastic joy of our accomplishment of the day.

Another afternoon of rocking my little world, and doing so with the epic company of a life long friend. It was a breath of fresh scenic air, and a bonding event with mother nature herself. So if your feeling like a nice chilled little winter adventure, slap on some snow shoes, grab a good friend, and get your asses out there.

I am already preparing for round two before I leave my Northern homeland, this time busting out cross country skis. Let’s put our best foot forward. Happy winter days!

Golden adventures, around Golden BC!

Golden, BC. I love Golden! It is a small town, set in beautiful pristine settings, with a green river(yes green) flowing threw it, and a lush mountainous landscape surrounding it.

The people are as golden as the name itself, and it just has one of those energies to it, the kind that pulls you in and engulfs you. Like a nice warm blanket that you never want to leave. Not to mention, there are endless adventure activities for the outdoor enthusiast(i.e. ME).

I decided to stay in a hostel this time around. The Dreamcatcher Hostel. It was massive, beautiful and didn’t feel like a hostel. The service and helpfulness of the owners was impeccable. I made a new friend, whom had a very interesting story. His name is Robert and he was walking across Canada. It’s always fantastic to meet people on their individual journeys, and I so appreciate when people are doing things out of the ordinary. With some good company and conversation, night 1 was spent just enjoying what the town has to offer. We checked out the local watering holes, and enjoyed some Vino(of course), and then finished the night off enjoying an impromptu wine a cheese dinner back at the hostel – playing music on the jute box. My kinda night!

Day 2, and I was super stoked for a jam packed day full of adventure! First off, I headed to Kicking Horse Mountain. I took the chair lift up to see Boo the bear at the Grizzly Bear Refuge.

Boo was a rescued bear, and his refuge was fit for a king. Apparently he is also an escape artist.

Not only was it massive, he has everything he would have in the wild and more. They even built a little log house for him to hibernate in during the winters. Not a bad life if you ask me. I am such an animal lover, and that also goes for bears. I am not one to watch animals in cages on display, however in this cirsumstance, since Boo was a rescue-ee, this situation was for his own wellness, he has an epic set up, and you can see he is one happy bear – I was excited to be so up close and personal with him.

Back down the chair lift and onto the Gondola back up the mountain.

I was so looking forward to some hiking! Now I don’t suggest you go off hiking in the Mountains alone, as this is bear country, and hiking alone is not the best idea. Even though that has to be said and beared in mind; It wasn’t stopping me – and in order to take some safety precautions, I didn’t go too remote, and I stuck to trails that I could see other people hiking in the not too far off distance.

The hiking trails around the kicking horse mountain range are what seem endless, and I could easily spend a week or two just hiking and camping, and being awesome in nature.

The following photo is my ‘I feel super successful, as I just hiked the heck outta these mountains like a solo rockstar selfie‘. It had to be done. Celebrate your successes! It only serves to create more success in your life. Even when your just celebrating solo.

For a week or two of hiking and being one with nature I would leave the heels at home, and also take a companion.There are so many endlessly awesome cycling trails, and I happen to LOVE cycling, it was so temping to just go rent a bike and head off. Alas, not this time around.

That was hard. Hard to watch and not have a bike with me!! Watching the other cyclists only made me think, ‘I must go back and do some cycling! There is no other way‘ and that I will indeed. Golden is a place I intend on spending loads more time at.

After working up a good sweat hiking my little heart out, I was more than ready to find some hot springs to have some RnR and some soul soothing rejuvenation. There are absolutely loads of hot springs around BC. The only unfortunate thing is that most of them have been made into swimming pools. Swimming pools with spring water in them. That wasn’t the picture I had in my imagination. I was thinking something more natural , rural, and in nature. I asked back at the hostel, and they knew exactly what I had in mind, and kindly pointed me in the right direction. 2.5 hours later of cruising and cranking my tunes(oh and a wee bit of singing, come on now, you know you do it too). There they were. Lussier River Hot Springs.

Fine, fine. No vino(since it is prohibited), and I will wear my swim suit(since nudity is also prohibited). So, chilling in your birthday suit with a bottle of wine is a definite no.

It seems as though it is off the beaten track, but it definitely is not unknown.

There were constantly people coming and going. It wasn’t crowded by any means, just surprisingly busier than I expected. Amazing though! None the freaken less. It was just what I was looking for. 3 different temperature pools, on the banks of a river, surrounded by pure lush nature. Oh heck yes!!

My heart was singing with joy. Seriously, if you would have been there, and put your ear to my chest, you would have heard a sweet sweet song. Something far sweeter then my vocal cords could produce.

Immediately upon entering my silver jewelry turned copper. A clear indication of the minerals flowing in the water. My body, mind and soul, were soaking it all up. I was loving life – as per always.

I spent a couple hours loving life there, before making the journey back to Golden, where I slept like a baby after that beauty of a day.

Having been on the road for 2 weeks days at this point, I was really torn between saying ‘screw it, I am moving to Golden right now!’, or hitting the road and finding a different place to stay another night or two, or to just spend the day venturing around and then head to Calgary for a late evening arrival. I decided to just take the day as it comes. Which ended up being sightseeing, and a late Calgary arrival. Not to worry Golden, our story isn’t over. Being in Yoho National Park, there were a couple things I had to check off my long time bucket list. First stop, get your park pass! I didn’t realize I needed one and had to turn around and go find the office to get one. Woops.
Then! It was onto the extremely majestic Takakkaw Falls.

I could visit every waterfalls in the world, and never have them lose their luster. They always feel so powerful, and full of energy. Being around them just brings an inner peace like none other. There were loads of tourists there!. That didn’t change the experience though, not in the slightest. I hiked around, and stood in the mist, and took some selfies rocking my new hat that I had made in Golden.

As you do on solo adventures. I think considering I travel alone alot, a selfie stick wouldn’t be a bad investment.

I hit the highway, and was ready for the next big check off my bucket list.

To bask in the beauty of Emerald Lake. Woah!!!! Is all I have to say. I was blown away.

Pictures don’t do it justice. The color of the water is insanely blue. The mountains hanging in the backdrop are like the cherry on top. My eyes were oozing with delight. I did the walk around the lake, wich took a couple of hours, and just enjoyed my surroundings. It was incredible. There is a restaurant and lodge there, but this time around I didn’t go into either.

Rest assured though, I will also be going back there to spend a weekend – and I will write the heck out of it.

Wow. That was the road trip of a life time. It was unplanned, unexpected, and one of the most invigorating experiences of my life. I love road trips, I love my own company, I love spontaneous adventures, and I love British Columbia. To sum it all up, I had the best time ever, and I would do it all again in a heartbeat. Even thinking back to it brings a massive smile of happiness and gratitude to my face. Next time I know exactly where I want to go back to, or the places I missed that I want to go to. Take your self on a road trip! It’s nothing less than incredibly epic and amazing! Just you, and the open road of adventure. Happy road tripping days!

My Top 3 British Columbia Winery’s:)

Wine Tours. Glorious wine tours. One of the best past times of my life. I have had the privilege of doing wine tours all over the globe. This time around, I had the pleasure of doing wine touring in my own spectacular Country. It’s often we forget what we have in our own back yard – and this was the perfect opportunity to remind myself of the incredible things we have right here in Canada. Not to mention the incredible vineyards Canada boast’s.

Trust me, seeing as how I was road tripping like a solo rock star, it was only fitting that I wine tasted like a solo rock star. I took full advantage of being in wine Country while in beautiful British Columbia. Wine is an art, and here in BC wine Country, they take their art seriously. There were so many too choose from, I couldn’t get them all in, but made a massively good effort – if I do say so myself. I was blown away at the beauty of pretty much all of the vineyards I visited. I mean this is British Columbia, it’s over flowing with endless beauty. I also really appreciated the fact that all the winery’s I visited are family run – it definitely adds to their charm.

The wine touring I partook in was between Kamloop’s, Salmon Arm, and Vernon. That being said, as much as I would love to write about every winery I visited, I can’t. That would be very long, and I have so much to tell about at the moment – that I have to narrow it down and tell you about my favorites. So here are my top 3 wineries of this trip.

Monte Creek Ranch just a 10 minute drive outside Kamloops. An area rich in history – the family whom began Monte Creek Ranch, wanted to maintain and cultivate the land. Livestock share the ranch with grape vines and wild stock. They have two vineyards, Lion’s Head Vineyard, and Monte Creek Ranch Vineyard(where the tasting room is located). Everything they grow on the farm and vineyard is organic and chemical free. Just the way I like to live my life. Not to mention, every person working there, was very knowledgeable about about the ranch, and happily shared as much information about it as I could take in. Customer service at it’s finest.

They have quite the array of wines, and I love their labeling, just as much as their wine. The view from the tasting room, is as salivating for the senses as is their wine. With majestic mountains sprawling around you for your viewing pleasure.You can sit and enjoy some incredible vino and canape’s while taking it all in. Before you go, don’t forget to top up on all their farm fresh products, including grass fed beef, all the way to honey. I am happy to say I enjoyed every wine that I sampled, it was hard to choose just one to purchase, as I could have taken a couple cases, but in the end settled on a bottle of the Rose.

Sunnybrae Vineyards & Winery Nestled at the base of the Bastion Mountain and on the shores of the Shuswap Lake, you will find the radiant and meticulously groomed vineyard of Sunnybrae. The staff were also very welcoming and friendly. Sunnybrae has also received awards for their finely crafted wine’s.

From the tasting room you have an exquisite view of the lake and Mount Ida.When you step out to the Vineyard, you can not help but be blown away by the picturesque beauty. I had to just stand there and take a hard 10 of basking and taking it all in. When I say it is meticulously groomed, that is no exaggeration.

They proudly offer wines made from their Kerner, Ortega, Siegerrebe, Schonburger, and Marchel Foch grapes. Once again, not one of their wines I sampled disappointed. However my palette fell head over heels for the Ortega, and the Siegerrebe, and I ended up having to get a couple bottles of each(they had a sale). What classy lady can say no to a sale?!

Larch Hills Winery A farm winery located at the Northern end of the Okanagan growing region, not far outside of Salmon Arm. There is a nice little drive up the mountain to reach this little stunner, and also warm welcome awaiting you in the tasting room.

Larch Hills has some phenomenal wines, and as you can see, have received numerous awards.

Specializing in cool climate grape growing, they offer wines made from Ortega, Madeleine Angevine, Madeleine Sylvaner, Siegerrebe, and Agria grapes, grown right there on their vineyard. Also Foch, Merlot, and Pinot Noir grapes outsourced from contract vineyards. I ended up getting a couple bottles of the Lemberger, as they were so kind enough as to give me one as a gift too. Being ridiculously good, and very limited due to the fact that there were only so many bottles made from what they yielded from the crop, and its popularity was very large – so they were down to their last few cases. Now I have more stop that needs to be mentioned. It’s not wine that is produced from what they grow, however it is something even more unique that comes from their crop, that being – Haskap Liqueur.

High Mountain Farm located in Salmon Arm, BC, is the first commercial grower in the North Okanagan of the marvelous haskap berry. Up until this point in my life, I had never even heard of the haskap berry, let alone Haskap Liqueur. However, thank’s to my lovely sister’s recommendation of visiting this particular farm, a whole new world opened up to me. Run by the most lovely family ever, they were more then happy to give me a tour of the 108 year old farm – and teach me everything I needed to know about the wondrous little haskap berry. I learned that not only does the haskap berry contain 3 times more antioxidants then blueberries, there are also various types. Here at the High Mountain Farm they proudly grow, Indigo Yum, Indigo Gem, and Aurora, all grown naturally and pesticide free.

Let me tell you, these little berries pack a punch of flavor! Axel and Doris were so amazingly hospitable during my visit, I had the best time ever just visiting with them. Not only did I get to sample some of their delicious berries on ice cream, and some refreshing frozen haskaps.

We also cracked open a bottle of the Haskap Liqueur that is not made on the premises, but is made directly from their lovingly grown haskaps.

Careful though, haskap’s do stain the fingers. Stopping here was one of the highlights of my trip. Thank you so much High Mountain Farm! Well I can’t wait to go back to BC for round two of my wine tasting adventures. I will happily re-visit any of these places, and can’t wait to check out some new ones. With all my goodies, I was able to share some tasting’s of these fine wines with some other special people along the way of my adventures.

Happy wine tasting days!

Road Tripping BC like a Solo Rockstar.

One of the best parts of a completely unplanned and unexpected solo road trip, is that it is literally just about you, and the open road of adventure. Seeing as how I was in Northern British Columbia anyway’s, and was on route to Calgary from there, I just decided – ‘Why the heck not make an adventure out of it?!’ I had no time frame, and I love BC, so I seized the freaken moment. There is something liberating about just cruising, and ending up wherever you end up. Sheer freedom.

After having an epic time around Quesnel, I hit the highway, cranked my tunes, and enjoyed my own awesome company. Finding myself in the Cariboo area, not to long down the road. Of course as soon as I seen a fruit stand, especially one that appealed to my eyes instantaneously – I had to stop to check it out, and stock up on some fresh road tripping goodies.

I was digging the decor, very bright and inviting. It did make me slam on my breaks after all! I absolutely love how you can get all the fresh food your little heart could desire when in BC(among many other things that I love about BC).

I was digging the decor, very bright and inviting. It did make me slam on my breaks after all! I ended up having a very nice chat with the super lovely owner, who was eager to tell me places I need to check out on my journey’s. I so appreciate when you can feel that someone loves what they do, and it in turn show’s in what they produce. Life is that much more amazing when you strive to do things you love.

Purchase made! A basket of cherry’s and a basket of rasberries, she even gave me an apple for the road. Happy days! I love apples(true story) – and parting gifts. It’s just a sweet gesture. The scenic beauty of BC grows and grows the deeper you get into it. As I was time frame free, I would stop at any place I found that had a little feast for the eyes on offer – bask in it for a few moments, snap some shots, and then on to the next. It’s amazing watching the landscape change as you get closer and closer to the mountains. British Columbia definitely does not lack in the beauty department.

After quite a few pit stops I wound up in radiant Kamloops, where I decided it would be a good idea to spend the night. It was already 8 pm, and I like to relax and enjoy my evenings, no need to push the peddle to the medal too late. It was chill time. After pulling over and googling Bed & Breakfasts in the area, I decided on one that looked pretty pristine. It was called Riverside Bed & Breakfast.

It is set on the banks of a beauty of a little river, and the owner Cynthia, was very welcoming and accommodating. Especially considering how last minute I booked in. I was amazed at the stunning property. They have it set up so beautifully, with a fire pit, and hot tub. Very chic, clean comfortable rooms. Exactly what the doctor ordered after a long day of adventuring like a solo rock star. I made sure to chill by the fire with a bit of vino before I retired to the comfort of my room. Which also comes stocked with Vino. You know what that made me….. And yes I mean happy! Not tipsy. I like to keep it classy.

Upon awaking from my sleeping beauty induced coma in the morning from that ridiculously comfortable bed, I opened the curtains, so I could just lie in my bed and take in the view. Good morning world!Now that’s the view a lady likes to wake up to. My kinda morning. Breakfast was served up at 8:30 bells, and it did not disappoint. Freshly prepared and exquisitely presented Egg’s Benedict, with orange juice, coffee and fruit, accompanied with a view to match. That B&B was a total gem, and I will be going back there for sure.

Heck yes to that experience. I was rested, fueled and ready to rock again. Not long down the road I came across Kamploops BC Wildlife Park. Hmmmm, check out some local Canadian wildlife?! Why the heck not. Keeping my experiences local no matter where in the world I find myself.

It was pretty interesting, nothing too crazy, the animals were as chill as I am. I think my favorite part of the experience was taking a goat selfie.

Me and my cheap thrills. But seriously, who doesn’t want a goat selfie? Goats are awesome, and he was a total poser, and loved it just as much as I did.

So far this road trippin’ like a solo rock star was shaping up to be pretty freaken awesome – and it was about to get better. I suddenly found myself in wine country! Let’s not forget, next to water, and green juice, I am a total wine lover. This was about to get real! Real freaken next level epic that is! Let’s go get our wine on.

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