24. Penticton to Hope

Did you know that there's a desert in Canada? No? Me neither. But the dry landscape has in Osoyoos, near the US frontier formed a rare ecosystem - the semi-arid bunchgrass habitat.
After a stop at a lookout with view over Penticton and the Okanagan Lake, I visited the Osoyoos Desert Center where I learned more about this habitat. As yesterday, landscape didn't remind me of Canada but more of mediterrean areas - so this wonderful country is more than only mountains, glaciers and forests. Past lakes (some so spectacular as the spotted lake near the desert), vineyards and orchards, landscape changed again near Princeton with a comeback of more dense forests. I stopped in Princeton to visit the abandoned railway tunnel and bridge and arrived in the Manning Provincial Park. Here, I was back in more "canadian typic landscape" with wetlands, cornifer forests and alpine meadows. After a little hike, I continued to Hope with a last stopp at the Hope Slide Memorial. Here took place in 1965 a gigantic landslide that destroyed the highway and killed 4 people.Read more