Little journal of the tour, plus everything else we did with a weekend in the Okanagan.
Day one: Kamloops
When we landed in Kamloops I did not sleep a wink the night before – it was a rough day. We got our rental car and ran around the city finding equipment for the tour. We grabbed some supper and checked into our little cute motel.
Once we were settled in a little (we had to run back to the music store a few times because the system wasn’t working – every touring musician I’ve talked to has told me you’ll always have one mini heart attack on your first tour. I’m so happy I got mine out of the way on the first day). We met up with a photographer (@threevixonsphotography) and hit a little park to take some pictures. The photographer took us to a little natural sound thing, where if you stood in a certain spot and clapped, the sound would come back as a squeak. It was so cool. We headed back to our motel – it was a very early night for me.
Day Two: Kamloops shows & traveling to Salmon Arm
The day started early with two little busy cafe shows. The first show was at a cafe called The Art We Are. The walls were covered in art and there were raw wood tables all over. It was a very welcoming vibe. We had coconut curry and a breakfast wrap which was delicious. We came out a little early but I found the most gorgeous pair of earrings I had to buy.
The second show in Kamloops was down the street at He Brews Havanas. The vibe of this cafe was a lot more modern and spacious. We snuck into a few shops looking for souvenirs.
We packed up everything and started to hit the road to Salmon Arm. The drive there was so gorgeous. We passed by cliffs and Shushab lake.
When we arrived at Salmon Arm we checked into our hotel right away and went for a little walk. We hit the longest wharf in Canada, and did some hefty birdwatching. We came at the right time to see werbes and some cliff sparrows. It was another early and relaxed night.
Day three: Salmon Arm show and mountain drives.
The show in Salmon Arm was very special, my aunt drove from the other side of BC to come see me play, the cafe was so welcoming, and one of the waitresses came up and sang a song with me. The cafe was Sweet Magnolias, and I was the first musician to play there (which was so cool!!). This is where the “Live In British Columbia” album cover was taken.
Afterwards we drove around town looking for something to do, we found a wall with a pretty mosaic on it so we stopped and took some pictures.
We wanted to go for a drive and see some more nature, so we decided to drive down to Enderby. It was a gorgeous little town and we hit a retro restaurant that served caesars made with pineapple juice (10/10). Afterwards we ended up taking a very off road drive through the mountains following the hydro lines. It was definitely unexpected.
Day four: Canooligans Show & Hiking day
We started the day early and headed to Margaret Falls, it’s a short hike the falls and definitely a must hit. We walked all along the beach for a few hours and chatted with a lot of locals.
We realized we lost track of time and rushed back to our hotel to get ready for the show. Canoe, BC is right on the water so when we got there we walked all along the dock. Canooligans is such a unique little bar. The stages backdrop was my favourite, all old record covers.
Day five: The long way to Monte Creek and my first winery experience
We started the day with about a two hour drive from Salmon Arm to Falkland. We stopped at a few little towns along the way for coffee and hit little shops where we could. Falkland was my favourite small little town we hit, the towns famous for the largest Canadian flag. We stopped at a cute shop and bought some fudge from a sweet lady selling it, I found a little spoon ring with a blue heron that I needed to take home.
We had to hustle to the Monte Creek Winery, because I had plans to try to wine before I got there. We did sound check in front of mountains – which the manager pointed out to me it’s shaped like a lion head. The Monte Creek Winery treated us so good, we had lunch and did a wine tasting (I had never done one before). The winery had amazing views. We ended up buying a bottle of blueberry wine – which are all grown in BC. Definitely one of the best wines I’ve had.
Afterwards we headed back to Kamloops and checked into a different little motel. There was a couple drinking outside that we hung out with for a while, while dad and I had some blueberry wine. We called it an early night and flew out the next morning.
Kolby Clunas 