Friday, April 1, 2016 (Nk'Mip RV Park, Osoyoos, BC)

We woke to beautiful blue sky this morning...another gorgeous day! We had a relaxing start with our coffee and then after breakfast, I called Telus to see if by chance I could re-activate our mobile hotspot without having to buy a new sim card.  I seemed to be on the phone a long time while a nice fellow tried...but as I suspected, since it had been over 90 days since I had cancelled my plan, I'd have to purchase a new card. Oh well, it was worth a try. Of course, there wasn't a Telus dealer in Osoyoos...we'd have to go to Oliver or Penticton to get it. In the meantime, however, we weren't without an internet connection...Sue and Doug had lent us their hotspot since they weren't using it. There is WiFi here at the park but you have to pay for it...and since we planned on getting our's going quickly, to pay for the park's was costly...we would just pay Sue and Doug for the data we use in the interim. Thanks, guys!

While I was doing that, Steve went out for a walk with his camera to snap some more shots around the park...

There are over 400 sites here, many of which are on the water...

Being in the northern reaches of the Great Basin Desert there are cactus here too!

It was late morning when Steve suggested we get out for a walk...let's go check out the resort (that's also owned by Nk'Mip) on the hillside behind us.
An interesting sign along the way...

We took the path that goes through the vineyard...There's a winery here...I'm not leaving!

 ...and up the hill to the resort...

Looking back...

We had no idea that there was so much up at the resort...much more than just a hotel. We decided to check out the Nk'Mip Desert Cultural Centre...

These signs are hard to read...even in person, let alone in a picture but if you click to enlarge, you should be able to zoom in to read...

We paid admission to go in...this was the first day an admission fee was being charged...$10/person but for some reason, he admitted us both for $10...nice!

There are also displays outside...as well as a 1.5 km loop trail that takes you out into the desert.

They apparently had tepee garages back then too :-)

That's a golf course over there...

 After finishing with the displays, we headed out on the trail...

Looking back towards the resort and campground...

Life is good...

 They have set up an Indian Village...

We spent over a couple of hours going through the centre, including the hike. It was all very well done...well worth seeing! After finishing there, we continued on over to check out the rest of the resort. This is one of the pools...busy today in the warm weather...

Sculptures on top of the buildings...

There is a conference centre, golf course, stores, restaurants and winery...much more here than we expected...

Steve was snapping pictures when a fellow (who works there) said..."if you want some good pictures, come with me". He took us into one of the buildings and up to the top floor...out onto a rooftop deck. It was currently closed because workers were replacing some of the decking but we skirted around them so that we could take in the views...and get some pictures...

We could even see our rig down in the RV park...

(Click on panoramic shot to enlarge)

 The fellow even took a picture of us...

The main entrance...

 The resort is called Spirit Ridge...

The winery...

Steve heard a tapping noise above him when he stepped outside so looked up. A Woodpecker was remodeling the sign...

 Lots of maintenance is being done on the resort right now as they get ready for the summer season. There weren't any restaurants or stores open yet...but it sure looks like quite the spot! Very nice!

We found a gate that took us back down through the vineyard and back to the RV park. It was going on 3:00 by the time we got home...wow, we sure hadn't expected to be so long! We had a bite to eat and then about an hour later, Doug, Sue and Tucker joined us for happy hour. Another couple, Mike and Lou, that we had met yesterday...also stopped by for a few minutes while on their walk. Doug and Sue had met them through RVillage when they checked into the park.

We enjoyed a couple hours sitting outside chatting and then called it an evening. Tomorrow Doug and Sue are taking us to Penticton (about 45 minutes north) for a few errands and a little shopping....including some wine tasting at some of the many wineries along the way.