One of the many benefits of being retired is that you can slow down to stop to smell the roses, and coffee. On our recent road trip from Calgary to Kelowna we made fun stops in Sicamous and Vernon as we enjoyed the art of slow travel.

Sicamous Stop

Sicamous, located at the junction of the Trans-Canada Highway and Highway 97A, is where Mara Lake empties into Shuswap Lake - making it an ideal place for summer resorts. While it is known as the “Houseboat Capital of Canada,” it was the D Dutchman Dairy’s big red barn that caught our eye and made us pull off the road (even though it had been less than an hour since we left Revelstoke). Though it was a bit early for ice cream (I would argue it’s never too early), we decided to stop and see what was inside the big red barn – and it didn’t disappoint.

The Dairy is a great place for families to get out and stretch their legs. In addition to the ice cream bar, there is a fun children’s area with a huge sandbox / playground, some animals (chickens, peacocks) and yes you can even wander into the barns to see and smell some cows. There was even an opportunity to get up close and personal with a few calves.

The ice cream bar (62 flavours) also has food and some local artisan works. We were also able to scored (by donation - money went to feed the peacocks) three beautiful peacock feathers as our Sicamous souvenir. And yes, I did have some ice cream for breakfast. Which proves my point – it is never too early or too late for that matter for ice cream.

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Vernon Fun Flaneur Finds

Next stop - Vernon, the northern hub of the Okanagan Valley. As it was a Sunday, we hesitated about exploring the downtown as we knew nothing would be open. But we did anyway and enjoyed a couple of hours of fun flaneuring.

Downtown Vernon is home to several major murals that tell the history of the city - everything from the Shuswap and Okanagan Railway to stories of local artists, Axel Ebring and Seva Caetani. Link: Online Downtown Vernon Mural Tour.

While almost every city and town have a mural program these days, I think the most successful ones are those celebrating the community’s unique heritage as they are both informative and colourful.

While wandering, we happened upon a lovely new pocket park with a fun apple climbing apparatus. How appropriate, as Vernon is the northern gateway into the Okanagan orchard farming.

While wandering the area around The Museum & Archives of Vernon we again found information celebrating the community’s agricultural history, specifically “The Grey Canal,” which was constructed beginning in 1906 to support the area’s growing cattle and orchard industries. It was de-commissioned in 1970.

Note: I have often wondered why Calgary doesn’t do more to celebrate its rich agricultural and ranching history. Yes, we have the Stampede, but where is the year-round Agricultural Museum documenting not only the past, but current innovative agricultural practices?

Downtown Vernon is definitely worth a few hours of exploring. There are several interesting upscale shops, heritage buildings, retro signage and of course “window licking” fun - a nice mix of old and new. The Vernon Public Art Gallery is worth a visit if you are into art, or the Museum & Archives of Vernon if history is your thing.

Triumph Coffee offers not only coffee, but interesting art exhibits. Ratio Coffee & Pastry offer an heritage train station ambience. Vernon Teach & Learn with its funky façade looked interesting but is unfortunately closed on Sundays.

From an urban design perspective, Vernon has created a very pedestrian-friendly main street streetscape with mid-block pedestrian crossing and inviting seating nooks. And not just a bench placed so close to the road, parked cars, or narrow sidewalk that nobody wants to sit there.

Last Word

Many cities and towns in British Columbia’s interior benefit from the fact that their major highways still go through the cities and towns, rather than having bypasses. Yes, this means you must slow down, but it also means it is easy to pull off the highway and explore their downtowns, or something else that may catch your eye.