Tappen site pictographs

My son and I were going to kayak today but the weather was a little iffy so we decided to take off on foot to the Tappen site. The pictographs were easy to find and pretty easy to climb up most of the way, I chickened out of the last little bit as it was very slippery. So the photo's were taken by my son Karl who is more agile than I and a whole lot braver, heights are not my thing!

I recently borrowed a book from the library called "Exploring B.C.'s Pictographs" what a great book and it's due to the direction in the book that we found the Tappen site so easily, and also the reason I knew the animal in the pictograph was a porcupine.


Hunters, sun symbol and porcupine.



Deer

View from above the pictographs

Two eagles skimming the lake.

First trip on the water for 2012

This was the scene for my first trip out on the water this year. What a beautiful day, lots of sunshine, a slight breeze and good company! I have at least a half dozen trips planned for this spring and I am just itching to get going!

Bald Eagles duck hunting on Shuswap Lake, B.C. Canada

In November of 2010 I was expecting a uneventful, last of the season outing in my kayak. That is exactly what I did not have.

A group of a couple hundred waterfowl flew over my head, the sound was phenomenal. What I did not realize was a group of four Bald Eagles were chasing the flock. I saw a lot of splashing about 100 meters ahead but could not make out what exactly was going on so decided to check it out. Once I got a bit closer an eagle took off from the water surface and a few seconds later a very terrorized looking duck popped it's dishevelled head out of the water to only duck down seconds later when a eagle swooped down. The four eagles took turns swooping until one finally grabbed the duck, flew off to the shore and perched on a rock to start it's feast.

The video I did get on my camera is shaky and does not do the scene justice but I thought I'd post it anyway!

Copper Island

Our picnic beach

 My daughter and I kayaked to Copper Island today. The sun was shinning and the fall leaves surrounding the lake are

breath taking.

We hike almost to the top of the cliff face but it started to get a little dangerous so we settled for 3/4, the view was worth the scrapes and scratches we are now sporting.

I have heard there are pictographs on the island, we didn't find them. Please drop me a line if you do know as I would like to check them out.

All in all it was a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon!

View towards Magna Bay

View towards Blind Bay

Blake Point, Magna Bay, B.C. Pictographs

Moose and Hunters Pictograph





I am lucky enough to still have some holiday days left and choose a great day to use one up!

 I put in in Eagle Bay and kayaked across the lake to Blake Point in search of the pictographs. They were exactly opposite of where I thought they might be, right beside a beach and beach staircase up the side of the cliff. They are very weathered and I could not make out many of the figures. I did manage to climb up a rock wall and get a close up of a moose with two hunters, which is really cool as my Husband and I have always loved moose.

It was really neat to see such a thick vein of quartz and it just kept going down under the water.



Quartz vein above and under the water

I love kayaking in the fall, I just lay a blanket on the bottom of my kayak, put on my spray skirt and I stay quite comfortable. And one of the best things is, I don't have to stress about being run over by other watercraft, I only saw one other vessel out there and it was at least one kilometer from me.
I will probably re-post about these pictographs when I have a little more time to zoom in and play with the contrast a bit more and hopefully get some clear images.


The middle of Shuswap Lake looking towards Copper Island



Pictograph













 



Mara Lake Pictographs

My Sister



My Dad

I went out to one of my favorite fall kayaking spots with my Dad and Sister today. We hit a bit of rain while we were driving but thankfully it cleared up and the water was like glass and aside from one fishing boat we were the only ones out on the water, which made it very peaceful and relaxing.

I have not been very successful in obtaining information regarding the history and meaning of the pictographs in the Shuswap area. I have looked online but not too much out there that I could find, I have ordered a couple of books from the library and hope those will be a good starting point. When I do find the information I'm looking for I will post for those who are interested.

Osoyoos Desert

 I spent last weekend in Osoyoos and Oliver, we brought the kayaks as we did want to get out on the water, but we never made it. The first day we were there is was 36 degrees, way too hot for us to be sitting out on the water with a life jacket strapped on.

We did a lot of driving and exploring, the second photo here is of Spotted Lake just outside of Osoyoos. The mineral deposits are said to have healing properties, I would have loved to get down closer but it's private land and should be respected as such.

We toured a few of the many wineries in the area and tasted some fantastic wine, thanks to Burrowing Owl, Forbidden Fruit, Blasted Church and Road 13
Wineries for some great tasting experiences. This is
my second year venturing down here and I am sure
this will be an annual event for me and any family
members wanting to tag along.