My Favorite Kelowna Sight

After being born in Kelowna and living here most of my life, my favorite Kelowna sight isn’t Okanagan, Kalamalka, or Woods Lake, it’s not the golf courses, the orchards, or the downtown Kelowna waterfront… (the list goes on).

My favorite Kelowna sight only happens a few times per year (due to the relative scarcity of winter sunshine in the valley and intermittent snowfalls) and it takes my breath away every time.

On a rare sunny winter afternoon following a good sticky snowfall, as I drive up Highway 33 from Highway 97 toward the Rutland and Black Mountain neighborhoods, I see Black Mountain and the surrounding hills (you can call them mountains if you’re from the prairies). The hills and their deciduous trees are covered in glistening snow as they reflect the afternoon sun shining on them from the west. The hills stretch from my far left to my far right and are pretty much uninhabited, except for a few newly built homes peaking down from the Black Mountain Golf Course development, the Tower Ranch development, and the Toovey Road neighborhood. I wish my schedule and level of “outdoorsy” abilities (I have none) would allow me to be standing on the top of the mountain looking down, but for now, this is perfect.

After pondering how lucky I am to live in such a beautiful city, I am quickly awakened from my reflections by a friendly honk from behind – I realize I’m only driving 25km per hour.