Friday’s Favourite (on Monday!) | Juniper Bay at Kal Lake

She’s the crown jewel in the Okanagan’s crown, the undisputed reigning beauty that Vernonites yearn for when away and anticipate when coming home.  Kalamalka Lake is ours; unlike Okanagan Lake which eases 135 langourous kilometers southwards from Vernon through the valley, we share the lake with with no other city.   She’s also one of four lakes I pass during the one-hour drive from the airport to my parents’ house, but the level of giddiness that rises up in me when I see the sunlight flickering off her water’s trademark teal, pales in comparison to the happiness I feel when passing the other three lakes (all beautiful in their own right, but can’t hold a candle to Kal).

This shot below was taken two days before my wedding as I was lining up the aisle in my head with the picnic table you can see in the background.  Yup, my wedding took place right here, with this view, almost exactly two years ago.  Best view of my life as I started up this aisle.  The man I love, my family and closest friends, and all surrounded by the hills and mountains I call home, reflecting off the peacock-coloured waters of my favourite lake.

Yesterday I returned to Kal Park and headed down to Juniper Bay (the name of this part of the park) with one of my best friends and bridesmaids and we had an almost identical view when we walked in.  Not a soul in site, but over a dozen marmots scurrying around the grass!  Both my friend and I mourned how much time we spend away from this lake, and dreamed about returning with our American husbands to call this our permanent home.  What, dreams are free and don’t have to be realistic right???

Well at least I’ll be back soon enough…I’ve got a wedding to shoot at one of the wineries in Kelowna at the end of July, at which time the glacial-fed cerulean waters of Kalamalka Lake will have warmed enough to jump in!

Glorious right?