“Fall Exclusive” All Inclusive!

A fabulous all inclusive stay in a deluxe lakeview guestroom at the Penticton Lakeside Resort!

Your visit begins with a bottle of your choice of Mission Hill Pinot Blanc or Mission Hill Cabernet Merlot delivered to your room upon arrival, followed by dinner at the Bufflehead Pasta & Tapas Room. Your dinner includes a caesar salad to start, your choice of chicken parmigiana, broiled salmon or a 10 oz flat iron steak and profiteroles or gelato for dessert.For breakfast you will enjoy a full Canadian Breakfast in the Hooded Merganser on top of Okanagan Lake.All meals include coffee, tea or juice.This package is available until December 30th, 2011.

This fabulous package for two starts at only $210.00 + taxes.*Some restrictions apply.

PENTICTON LAKESIDE RESORTConvention Centre & Casino

21 lakeshore dr w penticton bc

1.800.663.9400www.pentictonlakesideresort.com

While there has been a hot springs hotel at Harrison since 1886, today the Harrison Hot Springs Resort and Spa is a world class cutting-edge relaxation destination.

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BC Getaways

Harrison Hot Springs and the Fraser Valley have quietly become one of the most exciting and interesting holiday destinations in the province. A little research revealed that a place I thought I knew off ered much, much more than I expected.

Th e Fraser Valley municipalities of Abbotsford, Langley, Maple Ridge,

Chilliwack and Agassiz-

Harrison Mills have mustered their resources and created the self-guided Circle Farm Tours providing fi rst hand rural contact and fresh-from-the-fi eld ingredients for people from the city.

We booked our fi rst night and dinner at the Harrison Hot Springs Resort and Spa, our second night at the new Harrison Beach Hotel and our fi nal night at Rowena’s Inn on the River in Nearby Harrison Mills.

Th ere has been a hot springs hotel at Harrison since 1886. Today, the Harrison Hot Springs Resort and Spa is one of Western Canada’s premier resort destinations. Not content to rest on their historic laurels, over the years the resort expanded to 337 rooms, added meeting facilities,

PHOTOS AND STORY BY MARK HOOD

Just over an hour from Vancouver by car there is a world of luxurious resorts, spas, artisan food makers and wineries perched on the edge of some of BC’s wildest outdoors.

a children’s waterpark, tennis courts, 3 outdoor and two indoor hot spring mineral pools and in 2001, the Healing Springs Spa.

We checked in and it wasn’t long before the resort ‘feel’ began to take hold. On our way down to

dinner, Laura remarked that it reminded her of some

of the more opulent resorts on Maui.

Th e Copper Room is easily the fi nest dining room in the Fraser Valley

and can hold it’s own with anything

you’ll fi nd in Vancouver. Service was polished,

professional and attentive without being obtrusive.

Th ere was a Las Vegas showroom/Rat Pack vibe to it. Maybe it was

Harrison revealedA little research

revealed thata place I thought

I knew off ered much, much more than

I expected.

A26 - North Shore News - Sunday, October 9, 2011

Abbotsford’s Lepp Farm Market is a busy family owned and

operated year-round country market with a great selection

of fresh meats and veggies, its own smokehouse and a focus on

locally produced foodstuffs.

The new pet-friendly Harrison Beach Hotel offers comprehensive amenities and great views of Harrison Lake.

the nightly entertainment and large dance fl oor, maybe it was the grandeur of the décor, maybe it was the kitchen’s high culinary standards. Whatever it was, it all combined to create an atmosphere that banished any worries you might be packing around with you. It was magic.

Laura ordered rack of lamb, medium, and I chose the evening special — a savoury ragout of venison, buff alo and caribou served in a large Yorkshire pudding — both with mashed potatoes and fresh seasonal vegetables. Th ough full, we couldn’t resist splitting a desert — a Praline Chocolate Royale served with roasted Agassiz hazelnuts.

Th e next morning began with breakfast in the hotel’s Lakeview Terrace. Th ere were comprehensive hot and cold buff et selections and an omelette station where you could select your ingredients and have eggs prepared while you watched.

Laura had a post-breakfast appointment at the hotel’s Healing Springs Spa. Opened in the year 2001, Healing Springs is a gorgeous compliment to the resort’s hot mineral pools.

Th ere you can indulge yourself with massage, facial and body care treatments as well as multi-treatment packages.

For Laura, the traditional European Relaxation Massage was just the thing to chase away the last twinges of a hectic week and left her recharged for the start of the next one.

While she enjoyed her spa treatment, I met up in the lobby with North America’s only full time Sasquatch hunter. I had arranged the meeting through the people at Tourism Harrison and wasn’t sure what to expect.

Bill Miller was reassuringly normal.

He had his fi rst Sasquatch encounter in 1980 in Minnesota and has gone on to try to get to the bottom of an enduring wilderness mystery. Th e area around Harrison Hot Springs is Sasquatch Ground Zero and Miller, originally from Illinois, began visiting in 2002.

He brings the seasoned eye of an experienced outdoorsman to tracking a creature that cannot be

explained away as something else. His tales of sightings and tell-tale signs are well-reasoned and he has become a valuable resource

for people investigating what many dismiss

as mere myth.

Harrison is now his full time home and he is in the process of setting up

a wilderness guiding business

to take visitors up in the country that surrounds

the lake and share with them the beauty he sees every day.

After checking out of the resort, we moved a little eastward to the new Harrison Beach Hotel. Located just across the street from the lake front, the Harrison Beach Hotel is part of the True Key Resort group that off ers holiday rentals and fractional boutique

resort ownership opportunities in Harrison, Parksville, Sooke and Radium Hotsprings.

Rooms in Th e Harrison Beach Hotel are bright and spacious with either lake or mountain views. Th ere is an indoor pool, fi tness centre, free wi-fi , a meeting room and concierge services. With advance notice you can book a wheelchair accessible room and they also have pet-friendly accommodations.

Th is is a big plus as Harrison, with its forest trails and long sandy beaches is an ideal place to take a dog. We left the pooch at home, but noted it for next time.

Each room comes equipped with a mini-fridge, microwave, coff ee maker and some rooms off er cooking facilities. Th e unspoiled view of the lake and the cooking facilities — with pots and utensils — were just what we were after.

...an atmosphere that banished

any worries you might be packing around

with you. It was magic.

Sunday, October 9, 2011 - North Shore News - A27

160 Esplanade Ave, Harrison Hot Springs866-338-8111 | www.harrisonbeachhotel.ca

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ON YOUR S

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IGHT

Located 1 hour from Vancouver in the majestic village of Harrison Hot Springs, Harrison Beach Hotel offers unparalleled quality and affordability. Close to dining and shopping and boasting stunning views of Harrison Lake,

Harrison Beach Hotel offers something for everyone.

Early bird: a bald eagle gathers on the banks of the Harrison River to feed on spawning salmon. By mid-November there will be over 3,000 bald eagles in the area.

Our mission: create a meal from locally sourced foods.

Th e Circle Farm Tour web site is a great resource and a little more research helped fi ll in the blanks. We started at the Farm House Natural Cheeses shop in Harrison.

Here a range of dairy products and artisan cheeses are produced using milk from the farm’s own goats and cows. Th ere are Cheddars, Bleus, fresh Chevres and more. We opted for a wedge of fresh Brie, a chunk of Farmhouse Bleu and half a pound of fresh-made unsalted butter.

Next stop: Th e Town Butcher on Yale Road in Chilliwack. Th ough not offi cially on the Circle Farm Tour, proprietors Bill and Liv Turnbull have been receiving rave reviews for their fresh meat and poultry selections, almost all sourced from within a 50 kilometre radius of their shop.

We picked up some plump pork chops and a fresh head of Russian Red garlic grown in the nearby Columbia Valley.

From there we proceeded to the tasting room of the Mt. Lehman

Winery in Abbotsford. Nestled in the rolling countryside between the Fraser River and the highway, today Mt Lehman produces reds and whites at a respectable range of price points from their 15 acre vineyard and their wines picked up 22 medals in four competitions in 2010 alone.

We picked up their Pinot Grigio and a bottle of their 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve having sampled both in the tasting room. Th e white

was big on apple and citrus fl avours and would

make a great summer patio gulper. Th e red was a jammy full-bodied stunner, aged 13 months in

American and French Oak.

Our fi nal stop was the Lepp Farm Market on

the Abbotsford Mission highway. Th is is a busy family owned and operated year-round country market with a great selection of fresh meats and veggies, its own smokehouse and a focus on locally produced foodstuff s.

We picked up fresh corn on the cob, nugget potatoes, a baguette and a little olive oil to fi nish off the evening’s grocery requirements.

Back in the comfort of our Harrison Beach Hotel base camp, we unpacked our treasures and began to assemble the meal.

First up — a little of the Mt Lehman Pinot Grigio and some Brie. I sliced off a creamy chunk, spread it on a baguette slice and popped it in to Laura’s mouth. Her eyes lit up and she immediately asked for more.

A short while later it was the Bleu and the Cabernet Sauvignon. Th e cheese was a Stiltony musty masterpiece of texture and fl avour and the red was a robust compliment. It was epic pre-meal pyrotechnics.

Th e main course consisted of nugget potatoes sautéed in a little

All from within an hour’s drive, all fresh, and all bursting

with fl avour.

A28 - North Shore News - Sunday, October 9, 2011

Abbotsford | Agassiz & Harrison Mills | Chilliwack | Langley | Maple Ridge & Pitt Meadows

Circle Farm Tour

Self Guided

www.circlefarmtour.com

VancouverCoast & Mountains

With a wood-burning fi replace, jetted soaker tub and king sized bed, Fenn’s Cottage at Rowena’s Inn on the River is the kind of getaway cottage you’d build for yourself if you had the time and resources.

From humble beginnings, Fraser Valley vineyards are now producing wines that consistently win awards across North America.

olive oil and fresh butter, steaming hot corn on the cob with more fresh butter, and pork chops pan fried in olive oil and garlic.

All from within an hour’s drive, all fresh, and all bursting with fl avour.

After dinner we went out on the deck to watch the last fi ngers of daylight play out across the lake. It was getting chilly, but a perfect prelude to cozy night for two.

Th e next day began with a stop the Back Porch basketry, pottery studio and artisan coff ee roasting emporium in Harrison.

Here Lynda Scobie creates and sells willow baskets and pottery. Th e baskets are made from willow grown on the property and carefully prepared to ensure lasting beauty.

Off to the side of the pottery studio, Dan Laurenson uses a 1919 fl ame coff ee roaster to produce his own blends of certifi ed organic and estate coff ees that are available by the cup or by the pound.

Our next stop on the Circle Tour that day was a historic site with connections to the North

Shore: the Kilby Historic Site at Harrison Mills. Built in 1906 by Th omas Kilby, the Kilby General Store, Hotel and Post Offi ce was operated by Th omas’ son Acton from 1922 until 1977 when he turned the complex, including his Waterloo Farm, into a museum.

Th ere are numerous outbuildings and the farmyard is alive with chickens, ducks, turkeys, goats, cattle, horses and pigs.

Th e North Shore connection? Acton’s son, Acton Jr., moved to North Vancouver where he raised his family. His son, the third Acton in the Kilby line, owned and operated Kilby’s restaurant in the Edgemont Village for a number of years.

Th e last leg of our Harrison exploration was a wildlife viewing tour of the Harrison River. I had arranged the trip on Saturday morning at the reservation desk of Harrison Eco Tours in the lobby of the Harrison Hot Springs Hotel.

Our guide, Bill Sivak, had travelled and fi shed the waters since he was a teenager and knew every bend in the river. He was soft spoken

and thoughtful, a wealth of

information and had a keen eye for the eagles, herons and other wildlife that call the

estuary home.

He showed us some ancient

petroglyphs carved into a granite cliff face, the half submerged wreckage of an old paddle wheeler and the largely untouched country along the banks of one of BC’s most important salmon rivers.

Th ere were a few eagles on hand to feed on the fi rst of the spawning Pink, Coho, Sockeye, Chinook and Chum salmon that return each year to continue nature’s inscrutable design.

In a few weeks when the level of the river drops, revealing the spent carcasses of countless fi sh, the eagle population will swell to over 3,000 as they gather to play their part in the annual ritual of renewal.

Th at night we moved to our fi nal stop at Rowena’s Inn on the River at Harrison Mills. Built as a private country home on land granted to the Pretty family — one

of BC’s pioneer lumber families — by Queen Victoria, Rowena’s is also home to the Sandpiper Golf Club and the River’s Edge Restaurant.

It was Laura’s fi rst visit to Rowena’s but I had golfed and stayed there before and it remains one of my favourite vacation getaway haunts.

We had been travelling a good chunk of the day so the fi rst order of business was dinner in the River’s Edge. Laura was eyeing a large salad but my order of prime rib with Yorkshire pudding, mashed potatoes and fresh vegetables was too good to resist and she joined me.

It was Sunday night after all.

Th e Fraser Valley...For luxury getaways, local food sourcing, outdoor exploration and history, it’s hard to think of its equal.

Sunday, October 9, 2011 - North Shore News - A29

• Award winning wineries• Farm fresh seasonal produce• Circle Farm and Agricultural tours• Distinctive culinary experiences

LOOK TO LANGLEYLOOK TO LANGLEYAnd Discover:And Discover:

For more infomation call 604.888.147or visit www.tourism-langley.ca

3774-0911

uwlm.ca

Build up the person. Build up the community.

Th e Inn’s fi ve suites were bedrooms for members of the Pretty family and today are tastefully accented with period furnishings, overstuff ed bedding and views of the Harrison River. Th ere are also four log cottages in early West Coast Chalet style, and Th e Gatehouse — a two bedroom residence at the resort’s entrance.

Fenn’s Cottage, our destination for the night, was exactly the sort of place you would build as a getaway cottage for yourself if you had the resources. Th e king sized bed, jetted soaker tub, sitting area and wood burning fi replace all combined with the subtle aroma of cedar to create an almost dream-like atmosphere.

Th e Fraser Valley — the Lower Mainland literally fl ows from it. We think we know it yet for many people it remains terra incognita, ground to be crossed on their way elsewhere. For luxury getaways, local food sourcing, outdoor exploration and history, it’s hard to think of its equal.

All this just over an hours’ drive away.

Each journey in the BC Getaways series has an accompanying photo gallery and video of the trip posted on our web site. Check it out online at nsnews.com. ●

Coming Up in The ValleyOCTOBER 1516Fall Harvest Festival and Country Quilt ShowKilby CentreFarmer’s market, music, crafts for kids

OCTOBER 2930Kid’s Harry Potter HalloweenKilby CentrePotions class, games, crafts and treats for the kids

LATE OCTOBERMonster Mash and Fall Wine Release PartyTownship 7 Winery & VineyardGrape stomping and BBQ, contact Township 7 for dates and details

NOVEMBER 5Taste of AgassizFraser River LodgeAn evening of great local food in a spectacular setting.

NOVEMBER 1920Fraser River Bald Eagle FestivalKilby Park on Harrison Bay is one of the best wildlife viewing areas in the valley, and off ers ample parking. ●

When You GoAdvance booking for accommodation and events is recommended. No advance booking needed for Circle Farm Tours or Kilby Site.

Tourism Harrison604-796-5581,www.tourismharrison.com

Harrison Hot Springs Resort and Spa1-866-638-5075www.harrisonresort.com

Harrison Beach Hotel1-866-338-8111www.harrisonbeachhotel.ca

Rowena’s Inn on the River1-877-796-1001www.sandpipergolfclub.com

Harrison Eco Tours1-877-796-3345www.harrisonecotours.com

Fraser Valley Circle Farm Tourswww.circlefarmtours.com

Kilby Historic Site604-796-9576www.kilby.ca ●