When driving south toward Vaseux Lake on Highway 97, you see a statue  on the bluff.

Her torch is aimed toward Heaven.  She marks a sanctuary where birds have no fear. She keeps a watchful eye upon herds of Sheep and Deer.

The Eagles soar over Vaseux Lake with the spirit of our pioneers. A cleft in the mountain lets Vaseux Creek come down and you can see a berm of gravel marking a centuries old lake shore. You may look for a Horse & Rider, and a cliff outline of a man’s head.

You have just entered the Upper Sonora Desert, a unique area to see.

Great herds of Deer once roamed the land. Giant Vultures soared so high and in the hills not far away you can hear a Coyote cry. Along the brook a beaver dam where Robins sing at dawn and in the early autumn days Salmon come to spawn. All the blooms on the Apples, Pears and Cherries there fragrance it fills the air, our homes are surrounded with Orchards, kept with meticulous care. Clean water is matched with climate.

Miracles Happen here ~ Sleepy Oliver Town is a well kept secret with amenities to spare. Cultural diversity is apparent by the difference in cuisine. Follow Road 3 to an old Tobacco Barn and on to the Golf course and up to the Historic Fairview Townsite, where miners toiled for Gold. Standing on this long brown slope, we gaze into the valley. Orchards there below us lay and houses there are many. Not long age upon this slope were people and their children. Hotels rang with the laughter of men, and women their were many. Gay it was Old Fairview Town on Saturday night it sure did hum. Now it lies in quite repose, buried in historical day of yore. Up toward the old gold mines, a hulk of a Saloon lies in ameadow, the years have rolled by and hid the paths that once led to it. A marker stands to start the Golden Mile trail, along the fence lies and old graveyard with a picket fence. Above, the steep hill where once we learned to ski.What a view we have, to see Osoyoos lake, the Vineyards and the meadows, and up to Baldy mountain far away. Old Baldy stands majestically in the early morning sun where skiers take that rocky road to enjoy there winter fun. Sunrise, Sunsets on the Fairview hills, where there’s ne’r an ending road,  Miners still stake their claim, looking for the mother lode.  Rocks fall into the cavernous Tin Horn mine shaft.Look up the mountain, down the big ravine, to the lakes below, meadows bright with flowers, desert cactus, sandy beaches, Okanagan Trails.

Okanagan Trails : Song and Writing by Dave Evan