Thursday, April 29, 2010

O Is For Ogopogo

O is for the Ogopogo in the Okanagan. 

The Ogopogo is Nessie's Canadian Cousin,  an unidentified and elusive sea creature  living in Okanagan Lake, British Columbia.   There have been documented sightings of a "sea monster" here at this lake since 1872.  
 (This photo was taken by my Dad.  Family photos may not be borrowed or pinned.)

Three little girls climb up onto the Ogopogo statue in Kelowna. That's me in front, on the Ogopogo's snout, with two of my sisters up on his head.  (my 3rd sister had not yet been born.)  

This is the new Ogopogo statue.  (pic from the web)

Canada even put the Ogopogo on a stamp. (pic from the web)

The beautiful, semi-arid Okanagan region is known for it's vineyards, fruit orchards , summer and winter sports and tourism.  A really lovely vacation spot!  
 
(both of these pics from the web)

It's Alphabe-Thursday at Jenny's and we are celebrating the letter "O". 

(The first picture was taken by my Dad, the rest are from web.)

51 comments:

  1. Oh my I never heard of the Ogopogo...there certainly are a lot of "o's" in that word. Thank you for the lesson on another sea creature and the names of lands I've never heard of. Very interesting!

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  2. oh gee, i wish i had thought of that! Great post, love the pics!

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  3. Great O post, I have never heard of your Ogopogo or the region before, don't you love blogging? We learn so much!
    ~Maggie~

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  4. An interesting post. I've never heard of Ogopogo before. He's a handsome looking sea monster, Love the old photos. Beautiful scenery.

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  5. What a beautiful area you've shared with us, Gayle. The water in the lake is so so blue!

    What beautiful little girls your parents had! I noticed your red shoes...I had a pair of shoes like that when I was little. Were they PF Fliers?

    Thanks for sharing with us, Gayle!

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  6. How cute the three of you are and how impossibly blue the sky is! Loved the photos!

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  7. I love old vacation photos! It's cool that you have some of yourself as a child. It looks so beautiful there. Have a great day!

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  8. What a great place to visit. I need to explore Canada more.

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  9. I've never heard of Ogopogo. I would never want to see him LOL.

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  10. Wow some Awesome photos, I love the beauty in these, and your children are so cute, hugs Barara
    http://bakinnbitsbarbara.blogspot.com/

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  11. I ve never heard of this creature..... Are there as many stories as about the logg monster?

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  12. I'd never hear of the Ogopogo before, guess you never stop learning... Love the pictures.

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  13. wow very interesting! and educating. Looks like it was a blast for you all...memories!!!!!
    Hugs.

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  14. Brilliant!! You really are a travel junky...I had never heard of this delightful place. And the pictures of you and 2 of your sisters are too, too precious! I bet we could have been best friends way back when...Same haircut, same type clothes and shoes...wait a minute...that isn't me is it...nope! I had dark hair!

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  15. i love the okanagan, totally wish we could have spotted ogopogo :D

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  16. Thanks for sharing. I have never heard of this charming place before. What a beautiful place Ogopogo is.

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  17. I loved this. Thanks for sharing photos and travel tips. I hope to get there one day.

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  18. What fun that is, Ogopogo certainly will speak to kids

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  19. Well who new that Nessie had a sister! Very cute picture of your family! Joni

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  20. Hello again, Gayle,
    I wanted to tell you that so far so good with my cheesecake! Carroll had to take his dad to the ER around 11:30 Tuesday night because of severe pain in his legs and arms. It was 3:00 yesterday morning when Carroll got in and our "schedule" was a bit off yesterday. So, I didn't get to make the cheesecake until today. It smells heavenly in here! The sides have been removed and it looks so pretty. Once it finishes cooling completely, I'll try get it on a pretty plate and take a couple of pictures so I can post them tomorrow. I want you to be able to see how it turned out. This is my very first attempt at making a honest to goodness completely from scratch cheesecake, so I'm appreciative now of the work involved. :-)

    Hope the sun is shining nicely there in Kansas!

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  21. This does look like a beautiful vacation spot but what about that monster? I have never heard that before. It was insteresting. Do you think he is a cousin of the lock nest monster? All of the pictures were lovely. You were a beautiful little girl.

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  22. Oh how precious! Love the photos!

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  23. Ogopogo has an Island cousin - Cadborosaurus lives in Cadboro Bay. There have been sightings in the last few years - honest!

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  24. I had never heard of the Ogopogo either. Lovely photo of you with your sisters xx

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  25. I would risk the monster just to go to that outrageously beautiful place.

    Wow.

    What a really excellent post.

    I've never heard of Ogopogo before...much less the region.

    Thanks for sharing this exotic and fun locale with us on our little journey through Alphabe-Thursday's Letter "O".

    A+

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  26. Thanks you for sharing the story of Ogopogo and those great photos. This looks like a lovely place!

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  27. I have never heard of this creature before. Thanks for sharing!

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  28. Ogopogo - I love that name, it just rolls out of your mouth. Great pics - especially the one of you and your sisters.

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  29. Oh my goodness...this is where I am from...the Okanagan..my husband grew up in Kelowna and we lived there for many years..all three of my girls where born there...our family is still there. Oh yes we love the Ogopogo...that green ogopogo statue is still there. Thanks for sharing this today!

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  30. I love your ABC posts....They are so fun...and what a really neat place this is....new to me!!! I love the old pics of family...you and your sisses are so adorable and precious!!

    Thanks for the nice comments to my daughter....you are so thoughtful! :)

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  31. I had nO idea - my daughter just finished a report on Scotland where she touched on the Loch ness Monster...I am going to have to share this post with her!

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  32. I had no idea that even existed! This was such an educational post-thank you!

    Best wishes,
    Natasha.

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  33. Gayle, thank you for adding a link to my cheesecake post. That was so sweet of you.

    We both love the way it tastes! I was so tickled with how well it looked that I neglected to mention how wonderful it tastes. I'm going to go edit that post just a bit to add how DELICIOUS it is.

    Thanks again for the FUN! Loved doing it! And dh is loving eating it! :)

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  34. Such loveliness.

    I adore looking at vintage photos.

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  35. It's so beautiful there. I haven't head of the Ogopogo before either. I learned something new today. :D

    Thanks for stopping by my blog.

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  36. Last photo reminds me of the Rhine River! Looks like a great place.

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  37. "O" me "O" my...

    I'm so glad I stopped by! lol

    that was fun!

    ciao bella
    creative carmelina

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  38. This was an interesting post! I never knew Canada had a "monster" anmed Ogopogo! Cute name.

    It looks beautiful in the Okanagan region.

    xxoo Pat

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  39. Hi,

    thanks for visiting me this week! I am now a follower. I have seen the Okanagan lake. I have looked for the monster but have failed to see him LOL I used to live in British Columbia. I'm now in Montreal. Great post! Best regards,

    Anne-Marie

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  40. i had never heard of ogopogo either...now i will have to make the journey to see if i can find him--her--er, it.
    it looks like a really beautiful region and a great place to visit.

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  41. You're so cute! I had never heard of your monster. What a beautiful area.

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  42. I'm believer of elusive sea creatures of all kinds. That is a terribly sweet picture of you and your sisters. You are such a cute-y. What special family memories your parents made available to you children. The other photos are just beautiful. What a lovely place.

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  43. it is a beautiful place, with or without the sea monster! love the pics of you and your sisters....so cute.

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  44. What a beautiful place to visit with a cool twist with Ogopogo!

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  45. Oh my goodness..another hard word to learn like that volcano!
    Cute pics!
    Have a great weekend!

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  46. How cute you were!! All little blonds and mine were all dark haired with green eyes.

    Thank you for stopping by and commenting. When men do such things and knitting and crocheting or cross stitch etc..it is usually to perfection I think.
    Mona

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  47. Dearest friend,
    Making up for it now, indeed! I'm 54 born in '56. We really do share lots and lots besides childhood fashions. Like same locale, kids at KSU, beauty and good taste...well, I'm not afraid to say it...We are perfect for each other...giggle, giggle!!! I'll be in Lawrence tomorrow for my nieces shower at my daughters so I'll be even closer to your locale! Talk to you later!

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  48. Thanks for your comments about my plants from Lowe's, I hope I get them planted this weekend, if it stops raining!

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  49. Cute post! My husband is from Vernon so I have heard all about the Ogopogo. I haven't seen him yet though :-) Cute pic of you and your siblings :-)

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  50. haha! Every time we'd stay at a hotel with a pool, my Dad would tell us the Ogopogo was out to get us! He said he came from BC to our swimming pools in Alberta and liked to swim around..

    I just love your pictures!

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THANK YOU for your thoughtful comments. Replies to your questions will be posted here, so be sure to check back soon. Have a wonderful day! - Gayle, Garden Of Daisies