In Search Of…The Ogopogo Monster.

For those of you who have been following my blog in the past year, you know that I like to tell a story either about the featured photo or about the place where I took the photo.  Well, this week’s post is no different but you might be wondering what a picture of a sunflower has to do with a kitschy 70’s tv show or a monster? I’ll solve this mystery first and then we’ll move on to what on earth an Ogopogo is.

Several weeks ago I took a week-long business trip in Alberta and British Columbia.  Near the end of the week I found myself in lovely Kelowna in BC’s interior.  Kelowna rests on Lake Okanagan and is such a gorgeous setting!  I pulled into town late in the afternoon and found my lodgings for the evening – a new resort on the west bank of Lake Okanagan called The Cove Lakeside Resort.  The Cove is nestled on the shores of the lake and is close to several Okanagan wineries such as Mission Hill and Quail’s Gate.  The logo for this resort is a sunflower and I soon learned why.  The resort is surrounded by sunflowers and these were standing proud in the late afternoon sun upon my arrival.  So I took out my trusty Canon 7D and took some snaps.  The featured photo above is one of them.

This morning I got up and plotted out today’s post.  Typically I will start with the photo and do some research about the location.  When researching Kelowna and Lake Okanagan, I came across the name Ogopogo, also known as the snake in the lake.  Legend has it that a large sea serpent lives in the waters of Lake Okanagan and this creature is called Ogopogo.  Well, my pop culture, kitschy 70’s brain went immediately to Leonard Nimoy and his 70’s tv series called In Search Of.  Do you remember it?  I decided to use “In Search Of” as part of my post title, and…I must admit here to having a bit of a crush on our friend Leonard, even today.  I know.  I’m strange.

Wouldn’t you know it but, after some digging, I found that In Search Of actually did do a show on Ogopogo and you can catch it in several sections on YouTube starting here.  I am still struck by how clever this show was “back in the day.” Early in the Ogopogo show, Leornard makes a very clear link between Ogopogo, Lake Okanagan and the Loch Ness Monster in Scotland.  He even infers coincidence when he shares that both lakes are oblong, and reside at a similar elevation and latitude.  Could they be the same monster??? Hmmmm.

I did not see Ogopogo on my visit so you will have to settle for a cheery photo of sunflowers.  Happy Sunday and a very happy extra hour day! Now I’m off In Search Of some lunch!