The owners and your hosts at Miska Haven are Diane and Dave Quinn, who recently retired and moved to the Okanagan from Calgary. They were captivated by the property when they first saw it and feel blessed to now call it home. Having also just married in 2018, they are adjusting to their new life together and learning the ropes of maintaining a rural property and running a B&B. Lots of fun and misadventures along the way – or perhaps we should call them “MISK-Adventures“!
Prior to Miska Haven starting up, the previous owners of the property operated a B & B called “Country Hideaway”; we are so grateful to Bruce Hedden and Linda Black for endorsing us as the new purveyors of this paradise and look forward to welcoming back any Country Hideaway guests.
Diane and Dave are keen skiers, hikers, cyclists, golfers, paddlers and swimmers, so they have come to the right place! In their first year at Miska Haven, they were swimming regularly in the river (including a Polar Bear Plunge on Jan 1st), paddling and tubing the river, hiking the Enderby Cliffs, biking the backroads, and skiing downhill and cross-country. The opportunities are endless!
Interestingly, Diane has family roots in the Okanagan which date back to the early 1900’s, so it’s not surprising she feels at home here. Her maternal great grandparents (James & Pauline Mowat) moved from New Brunswick to Enderby in 1905 to start a sawmill at Mara. Just four years later, at age 14, her grandfather, Patrick Mowat, began his banking career with the Bank of Montreal in Enderby, which remains on Cliff Ave. Patrick trained for the military in the Enderby Drill Hall where Diane and Dave now do yoga! Diane’s mother recounts her father’s memories and how he often spoke about his younger years growing up out west “in God’s country.” Seems fitting for Diane and Dave to name the property Miska Haven as they discovered that, in Hebrew, the name Miska means “Gift from God.”