Time to Speed This Adventure up a Bit

The time has come for us to seriously point the Adventure Bus east and head home to Nova Scotia. In the past 7 months we drove about 13,000 kms and we have 6,000 kms still to go. In 7 weeks. With friends to visit and lots to see. It is time to hustle our butt a little bit. So, with a few exceptions, from now on this blog will be mostly about the drive.

We left Peachland about a week and a half ago and headed north towards Jasper. With a couple of stops along the way. We are still getting the hang of "hustling our butt".

It was a spectacular drive:

Lake Okanagan and Peachland in our rear view mirror

Entering Kelowna from the south

Kelowna is the Okanagan's major city - a very pleasant spot on the lake with good shopping, a beach, lots of golf clubs, wineries and orchards, etc.

North of Kelowna we drove by a number of lakes

Leaving the Okanagan Valley and heading to Salmon Arm BC

Entering Salmon Arm

I believe Salmon Arm is officially considered the north end of the Okanagan Valley. It too is surrounded by beautiful lakes and mountains. We stopped at the Walmart parking lot to make our lunch. Easy in and out.

What a great overnight stop this would make.
Grass, trees and a marshland full of birds on the other side of the fence.
And it is away from the road.

We went around Kamaloops and pointed the car straight north on the Yellowhead Highway (rte 5)

Fire damage in the mountains north of Kamloops

The road followed the North Thompson River most of the way

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Which, due to snow melt in the Rockies, was very full.

And flowing very fast with lots of rapids.

That night we stayed at the Chinook Golf and RV Park in Barriere, BC. A beautiful spot with a great little golf course that ran along the side of the mountain. So naturally we had to stay an extra day to give it a go.

Arch is standing in the white tee box. The reds are where the two people are behind him. And beyond him you see a person on the green.  A short hole but you hit straight down hill over a large ravine. We both lost balls here.

The next day we entered the land of the big bears

And we pushed on to Valemount BC. The gateway to Jasper National Park. We did not see any bears, basically just rocks, trees and the river.

Next post will be about our drive down the Icefield Parkway in Jasper and Banff National Parks.

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Peachland, British Columbia

As we journey around the United States and Canada many people ask "What is your favourite part of the trip so far?". That is a lot like asking which is your favourite child. And it is true. We loved every place equally. Until now. We love, love the Okanagan Valley.

We've visited many valleys on this trip - the Mississippi River Valley, the Rio Grande Valley, The Yuma Valley, The Valley of the Sun, The Imperial Valley and The Napa Valley, to name a few. But the Okanagan Valley is special.

It is the first to be comprised mostly of lakes. Six actually: Kalamalka, Wood, Okanagan, Skaha, Vaseaux, and Osoyoos. The lakes are surrounded by mountains with orchards and vineyards crawling up their lower reaches. Small towns and cities encompass the lakes, wherever the terrain permits and act as service areas for the wineries, farms and other businesses (including lots of golf clubs) supported by the unique surroundings.

Our original plan was to go to Osoyoos for two weeks but a short drive along the route between Chilliwack and Osoyoos convinced us that it was not the most suitable road for a gas motorhome towing a car. So we decided to come to Peachland. Not that the road was much better. It was four lane but consisted mainly of the 1728 metre (approx. 5500 ft) high Pennask Pass through the mountains. The trip up was slow. The trip down terrifying. Made even more so later when our neighbour in the RV park told us he lost his brakes on the way down.

The view at the top of the pass

But Peachland and the Okanagan Valley are worth the trip

Lake Okanagan

Peachland is the perfect little town. Snuggled into the side of the mountain and with a population of about 5,000 it was a cozy spot from which to explore the mid-Okanagan Valley.

Most activity in town centres on the several kilometre long beachfront. All of which is a public park.

There are waterfront homes but they are across Beach Ave. from the water. That fact does not seem to affect the price of the homes:

2 bedroom, 2 bathroom - $950,000 

There is an inviting and well used path from one end of the beach to the other used by walkers, runners, inline skaters and cautious cyclists, (like me)

The sign you see here is the sign that greets you as you enter the town.
No billboards. Simply what you need to know.

The town (and the whole area) is very bike-friendly.

Drivers are considerate and quite willing to share the road.

There is a small shopping centre supplying all the necessities

The grocery store, gas station, bank, fitness centre, etc.

But my favourite is a 1.5 km trail that wound through the village across from the lake.

The entrance from Beach Avenue

It is a fitness trail with lots of activities for all levels of ability.

Lots of  funders involved here

With different pieces of exercise equipment along the way:

Most designed for two people so you and your walking partner can work out together

A skate board park:

With a viewing stand

And a very polite sign outlining the rules:

How many "pleases" can you count

Dog walkers welcome

And at the end a bakery and coffee shop. Where you can relax, enjoy a great view of the lake and regain all the calories you worked off.

Notice the apartments over the shopping area. We saw this a lot in BC.
Such a great idea for St Margaret's Bay development.. 

Also seen in Peachland

Pedal bikes, paddle board, canoes and kayaks for rent.

This picnic area is across from the coffee shop.

There are no walls around homes here. This beautiful patio was part of a condo looking over the lake.
I love the colour combination.

The legend of Ogopogo, believed to live in Okanagan

I could not find and promotion of Ogopogo in the shops - not even a postcard. But this home used his likeness as lawn decor:

Most importantly Peachland, and every other town we visited in the Okanagan, has easily found, extremely clean public washrooms:

Wouldn't it be wonderful if all towns were this thoughtful?

All of these wonderful facilities are maintained by a staff of 7, employed by the town. We saw them out working in the park and its gardens everyday. 

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