It’s Peachy Around Here!

We slept well after boondocking at an Okanagan vineyard, but we also could see small wildfires on the hills. The Osoyoos area was badly burned to the West but thankfully it didn’t get to the town or the vineyards. We started to head north up the Okanagan Valley following the river. Passing by numerous small wineries (over 200 in the area) and an equally magnificent number of fruteries (the area is a bit of a fruit basket) we passed through Oliver towards Penticton. The Okanagan Valley is a big holiday area for many Canadians, lots of beaches and lakes and thus second homes. There are lots of stunning properties riverside and the towns became smarter as we headed along. We were keeping an eye on the fires app, trying to manage around them.

Arriving in Penticton we stumbled upon ‘Peach Fest’, a 5 day festival of fun and entertainment of all kinds. We were there on seniors day however so we caught the Retired but Rockin’ Line Dancing Group, The Fancy Hats Competition, which was won by a lady who’d sewn orange pom poms onto a hat to resemble peaches (how creative…) and quite randomly, Mega Motocross. It wasn’t lost on us that the day was sponsored by ‘London Drug’! No word of a lie, it was! Anyhow, a vibrant waterfront, lot’s of cafes and bars and a number of tightly packed in, full, RV parks. We headed to a municipal at Okanagan Falls on Skaha Lake, far more sedate and not a cowboy hat in sight!

The route through the valley took us through Summerland and Peachland (true!) before arriving in the sprawling city of Kelowna. On the east side of The Okanagan Lake there’s a gorgeous section known as The Scenic Sip Wine Route, in Lake Country. Lots of swanky lakeside properties, the newer they were the bigger and bolder the design! We preferred the subtlety of the older ones. None of the wealth stops a hungry bear though (you’ve probably seen the video!) It was a stunning lakeside drive though, that eventually turned and climbed inland through the forests. We passed the ‘exclusive’ Predator Ridge Gold Course and Spa, once upon a time perhaps walked upon by T Rex, he was a predator, right? It was funny looking down on the golf buggies whizzing around like Pac Man on the fairways, edged by so called ‘executive’ cookie cutter houses. It was a tad different in our boondocking field, next to the allotments, on the east side of the town of Vernon.

Thankfully, being higher, up the overnight temperatures dropped, good news if in a tin can in a field without power for aircon. Another way to keep cool, that the BBC haven’t advised, is go out on your bike… create your own breeze! We set off down the steep hill from our field, passing an odd looking truck, into Vernon downtown.  Really fab place with lots of boutique type indies and thus cool stops for coffee and cake. Sustenance for the ride is essential! We cycled through the town and out onto Kalamalka Lake bike trail. An old rail line now cycle/run/walk route we could stay cool and eventually, after 20km had a stop lakeside to watch holiday makers on boats having fun. A gorgeous colour of water, the rich turquoise is the summer colour when warmer and in winter, it goes darker. All to do with ‘marl’ we learned.

On our way back, while stopping for an ice cream, we spotted another Osprey chick in its nest and another on a nearby pole. The nest was on a busy junction, atop a telegraph pole. We couldn’t understand why more people weren’t looking at it but I guess it’s whatever floats your boat… get my drift?! The beach area was so busy, so was the ice cream shop!

Via Salmon Arm we headed to Chase, they do have some fun names, many back to First Nation nomenclature. Understandable, given nearby there’s serious salmon spawning and migration on the Adams River at Tsutswecw Provincial Park. It’s an incredible sight by all accounts, late summer when they swim up river in their millions. Walking around the park was a welcome break from the sun among the giant Black Cottonwoods. Chase’s ‘home delivery system’ (a lady comes around in her car) delivered us fresh Bannocks. These are sooo delicious, bit like doughnut but without the sugar in the dough, that’s saved for sprinkling on top with cinnamon. We liked her sales patter, 2 for $10 or 4 for $20 😊 A great spot, by the Shoswap River for a swim, met some new people who were great to natter with, and enjoyed two nights on our chairs in the middle of the car park watching the meteor showers! Sadly, the following day, we saw a lot of smoke.

Starting to head back south we took our time, the temperature got to 43 degrees on the route. We headed down the old highway 1 to Kamloops, a bustling city, good for a break and a snack then continued to Juniper Provincial Park on The Thompson River. The water was a welcome relief for many, not a big campsite but seemed everyone was by the water. Sadly, wildfire smoke was in evidence. It’s an interesting spot to stay as Canadian Pacific Railway runs one side of the river and the Canadian National Railway runs behind the campsite on the other.  It wasn’t as noisy as we thought, they only blow their horns at crossings it seems! Fascinating engineering for the CP though, looks like some erosion engineering may be needed soon.

Final leg of this part of the journey took us south west towards Chilliwack and a rendezvous with our pals that we met at Quebec City (remember the small world Redditch story?!) On the drive we could really see the desert of British Columbia, barren and dry swathes of land with patches of irrigated green farming. We talked about how ignorant we were about Canada’s landscapes and climates before we came (and we probably still are, just a smidge less) Down the Fraser Canyon Highway following the river valley and the railways we came to an area where a whole town, Lytton, had been lost in a fire two years ago. A ghost town now, the concrete slabs on which houses once stood and the charred spindles of tree’s going for miles around in the Fraser Valley. Quite a shock to see the devastation, and also the Rockies tourist trains slowing down while trundling past.

Footnote: Mother Nature is Screaming, that’s how I think of it. It’s been tough writing this blog as now, a week or two on from these experiences, wildfires have engulfed and destroyed some of the stunning scenery and places we’ve been. Some of the roads are blocked off and homes lost. It is still happening and we are watching closely. It’s really sad to think of what has gone, nature doesn’t discriminate, these were just someone’s home, irrespective of $ value. When it comes to the landscape, well that’s priceless. We hope to goodness our ‘Bear by the Bins’ has survived. What we do know however, is that Canadians (from our experience) are wonderful and kind people with a strong sense of community and we are privileged to have experienced it all and know it will all rebuild and rejuvenate.

We retrospectively mapped our route on the BC Fires App and realise how privileged we’ve been.