Canada Day In Vernon

 

The weather in the interior of BC has been sweltering over the last month.  I understand it is due to a high pressure area that is hovering over the northwest coast of North America, bring blistering hot dry weather to the west side of the continent.

Don't get me wrong, we like hot weather here in the Okanagan and we are used to temperatures that hover in the low 30's during late July and into August.  But in late June our comfort zone is set for temperatures in the mid 20's.  At least the evenings cool off and the heat does not start building until late morning.

So on July 1st, Canada Day we decided to start off early.  We biked down to Kal Lake passing through Polson Park about 9am.  The tennis courts were full and a few kids were running about the spray park and the middle field was filling with rows of fine old cars, all sparkling clean, ready for the "Show and Shine" .  Parking attendants were relaxing the  shade, not yet busy.  The Canada Day program was not to start until 10am. 



 

We biked passed a quiet Kal Beach and up to Sovereign Park to take our first dip in the lake this season.

  We were alone and enjoyed a half hour swim without any company.  The water was refreshing but not cold.  It was definitely warmer than one would expect for early July.

By the time we had taken a shower and got back on our bikes, the parking lot had filled.  A couple kayaks had pushed off from the beach and several people had settled down along the water.

We biked past Kal Beach which was now considerably busier, and back to Polson Park to take in some festivities. 

 

 

We wandered up and down the rows of old cars, then sat and enjoyed some of the entertainment at the band shell, watched Ukrainian dancing and listened to some good jazz and light rock.  There seemed to be a lot of people, many sitting under the big shade trees in the park, enjoying the music.  Food trucks were parked close by and doing a brisk business.  And children were enthusiastically participating in free games and face-painting.

 

And almost everyone was decked out in red and white. 

 

 

 

We wheeled past the now very busy spray park and headed home.  Although the park was wonderful and cool and we were missing the free Canada Day cake, we wanted to get home before the temperature climbed any higher.

 

It was a lovely way to spend Canada Day!

 





Ride the Rail: Myra Canyon to Penticton

 

 

Those of us who live in the Okanagan Valley get to discover the back roads and country trails that few visitors know about or have easy access to.  And sometimes we also check out  the more conventional adventures that are popular with visitors.  One of these adventures is biking the KVR, aka the Kettle Valley Railroad.  And, by far, the most popular section of this former railroad bed now a bike/hike trail that winds through  600 km of BC's wilderness, is the section from Myra Canyon to Penticton.

 

Not only is this an accessible section with some spectacular scenery, it is quite an easy ride, with virtually no uphill to sweat over.  Having said that, riding 80 km on a bicycle without a seasoned butt makes for a sore rear-end.  And although much of the ride is on a smooth surface, there are sandy patches and rocks to dodge around and bounce over, so a mountain bike gives a more secure ride.

There is also the challenge of organizing transportation at both ends, unless you want to make it a very long round trip. 

This summer a Vernon Outdoors Club (VOC) member  organized a minibus and trailer to transport 27 of us from Kal Tire Place in Vernon to Myra Canyon Station.  Later in the day we were picked up in Penticton and taken back to Vernon.

 

There is access to the trail at several points along the way.  Many casual riders choose to ride or hike just  the 24 km circuit from Myra Station Parking lot to Ruth Station (and return) which hangs high up on Okanagan Mountain overlooking Kelowna.    There are 18 trestles and two tunnels, with fabulous views going both ways.  This section has a smooth surface, good for any bike and those less mobile can even be pedaled in a  pedi-cab (bike rickshaw) which can be rented via Monashee Adventure Tours.

We ride begins from the parking lot at about 10 am on a mid June morning.  It is sunny and the forecast is for a high in the mid thirties.  We lather with sun screen and strap water bottles to our bikes.  We pass a few walkers and cyclists along the trestles.

The KVR was built out of necessity.  After the 1885 completion of the transcontenential CPR line which was built much farther north, through the Rockies at Kicking Horse Pass then Rodgers Pass and down the Fraser Valley, silver was discovered in southern BC. Americans flocked into BC and began  transporting the minerals south on the Northern Pacific Railroad via Spokane.  This spurred on Canadian officials to select a new southern Canadian route.  Two mountain ranges had to be crossed resulting in some of the costliest track-mile construction in North America,  taking $20 million and 20 years to complete.  Originally a Midway to Vernon line was envisioned but that was changed to the Midway to Penticton section that opened in 1915.
The KVR took freight and passengers.  The rail line was connected to the southern CPR line so passengers could travel all the way from Vancouver to Medicine Hat AB on the line.  By the late 50's some parts of the rail line were closed but the Midway to Penticton section transported passengers until 1973. Rails along this section were removed in 1979.
However this section became an attraction for hikers and cyclists.  But after years of disrepair on the trestles and following a fatal injury to a cyclist, the public petitioned for upgrades to make the trail safer.  Following these upgrades the Myra Canyon Trestles section of the trail was declared a National Historic Site in 2002.

Then during the massive Okanagan Mountain Park Fire in August/September 2003, 12 of the 18 trestles were destroyed.  These were rebuilt by Federal and Provincial Government funding between 2004 and 2008 and the rail trail is now fully open to the public.  The Myra Canyon Trestle Restoration Committee has been involved with all the upgrades/construction  and continues to participate in improvements in this section of the trail.
After the last trestle we continue to gaze down at the black skeletons of the 2003 fire and glance at views of Kelowna below, the high-rise hotels along the lake, the bridge, the orchards and vineyards that stretch south on both sides of the lake.  Soon we dip into a forest of fir and spruce and enjoy the cool of the shade.  The trail surface becomes bumpy with patches of sand.  Our attention has to focus on the trail.  At about 35km we come to Chute Lake ,an alpine lake naturally stocked with rainbow trout.

It was a base camp during construction of the KVR and in the 70's a lodge and cabins were built.  We fill up some aged picnic tables in shade near the lake's edge and tuck into our bag lunches.  Other than a couple other cyclists, we have the place to ourselves.  A short rickety dock sticks out into the still lake.  Water lilies float near the water's edge.

Before pushing off south we study a map of the Naramata section of the KVR.  From this point the rail line zigzags down the remailing 45 km to Penticton.  The trail starts off hard packed but soon there is sand and rocks to navigate.  We bounce along, our hands squeezing the brakes, as we enter Rock Oven Regional Park. 

This is not a group intent on history or distraction, so there are no stops to check out these ovens.  Just off the trail near the Adra Tunnel  are 13 rock oven built by the railway workers to bake bread and probably other foods. We continue the descent from 4000 ft. at Chute Lake to 1130 ft. at Penticton.

Historians say that muscle power and black powder built the KVR.  In order for Andrew McCulloch, the chief engineer for the KVR, to design a route with a grade that a steam engine could climb, several switchbacks and two tunnels blasted out of solid rock were required.  Today's trail bypasses the Adra Tunnel and we coast down the bumps through the increasingly sparse forest of Ponderosa pines.  One last hairpin turn swings us back along Okanagan Lake and we take quick glimpses of Summerland across the lake.  Then suddenly, we hit a patch of pavement and roll up to the Little Tunnel.

The rest of the ride is a cake walk with little peddling required.  First we gaze down to the tidy green rows of vineyards and the town of Naramata and then we bike through the vineyards, admiring the Mediterranean-like view dotted with high end new homes in the rural setting.

 

 Signs for wineries, a restaurant and a ice-cream shop tempt us but we have a bus to catch in Penticton.

 

  Very soon we are biking along the parks and beaches on the south end of Okanagan Lake and through the streets of Penticton.  Our ride is over.

 

The bikes are loaded back into the trailer, we settle into the bus but all pile out a few miles out of town to enjoy a lunch, a glass of wine and a swim, a great way to finish a awesome Okanagan day.

 

 



Three Lakes: Three Choices

 

 

Vernon sits between three lakes, Okanagan to its west, Kalamalka (aka Kal) to its south and Swan Lake to its north.  These three lakes are each unique in size, surrounding scenery and condition of water.   And each is best suited to different aquatic recreation. 

 

 

Vernon was the first major centre in the interior of BC.  As early as the 1860s cattle ranches were established, followed by orchards and farms, logging operations and boat yards.  Steam boats transported fruit and other products up and down Okanagan Lake, and the railroad moved freight and products across the country. Barnard's Express and Stage Line, one of North America's oldest, largest and longest running stage coach companies, located its head office and ranch in Vernon. 

So Vernon was a transportation hub, and the city developed at the juncture of the transport spokes, rather than situating itself on the edge of one of the three surrounding lakes. 

Unfortunately "Greater Vernon", a loose collection of various municipal regions, has never chosen to make development of public spaces along the lakes a priority.  So visitors often pass Vernon by, continuing south to communities like Kelowna and Penticton for their summer lake experiences.

But don't be fooled for a minute.  Those of us who live here, or visitors that have looked a bit farther than manicured grass and lengthy esplanades, have discovered the wonderful opportunities these different lakes, so very close-by, can offer.

Originally, about 10,000 years ago,  the whole valley was filled with one huge lake, the Glacial Lake Penticton, which stretched from Okanagan Falls in the south to the Shuswap Lakes in the north and was as much as 150 metres deeper than the lakes occupying the valley today.  Through many geological and climatic changes, the lakes have taken their present form. 

For the last four years we have lived in Vernon I have spent most of my time around Okanagan and Kalamalka Lakes but this year I have discovered Swan Lake.

 

Rowers from Vernon Rowing and Dragon Boat Club.  Picture from club web site

 

I've joined the Vernon Rowing and Dragon Boat Club and have found myself a new passion.  What better way to start an Okanagan day than alone in a scull, rhythmically dipping your oars silently into the still water?  The few other boats have rushed ahead, some with 2 and 4 paddlers working hard and fast.  Being a novice, I have fallen behind, perhaps partly by choice. As I direct the boat across the lake, the drone of Highway 97 traffic evaporates.  Only the occasional call of a loon close-by or the chirping of blackbirds among the bull-rushes enters the morning calm.  The sun has reached up above Silver Star Mountain and is shining on the water,  The green around the lake smells cool and fresh.  What a way to start the day!

 

Early morning sculling on Swan Lake

 

Swan Lake is shallow and muddy.  It is surrounded by a mix of hayfields, summer cabins and some fancy homes. The south end is marshy.  Here there is a the Swan Lake Nature Reserve and Trails, a great place to spy raptors, terns, owls, shorebirds and warblers. Occasionally there is a kayak or canoe on the lake also some motor boats.  But at 6:00 am its for rowers and loons.

One day this week a friend invited me to go kayaking on Kal Lake.  By the time we put the kayaks in at the boat launch on Kinloch Drive, it was 0930hrs and the sun was hot.  It took no time at all to get organized and into the kayaks.  The lake water felt refreshing but not frigid as we waded in. 

Kal Lake is unquestionably the most beautiful Lake in the Okanagan.  It is a "marl" lake.  As summer warms its water, dissolved calcium carbonate (limestone) forms crystals that reflect sunlight and produce an array of jewel-like shades from aquamarine to periwinkle blue. We floated along the shore gazing down through various hues of blue-green spotting schools of small fish.  Along the way there were carpets of lawn that reached from the water's edge up to some fine old Victorian homes and other modern lake residences, some with docks sticking out adorned with Adirondack chairs and boats, kayaks and surf boards. 

 

Kayaking on Kal Lake  Picture by C James

Large willow tress with branches that touched the ground created spaces of shade.  As we approached Kalamalka Provincial Park, the sun caught the red bark of the Ponderosa Pines and ducklings scattered as we quietly moved through the water. On either side of Rattlesnake Point are beaches, Jade Beach and Juniper Beach, our two favourite places for summer swims.

KalaVida Surf Shop near Kal Beach

 

I was surprised how quiet the lake was, only a couple other kayakers, and stand-up paddle-boarders and one motor boat pulling a slalom skier.  It was a Wednesday morning, a weekend morning would have been a very different scene.  Kal Lake has become THE place for stand-up paddle boarding.  It is a reasonably calm and quiet lake.  Across the road from Kal Beach, at the north end of Kal Lake, is Kalavida Surf Shop, recognized as BC's original paddle-surf shop.  And on busy weekends there are plenty of motor boats, water skiers and wake boarders.

 

Patio at Blue Heron Pub and Restaurant

Our favourite hangout for a summer supper is The Blue Heron, a pub and restaurant with a large waterfront patio on Okanagan Lake.  It has ample parking for cars and boats.  Even on a scorcher day there is a coolness from the lake and the very casual atmosphere encourages you to linger over your cold beer and bistro-fare.  Okanagan Lake, much larger than the other lakes, sees the most boat traffic, with lots of large jet boats,  pontoon boats, and sail boats.  The Vernon Yacht Club houses power and sail boats and every Wednesday and Sunday the sail boats are out in full force enjoying the dependable late afternoon breeze. 

 

Vernon Yacht Club

Ah how lucky we are: three lakes and three different venues for aquatic sports all a mere 15 minutes from our door.

 

 



 

 

Spring Time Around Armstrong

Some of the most pleasant and scenic country to bike through anywhere is in the Shuswap-North Okanagan area.   And the prettiest time of the year to explore is in the spring.  Paved roads that experience little traffic meander up and down hills dressed in that vibrant spring-green. The smell of earthy richness (with the occasional whiff of living cow) fills your head and little lakes shine like jewels in the fresh country air.  

This fact has been noted by the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Region which publishes an excellent booklet, "Shuswap-North Okanagan Cycle Touring" available to order, view or copy at info@shuswaptourism.ca

 

 

 

This year, from mid-April until the end of May, I've been out biking in this area about a half dozen times.  I've seen the tips of asparagus peak through the soil and grow into thick spikes, lilacs with their aromatic soft-purple blossoms cover hedges then, over a couple weeks, fade to be replaced by the pink wild roses and amethyst-coloured phlox along railroad beds and hill sides.
 

 

Into May asparagus fields continue to flourish and this year strawberries have been turning ruby red for two weeks already!  Rich cultivated fields now have rows of young corn plants that are stretching up to the hot sun.  And now all that youthful growth is being soaked by late spring showers.

This season most of my biking in this area has been with the Vernon Outdoors Club (VOC). Before every ride a leader will have scouted the route, calculating time and level of difficulty, scoped out any safety concerns and will have found a scenic place to stop for lunch.  All I've had to do is bring my lunch, show up, and keep up.  The pace is never overwhelming but I am always slightly challenged and feel a communal sense of accomplishment at the end of these rides.

But still a favourite bike ride for me is one that we do several times on our own, from early April until late October. We head to Armstrong along Otter Lake Road and return the same way or via Pleasant Valley Road and Otter Lake X Road.   

Later in the season, when our bike legs are stronger, we will bike from home, about a 60 km trip.  But in the spring we’ll load our bikes into the back of our Honda Element and drive out to Historic  O’Keefe Ranch and unload the bikes.  We cycle to the first turn off to the west, St Anne's Road and follow the road north, staying on Otter Lake Road which veers off to the right. An earthy aroma confirms we are in agricultural country.

At about 3 km we pass Victoria Place RV Bed and Breakfast featuring a Heritage home on a farm first established in 1886.  This would be a great home base for visitors wanting to explore and bike in the Spallumcheen area.   Across the road is an unusual crop.  We guess that the orderly lines of green mounds are Echinacea, yet to bloom 

Soon Otter Lake appears on our right.  Usually it is completely still but sometimes a lone canoe floats across it, barely marking its surface. The road begins to climb and we labour under a hot sun. We stop at the shaded T intersection of Grandview Flats Road to guzzle down some water and then point our bikes downhill.  We streak past a small pull-out on the road and a picnic table at the edge of Otter Lake and continue gliding downhill.

To the left, past Otter Laker Cross Road, is  MacDonald Road, a steep road to the west and perched up it is a warm-yellow  coloured Scandinavian-style home with a clay tile roof.

 

This is the home of Country Home Antiques. Open by appointment only (call Eva Laarson at 250 546 2529 or 546 0434), she specializes in vintage furnishing from Scandinavia.  I confess I have only visited here when I've gone by car.  The hill is steep plus you might find something to buy!

 

It does not seem long before we ride under the wide canopy of the white ash trees that line the road until the intersection of Wood Avenue.Our first stop in Armstrong is on the broad Pleasant Valley Avenue. Here at the Brown Derby Café, home of the “Great Breakfast Special” ($2.99), we dig into our eggs and pan-browned potatoes unconcerned about the wobbly outside plastic table and mixed cutlery.  A plaque beside the door tells us this is a historical building built in 1892 was owned by the son of Overlanders that settled the area in 1862.  

We amble down the main street, stopping at Deep Creek General Store, where you can buy a Globe and Mail newspaper, cowboy boots, and a quart of milk.  Next we sample fine chocolate at Chocoliro, a charming little chocolate store.

 

 

“My wife Yolanda was born into chocolate” co-owner Peter Rotzetter says, explaining a family tradition as we watch her setting the Swiss chocolate into molds.  My favourite is the dark (70% cocoa) with orange pepper.  I plan to return by car to load up on various treats.

 

We continue east to Smith Street, close to Highway 97, and visit the Village Cheese Company, part restaurant, gift store and cheese factory.  We taste samples of artisan cheese: Wild smoked salmon cheddar, Canadian maple cheddar, hores- radish  cheddar and, my favourite, Gerwurtztraminer ripened soft cheese.  After an ice-cream we mount our bikes to head back towards our car. 

 

It is a slow steady hill south out of town on Pleasant Valley Road.  The sun is beating down on us.  At the junction of Pleasant Valley Cross Road we pass the Olde Schoolhouse. Built in 1884 this one-room schoolhouse served the settler families for almost 40 years.  Then it was used as a family home and eventually a storage area for grain and machinery.  Now, during the summer it opens for coffee, tea or lunch, served on fine china.  It’s best to check ahead for hours by calling the owner, Shelia Luniw at 250 546 9190. 

After a slow uphill ride, we pass Good’N Plenty market garden.  This week they are selling strawberries, lettuce, radishes, asparagus and kale at their gate. Eventually we turn off onto Crozier Road.  The next right puts us onto Otter Lake X Road and we coast down some undulating hills before coming to Otter Lake Road.  We now retrace our path up a steep hill, past Otter Lake and back to our car.

The entire trip clocks in at 32.4km (only about 24 km if you go to and from via Otter Lake Road).  That’s what we call a good bike ride!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A Spring Day in the North Okanagan



The Okanagan is blessed with a predictable four season climate, a hot and dry summer from June to September, a warm sunny fall that lasts into November, a winter that is cool enough to guarantee ample snow on its ski mountains and a reliable spring that greens up the valley in March while the snow lingers on the peaks.  By April spring is full-on and it is a glorious time to enjoy the valley.

I never tire of the jaunt down to Kelowna International Airport, a 30 minute drive from our doorstep in Vernon.  Highway 97 glides along  above lakes and cherry and peach orchards and at this time of the year, the hills wear the vibrant green of spring and are dotted with the Okanagan sun flowers (aka arrow-leaf balsam-root).  Pink and white blossoms dress the lines of fruit trees in the orchards  and Kalamalka Lake shows off its shades from deep indigo to light turquoise.  The views are simply gob-smacking.

On Sunday when returning from dropping off my husband at the airport I decided to take the slow way home.  I turned off the highway into Winfield on to Bottom Wood Lake Road.  I noticed a flow of pedestrians, mostly family groups, heading down toward the creek.  I followed and discovered the Kangaroo Creek Farm, a private farm that has been breeding kangaroos and wallabies for over 20 years and now opens their farm to the public, in April just on weekends from 10 to 2 (daily later in the season).  http://www.kangaroocreekfarm.com. 

Here you can pet kangaroos and wallabies, feed ducks, goats, and emu. There are pot belly pigs, peacocks, fancy chickens, and capybaras, the world's largest rodents that are from South America.  Visitors are asked for a $5 donation, the money is needed for insurance, staff and other expenses of opening the farm to the public.  There is no gift shop or junk food, its all about a hands-on experience with animals.



 Little kids were gingerly picking up ducklings, feeding wallabies, petting goats and capybaras.

In a shaded area near the entrance, toddlers, big kids and grandparents were taking turns holding baby wallabies, only recently out of their mothers' pouches, in cuddly flannelette bunting bags. I don't have any children to take but I'll be back.I think I'll take my 93 year old mother, she'll be delighted!

I continued north toward Wood Lake where the road swings east and then climbs up the bank along the east side of the lake.  The top was down on my little Miata and the sharp whine of a plane caught my attention.  I stopped to watch a couple remote controlled planes twisting through the air then continued along through the orchards on Oyama Road.

 I could hear the meadow larks and smell the fresh earth. The lake views were distracting me, and had to make myself concentrate on the road as it wound around corners and undulated up and down along the lake.
When I got to the little isthmus between Wood and Kalamalka Lakes, where most of the community of Oyama sits, I drove up and down the few residential streets, lined with tidy but ordinary homes, a community not touched too much my the monster house phenomena so common in the very prettiest parts of the valley.  I discovered Pioneer Park where two kayakers were carrying their kayak back to their car while a couple canoeists were putting their boat in the water.

With the Dire Straits cranked up and my hair tangling in the wind, I continued north on Highway 97 toward Vernon, turning off onto Kalamalka Lakeview Drive at the 'Welcome to Greater Vernon' sign. 

With everything that I had seen, I was still mesmerized by the view of Rattle Snake Point in Kalamalka Provincial Park and the verdant Coldstream Valley that stretches into the white topped Monashees to the east. 

 

I drove into that scene by taking College Way, linking onto Kalamalka Road and heading east to Lavington.
Here I visited friends who had invited me to come and see their newborn lambs. 


It was a lovely end to a lovely spring day in the North Okanagan.