Train Trestles and Kangaroos...not a Typo!!!

The past couple of days in Kelowna have been really special. The Okanogan Valley is very beautiful being completely dominated by Okanogan Lake which is a gigantic Fjord lake. It is 84 miles long and 3.5 miles wide at its widest point. It is not uncommon for it to be 300 feet deep only 30 feet of shore. Around the lake is abundant farm land, orchards and vineyard. Kelwona is the largest city in the valley and boasts all of the difficulties of a quickly growing region, primarily traffic and construction everywhere. That being said it is beautiful, although hot at the moment. We really wanted to make the most of our time here so we tried to plan our days that we could maximize the things that we were able to do. There were a few added errands given that this is the first stop in Canada and there are restrictions on what you can bring across the border.

We had reservations to stay at the Apple Valley Orchard and RV Park. When I started planning the trip I realized that I wanted to have reservations at the places that we wanted to stay multiple days. Well, you all know me, this morphed into figuring out how long it would take to get from major stop to major stop. Then I found other things to see along the way. To make a long story short, or longer, we wound up with nearly the entire trip planned out and reserved. The true control freak at work. Of course, if I do say so myself, everything had turned out really well so far, particularly my choice of accommodations. Our stop in Kelowna was no exception. We pulled in to find a huge white board with our name and site number on it allowing us to pull right into our perfect Pull-through site #1. The park is nicely landscaped, has a nice office, laundry room and washrooms (Canadian for restroom-

I guess more appropriate since most of us wash not rest in there.) The couple that checked us in are extremely friendly and provided us with a ton of information on local sites and events and even mentioned a couple of things that I missed during my months of research.
On Tuesday we planned to go to Myra Canyon to hike part of the Kettle Mountain Railway. The railroad ran through this area from 1912 until 1972. It went untouched for 30 years after the trains stopped. There are 18 trestles and 2 tunnels along the 12.4 km section that they started restoring in 2002. Unfortunately in 2003 the largest forest fire in the area history fire stormed through the area damaging many of the trestles. They have since been restored and the whole 12.4 km is now a trail for hiking and bike riding. It was an interesting drive to get to the trail head with the last 8 km on a rather steep gravel road but it was well marked so we knew we were headed in the right direction.

We accurately predicted that we would be the only ones there since it was 8:30 on a Tuesday morning. We hiked 7 km and got to experience 9 trestles and both tunnels that are on the route. It was one of the coolest things that we have ever done and a good amount of exercise too. It also turns out that may of the wild flowers were in full bloom, a real bonus. The longer we were out the more people we started to see. There were a lot of cyclist and a few other hikers that we encountered on our way back. The parking lot was packed when we returned….unbelievable how many people would brave the road but really not that surprising once we got to see it.

After our hike we decided to head back toward town. Our hosts at the RV park told us about a Provincial Park in the middle of town that had great views. We lunched atop Knox Mountain in the middle of Kelwona with a great view of Okanogan Lake. An Osprey even flew low overhead but came by so fast I couldn’t even get a photo. Our afternoon plan was to check out the Urban Distillers in town. As it turned out our choice of lunch spot was perfect since we drove right be the Distillery before we headed up the Mountain. We enjoy craft distilleries and this one was no exception. The owner did the tour and tastings and it was really interesting to talk to him about his processes compared to some of the other ones that we have been to. Both of the Gins that they make are amazing.
On Wednesday we got up early with a full day planned. Our first stop was the local Farmers Market for some grocery shopping. Once again we weren’t disappointed. Our only regret is that the Fridge in our 5th wheel isn’t big

enough to buy everything that we wanted to. We settled for some locally roasted coffee, pork chops and back bacon, 3 large heads of lettuce (red romaine, green leaf and 1 mystery), a bunch of radishes the size of golf balls, a 5 lb. head of purple cauliflower, 12 brown eggs, 6 duck eggs, and a dozen cheese burger pirogues. Next we headed north to an adjacent town called Lake Country. This was our primary destination for the day. Kangaroo Creek Farms is an Australian wildlife park where you get to be up close and personal with the animals. It was, once again, one of the coolest things that we have ever done.

We got to hold the baby kangaroos and wallabies, pet and feed the adults and interact with Capybaras, Emus and Maras. The greatest thing of all was that our baby’s name was Stanley (Scott’s middle and his Dad’s first name.)
Once we got our fill of playing with the animals we headed off to do a little wine tasting. The people at both wineries that we went to were really nice and the views of the lake were outstanding. We are obviously very spoiled by the Napa Valley wineries that we frequent but I can tell you that the 50th Parallel Winery (yes the Latitude) that we visited made the best Chardonnay that I have had and was willing to pay for. At $35 Canadian it was far better than any of the $60+ bottle that we have tried in the past. When we got back to our RV park we participated in our last activity of the day…CHERRY PICKING!!! At the Apple Valley Orchard RV Park the added bonus is that there really is an orchard here. I had assumed apples due to the name. Well, they also have a small bing cherry orchard that was just ripe for picking so we were excited to take advantage of their U-Pick Special for RV guests. There is truly nothing better than fresh cherries that you picked yourself. It took us about 10 minutes to pick 4+ lbs. (not including the ones that we ate in the process.)
As has been our habit so far when we stay for a few days, Today Scott is playing golf and I’m just playing. Blogging, Shopping and a few chores along with a healthy dose of relaxing. Tomorrow we have a long drive to Valemount. We are looking forward to the start of some cooler weather since Valemount is in the valley between 3 mountain ranges outside the West side of Jasper National Park. Canoe Mountain Rodeo, here we come!!!