Just For Fun

 After a beautiful day of riding yesterday, we awoke to sun this morning but after breakfast and as we were beginning to prepare for the day's ride, clouds began to roll in. And they were large grey ones which is never a good thing. Nevertheless Garry and I made the decision to do an Okanagan ride today, choosing to take our chances with the weather.

After unsuccessfully trying to find a Chevron gas station to fill up on 94 octane gas, we settled for the lower grade 91 at PetroCan before heading for Anarchist Mountain and Highway 3 east. Anarchist Mountain looms over the south end of the BC section of the Okanagan Valley and the road to the top is a rider's delight with dozens of sharp curves and some panoramic vistas. We stopped at the lone viewpoint and enjoyed the view over Osoyoos and Osoyoos Lake before carrying on to the summit. The road levels out and crosses the high country to Rock Creek where it descends into the Kettle Valley.

Osoyoos and Osoyoos Lake from the Anarchist Mountain lookout

View to the north of Osoyoos 

Our trusty steeds at the Anarchist Mountain lookout.

Between Osoyoos and Rock Creek there is only one village, Bridesville, which used to be a stop on the previously mentioned VV&E Railway. I am not sure why it still exists, but it seems to be a bucolic little place, and no doubt the people who live here like it just the way it is. The road into Rock Creek descends rapidly and is a very sharp hairpin turn about halfway down. Rock Creek stretches along the Kettle River and experienced flooding in 2020. The river was flowing high today and we stopped at the Rock Creek Hotel and Pub to have a closer look. That establishment seems to be quite quirky with a sign at the entrance that read "Alcohol Won't Solve All your Problems, But Neither Does Water". As sign on the wall warns that only American made motorcycles are allowed to park near the front door. All others will be towed. A bit of levity is always good.

Kettle River running high and fast

Sign at the Rock Creek Hotel & Pub

Garry and I headed north on Highway 33 to Kelowna. The road is a very good motorcycle road with a large number of curves and elevation changes. And there was very little traffic as a bonus. The only hiccup was a ten minute wait just south of the Big White turnoff for alternating traffic because the road was being repaved. Other than that it was a sweet ride all the way. One little place has an interesting name, Joe Rich. No idea why the name, but the last time I rode through here about six years ago with my friend Jim we could smell the burnt wood odor from a forest fire which had burned in the area less than a week before.

After a Starbucks visit in Rutland we rode to Gasoline Alley H-D to check out the new bikes. Some of the machines Harley is making these days are works of functional art. They are just very pleasing to the eye. (They look real good.) One of the sales people had an amazing assortment of tattoos. but the most impressive one was the one of fairly modern H-D engine in colour. The artist who did that one is a true master.

A stop at Gasoline Alley H-D in Kelowna, BC

The weather improved as the day went on and by the time we were in Kelowna it was mostly sunny and warm. Heading south, traffic got heavier and after a stop to refuel, we were back in the thick of it from just north of the William R. Bennet Bridge (Don't ask me about my feelings as I crossed that bridge!) and it continued all the way through Westbank, but once we were clear of the turn to the Okanagan Connector traffic thinned out and we made good time to Penticton. 

Sometimes at the most unexpected times and in the most unexpected places we are fortunate enough to witness small acts of human kindness. We saw one today. As we were stopped at a light in Westbank, two women were waiting to cross the highway - one of whom was in a wheelchair. When the light changed the first woman began to cross the road. She made it more than halfway, then turned around to see the woman in the wheelchair struggling to get across the highway before the light changed. She walked back and spoke to the woman in the wheelchair, then pushed her across the road. It was a small act of human kindness but it was a real privilege to have witnessed it.

The ride along Okanagan Lake is as pretty a ride as you'll see anywhere and it went very smoothly  all the way to Penticton. It's no wonder people want to live there.

Riding through Penticton we paralleled the 'Ditch', a canal between Okanagan and Skaha Lakes that was used as a canal, but is now used mostly for recreation. Again traffic moved along quite nicely and we passed through Okanagan Falls and Oliver where we stopped to rest our weary backside and grab some snacks for later. The last twenty plus kilometres to Osoyoos went smoothly and at the end of the day we had done a 325 kilometre loop of the Okanagan Valley. Not a bad day's work for two 'Vintage Gentlemen' on Harleys. Tomorrow we ride west to Nelson by way of Midway, Grand Forks, and Castlegar.

While we were riding the ladies went wine touring and brought a bottle of white wine for dinner. They say it is good wine, but I'm not a white wine connoisseur so I'll take their word for it. Dinner went with the wine with various local cheeses and cold cuts. A very relaxed end to a good day.