SUNDAY |
 WALMART SUPERCENTRESTORE #3070 - PENTICTON, BC |
 BRITISH COLUMBIA |
DESTINATION: THE LOWER 48
| 97% | 3 |
|---|---|
| COMPLETED - 1310 miles=(2108 kilometers) ⟺ 39 miles=(63 kilometers) - STILL TO GO |
|---|
The Canadians sure do have a propensity for wanting to give their highways nicknames. The 117-mile long stretch of Highway 97 from Vernon to just past Osoyoos at the U.S./Canadian border is known as the Okanagan Highway.
We've read that some of the finest fruit and vegetables grown in Canada are from this region. By the shear number of wineries and fruit stands we passed on the road today I think I would have to agree. We stopped at two farmer/fruit stands today and scored a bounty of fresh food.
The one who guesses closest wins a prize!
Make your guess in U.S. dollars, because I've already done the conversion from Canadian.
When we first turned south on Route BC-97 today we saw the aftermath of a rather large forest fire they previously experienced in this region. Nearly every tree was burnt to a crisp for over two miles of our highway travels. It was sad to see and must have been horrifing to have lived through it. The fire jumped over that rather large body of water and the roadway because both sides of this small canyon were burnt.
The town of Vernon goes all out to beautify their downtown streets.
Everywhere you looked there were flowers.
Traffic control boxes get wrapped in an apple print to make them blend into the scenery.
The next large town we passed through headed south was Kelowna. Kelowna is at the center of the 84-mile long Okanagan Lake which is 2½ to 3-miles wide at most spots. Vernon is the north end of the lake and Penticton, where we are planning to spend the night, is at the south end of the lake.
When traveling this region you'll need to make up your mind which side of the lake you want to be on because there's only one bridge over the lake and that's in Kelowna, right in the middle.
Another long sloping entrance drive into the town of Kelowna.
William R. Bennett Bridge, a former Premier of British Columbia and native of Kelowna.
What do you do if you live in Kelowna on a beautiful Sunday afternoon in September?
Or maybe you're more into sailing up and down the 84-mile lake.
Just on the other side of the bridge is West Kelowna. This is where we stopped at the second farm stand store, Paynter's Fruit Market, which had a much larger selection and you can see the groves and gardens where the fruit and vegetables are grown right behind the market.
Right behind the market are acres of product being grown fresh for your selections.
Even today in late September they were out working the fields.
A short while later and we were looking for the cheapest gas in Penticton and it just so happens to be located across the street from Walmart, where we plan to spend our final night in Canada (this season anyway).
If all goes according to plan we'll travel the final 39-miles down BC-97 and cross the border into the state of Washington and the Good Ole' U.S. of A, thus ending our summer north of the border.
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Until next time
