Storyline: Westward Ho!
Tue, Jul 11
As mentioned in some previous posts we still hadn’t realised the gravity of the wildfires around us and how the smoke from them was affecting us. In the morning Alex felt well (he’d say he never felt unwell, except for the coughing) and we decided to head south to Kelowna. Again, we called a few RV parks and found a spot at Peachland RV Park.
Roads as everywhere in this part of Canada are wiggly and windy. For some reasons I thought the one that passes through Kamloops was better than the others. And off we went. We’ll join Trans-Canada Hwy 1 near Cache Creek (another wildfire spot later on).
We had 3 booked nights at the Peachland RV Park with the hope that the smoke would dissipate and we could then drive home in a relatively smoke-free environment. But. Skies didn’t look as blue as expected.
The air quality maps also indicated that the smoke is now here. After sitting in traffic for a while we crossed the William R. Bennett bridge to West Kelowna. Reached the campground just outside town in late afternoon.
It was one of the nicer campgrounds we’d been to. Huge campsites, well maintained and well managed.
A year-round campground with heaters for the water pipes in the winter. Big and clean laundry facilities and shower cabins. Private with plenty of space for one’s clothes in a separate curtain-divided space. I guess it’s also heated during the winter.
Not many trees and shady sites though, but this is as everywhere around here. Scorching heat. And of course, no bugs. Just sun and smoke. We plugged in Doranya and ran the AC till the coach was comfortable.
Today was my day of not feeling well. My throat was scratchy, my eyes were itchy and I was coughing. The smoke was getting to me, too.
Wed, Jul 12
Although we had two full days, we decided to do the winery tours first. We stopped for a coffee and such at Peachland’s Bliss Bakery and Bistro. Doranya parked by the shore on Beach Ave enjoyed the hot and sunny weather while we were observing the local life.
We made sure that it was past eleven before we headed for the wine testing. Still the first winery we stopped at was closed – didn’t open until noon.
There are millions of wineries here (OK pick a number, I really don’t know how many, but they seemed to be at every corner). So how do you decide on a winery when you know nothing about them and there are so many? We decided to go after their names. Dirty Laundry, Back Door and things like that. The one I enjoyed the most was the Dirty Laundry Vineyard. They were creative with their decorations. And with their wine names. Like “Dangerous Liaison”, “A Girl in Every Port”, “Secret Affair”, “OK Sweetheart”, “Let’s Get Fizzical” and many more.
Also, as in Ontario in the past if one buys a bottle of wine, the price for the samples one pays at the entrance is waived ($5 for 6 samples). Between the two of us we ended up with 12 samples and a box of wines carefully placed in Doranya.
(Note: Sept 6 – I just finished the last Dirty Laundry Gewurztraminer yesterday.)
A steam train still runs in the valley below the winery and as we were paying for our wines, we heard the whistle. We rushed to see the train and take a few snaps of it.
And how did they come up with the name of the winery? The story they told us: In late 1800 a Chinese Laundromat was a front for a brothel and a gambling den. There was a password to enter the brothel. Dirty Laundry.
I just went to their website and found a fantastic amusing video. And as much as we don’t like posting links that could look like advertising any business, I am sure our readers will enjoy this one found on their website: Dirty Laundry Vineyard: Okanagan Wine | Our Story
(This one can change as they update their site, but the direct link to YouTube The Dirty Laundry Story – YouTube should be available. Just skip the ads.)
We wandered around the vineyards after the tasting, taking some photos (Alex really enjoyed strolling and taking photos of the vines, grapes and Doranya’s windows reflecting the scenery) and deciding on our next move.
We were in Summerland and our initial intention had been to drive all way around the lake via Penticton. We decided that this was our last winery. After all, how many tasters, no matter how small can one drink at our age? And it was mainly me, since Alex was the designated driver. He’d only sniff, sip and pass it to me. We also didn’t have more room in Doranya for wine bottles.
Thu, Jul 13
Household day. Laundry (no longer dirty – A), dusting and washing inside. This would be the last laundry and major clean up, although we had not yet realised the fact that we had to take the fastest route home, crossing all the heavily smoky areas. We were still in BC. We still had Riding Mountain National Park in Manitoba booked for the end of July and a few Ontario Provincial Parks for the beginning of August. By now Alex was not only coughing, but spitting up grey and black stuff. Sometimes there were bits of red, too.
We had dismissed the idea of driving through Osoyoos just north of the US border. As much as I don’t like a repeat, we’ll have to return crossing the mountains on Trans-Canada Hwy 1. The air in Revelstoke was bad. Not sure why we thought the air would be better further into the mountains. We booked two nights at Canyon Hot Springs just west of Revelstoke and a night at Golden, about 80 km short of the Alberta border. We’ll see how things go after that.
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