Revelstoke to Kelowna

Almost at the end of our tour around BC and Alberta. Revelstoke was certainly a revelation as I said. Our breakfast at the B&B was so wonderful, our hosts were very attentive and friendly and the food was presented like a gourmet meal!!

Courthouse, Revelstoke directly opposite our accommodation

The Courthouse Inn

Our journey to Kelowna was only short so we decided to spend some time in Revelstoke NP. Our Parks pass has certainly been a wonderful investment. There is a beautiful drive up in to the Meadows in the Sky. However, once again, because of the heavy snowfalls, the meadows were not yet open. They were still under 1.5m of snow!!!! Despite the now 30deg+ temps during the day in town, it just goes to show how much snow they get here during the winter. More than most of the famous ski resorts around the world.

Looking down on Revelstoke

We were able to drive up 20 of the 26km and stopped at the lookouts. The road was closed to the top because of the snow. There were some wild flowers by the side of the road with which I had to be satisfied. At the very bottom of the road was a short turn off to a place made famous in another time.

Looking back up the ski jump hill

A ski jump used in the early part of the 20^th century is still there but now becoming overgrown. We read the amazing facts about Nels Nelson, a famous jumper who set a world record here around 1925. I’ll have to look him up on the net.

Nels Nelson ski jump

Heading off once again on the Trans Canada Hwy it was not long before we took our turn off down the 97A towards Kelowna. When we arrived at a town called Sicamous we saw evidence of the recent flooding. The road bridge had been completely washed away. A temporary bridge has been put across the floodway and there were major works for quite some way trying to repair the damage. It was lucky for us we were not travelling this route two weeks earlier.

The lake was littered with timber, huge trees washed down the mountain, which would also make it dangerous for the holiday houseboats which are popular at this time of year. We saw them all tied up at the mooring - not being able to run a business at this time of year would be hard.

We are now right out into the open agricultural valley, very different scenery. It’s very hot so we’ve decided a cold milkshake in Kelowna will probably be the go when we get there as it will be too early to check in to our B&B.

We went to the info centre when we arrived and got all the local maps and information on the wineries in the area some of which we shall be visiting tomorrow. Could not find somewhere for a milkshake, but found an ice creamery. This went down very nicely.

We rang the B&B and it was no problem getting there early which we did. Steve and Chrissy have the most wonderful location and are such welcoming people. Unbelieveably, Chrissy is from my home town in Bromley in Kent and Steve is from Somerset!!!! Dunster no less near Minehead where I have some dear friends. And here we are in Canada!!!! Small world.

The view from the B&B was sublime. It was across the lake from town but this made for a very convenient route out of town when we leave.

Now it is off out for dinner. Steve is a chef and has provided some terrific recommendations. We shall be kicking up our heels for our last couple of nights in Canada.