Thur. 3rd September ‘26
We have a tradition of starting blog posts with “It rained all day today, but I’m not allowed to have a 5-word post” – and then going on to fill a post with more or less relevant stuff. I thought that might be the case today. We woke up to heavy rain that persisted through the morning and at one point I thought I might have to develop my rant about the difficulties of petrol (gas) stations in Canada into a full essay. You’ll be relieved to find me confining myself to noting that even Spain has better organisation of lanes, pumps that will fill either side of the car and simpler payment mechanisms. So, no, I didn’t enjoy our first experience of filling the mighty (not) Nissan Kicks.
The other traditionally rainy-day activity is museum viewing and so the Summerland Museum was a bit of a no-brainer – after we’d had a coffee of course! The museum was focused on the development of Summerland as a town and life in the town in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. There was quite a focus on the engineers like Andrew McCulloch who brought the Kettle Valley Railway to this part of Canada. Though I didn’t know it at the time, this was quite a prescient display, as I will explain later.
The highlight of the museum though was the model railway installed upstairs – a large track layout with well-made scenery – bridges spanning ravines and all. Better still, the trains were actually running. This brought back memories of my dad’s layout in the loft of my childhood home as well as making me think of Sheila and the big layout being created by Gary in Spain.
Today was definitely a day when a Pho would have gone down a treat. Instead, we found a Ukrainian café – yes, a bit random but a good cause – and I had to settle for Pierogi and a stuffed cabbage roll. For those who don’t eat pierogi all the time, these were like a cross between ravioli and Chinese dumplings. Tasty enough, but I’m not sure I’ll actively hunt out Ukrainian food again.
We are en-route to Kelowna, at the north end of the Okanagan Lakes for our next stay so a rainy morning wasn’t really a problem. After our lunch, the rain had now stopped and we were beginning to see some sunshine for our final railway activity in Summerland – the Kettle Valley Steam Railway. We knew in advance that it wasn’t going to be running (now that we are out of peak season) but thought it might be worth the drive out of town in case there was an engine or carriages waiting in the station. In the end it was disappointing, but what we did see were the burnt trees from the wildfire that caused so much disruption 3 weeks ago. These brought back memories that we didn’t really want.
Slaves to Claude’s itinerary that we are, it was time to move on through Kelowna and out to the Myra Canyon Trail. This is another section of the Kettle Valley Rail Trail converted into a walking / cycling trail featuring 18 wooden trestle bridges, two rock tunnels, and dramatic canyon views. We liked the sound of all of that. Once again, it was 24km out of town and high up in the hills with the last dozen kilometres or so on unmade road.
We had intended just to walk for a couple of km or so and get through the first tunnel and a couple of the trestles. However, as we drove up, we saw the signs for bike hire and this prompted a change of plan. There were still 2 hours before the hire shop closed and whilst this was probably not enough time to get us all the way to the end of the 12km trail we’d get further than we could on foot. Over the years, we have hired some really ropey bikes (Moorea, thinking of you) but these we top drawer, even if they were only strictly pedal power.
It was a good call to go bike. The cycling was easy (it turned out to be a very level route) and we were able to roll along nicely. The scenery was absolutely stunning – riding along the trails with steep-sided hills (mountains??) all around with views down the valleys. The trestles themselves were all recently restored with the new wood and in good condition. The track was gravel and flat and it was easy, easy cycling. Just as well because we kept stopping to take in the astonishing views.
Whilst it was dry when we started out, by the time we got around halfway along the trail (to the only steel bridge we came across, but through the second tunnel), it started to rain again. We did have our waterproof shells but it really wasn’t part of the plan to get wet. Needless to say, the return cycle was significantly quicker with fewer (no) stops to admire the scenery. By the time we got back to return the bikes, we were a bit bedraggled and our hands were frozen. It was perhaps worse for the car though – the rain turned the gravel road down to town into mud and by the time we pulled into our quirky B&B for our overnight stop, the car was filthy from top to bottom and front to back. Oops!
Over the last few days we’ve visited 3 different sections of the KVR and all have been significantly out of town and up in the hills. I started to wonder why this was and, of course, Claude was able to tell me the answer. In short, people wanted to live by the lake, so that is where the towns are. The trains, though, can only cope with a maximum gradient of c. 2.2% and as we’ve experienced, this is mountain terrain and even the passes between mountains are way above lake level. So, the track had to hug the side of the mountains, follow the contour lines and bridge canyons where they had to. Cycling the trails, seeing the trestles and reading the museum displays really brought home the feat of engineering.
Needing sustenance, we headed into town via the scenic route by the river and through the park, stopping to watch the energetic volleyball games as the sun went down. The main street was full of shops and restaurants with a night market down the middle. By the time we had devoured a burger (Dave) and ribs (Janet) washed down with yet more craft beer the sun had set and the skyline filled with nighttime lights, including the obligatory sculpture which looked like a giant tooth but was actually sails to represent the marina.