Silver Star and Kelowna

The day after the major thunderstorm in Kamloops we eventually left mid-afternoon to drive to Silver Star, another mountain bike resort with chairlift access. The rain continued but was quite light. We arrived at Vernon and started the slow (40-50kph) 20km drive up (all) to Silver Star, Simone wondered if we would end up in the clouds. Yes we would, about half way up. We arrived about 6.30pm and with poor visibility (50m) and poor sign posting to the campground. After a few wrong turns we found the campground, promptly plugged into the power and put the heater on. 

Walking with Silver Star in the distance

Next morning was much brighter. We were camped right next to the village and at lift opening Rob promptly set off to ride.
It was a slow start on the trails that were slippery but they quickly turned to velcro status. Third lift up Rob met another Aussie, much younger and on a DH bike, who showed the way to ride corners and berms ridiculously quick. Following him and trying to keep up on the many much smoother and tighter than Whistler berms, resulted in a new level of cornering. Next lift up Rob met a bike mechanic from Rossland, BC. You must come and ride there, it’s the home of mountain biking in Canada! That’s a big call and being on the way we were heading it would be rude not to. Meanwhile Symi and Fiona enjoyed a chairlift ride up the mountain and some scenic alpine walking.

The lovely  Okanagan Lake in Kelowna

After two days at from Silver Star, we left on a much warmer day that when we arrived. Not to mention with much better visibility. Our next stop was Kelowna where we planned to meet up with Mark and Haley who we met earlier in our trip. The drive down was only short and was along the very picturesque Kalamalka Lake. It reminded us of driving along Lake Geneva in Switzerland. Kelowna is situated in the Okanagan Valley on the 135km long Okanagan Lake. Evidently the name Kelowna is derived from an Okanagan Language term for Grizzly Bear. We didn’t spot any when we were there although interestingly I heard on the radio yesterday that a large adult cougar had been spotted in West Kelowna and parents were advised not to let children play outdoors alone until it had been located!

We had booked into the Willow Creek Campground based only on the premise that it was close to the lake and close to town. We were also close to other things – namely very close to our neighbours. Although it was not one of our pretty campgrounds it suited our purpose in that we had a supermarket over the road and it was less than a 2 minute walk to swim in the lake. In fact swimming in the lake was the first thing on our agenda when we arrived. After we had done this we set off on our bikes for the 3km ride to town. We stopped in at Hayley and Mark’s house to see if they were home. We met their daughter, but Mark as we knew was away and Hayley was at the beach with the dog. After a short ride we came back and found both Hayley and Simon the dog. It was lovely to see a familiar and very welcoming face (sorry Simon – faces).

Hayley and Mark run a lovely bed and breakfast which is situated right on the edge of the lake and next to town. They have a fantastic deck which we were fortunate enough to sit and relax on. Hayley suggested a trip out onto the lake in their canoe – Symi as you can imagine was beyond keen. We set off with friend of Hayley’s in a canoe which was extremely low in the water. It was lovely out on the lake. The long evenings are something we will really miss back in Perth. It is not just the length of the day but the length of time after the sun has lost its intensity that it stays light.

Hanging out on the deck

Hayley and Mark also had a couple of old windsurfer boards which were also fun to take down to the lake and float about on. One afternoon the three of us borrowed the canoe and headed out along the lakeshore looking at all the houses and water toys – boats, jet skis, canoes etc. There seems to be a real intensity about summer holidays here with everyone making sure they milk everything they can from the sunshine. I suppose when you have half a year of snow on the ground it would make you do that. Some children we meet are almost unable to comprehend that where we live we don’t get any snow. 

Love the red truck interior and sitting in the front

Our time in Kelowna was mainly spent swimming and floating on the lake as it was quite warm with maximum temperatures up to 35ᵒC. We did manage a short ride on the local trails up to teady bear junction, we think this is incentive for kids to get up the hill. Another day we borrowed Hayley and Mark's truck, which Symi loved, went up and rode the Myra Valley section of the Kettle Valley trail. This is a section of the old railway line that linked the interior of BC to the coast. It has 18 restored wooden trestles and some great scenery. See Symi's post on this. 

One evening Rob and Symi went for a drive in Mark’s town car, a red Triumph TR2. It was raw motoring with heavy steering and brakes, loud exhaust and wind in the hair. However the engine was crisp and 60kph felt like 90 adding to the fun. Another evening Mark and Hayley very kindly took us out to dinner at a rooftop restaurant. During the wait for a table (you can’t book) Fiona and Hayley managed to go shopping and Fiona brought a new dress managing an outfit change while out to dinner! After a week of relaxing and swimming it was time to move on.

Taken out for a fantastic dinner overlooking the lake.