The Okanagan Valley

Following our days in the national parks, we head west towards Vancouver. But before getting there, we must cross the Okanagan Valley. I discovered the Okanagan Valley a few summers ago when I did a road trip with Kassi’s family. And it immediately captured my heart.

To reach the valley, we first follow the Trans-Canada highway through Glacier National Park before reaching Revelstoke. Here, I finally find a rope to attach to Chaton’s saddle and to fix my bags. So far, I was fixing the luggage straps to the saddle and whatever part of the bike I could find. With mixed results… But with this new rope, which goes around the saddle, I think I might have finally found a fitting solution.

This stop in Revelstoke is also the opportunity to find out about an alternative road to reach Vernon. This is another thing we love about travelling with a motorcycle. People easily open to us and are always eager to give us tips about places to see and visit in the surroundings. In this case, we should take the Hwy 23 and then 6, driving along the lakes and all the way to Nakusp, instead of taking the Trans-Canada highway. Although this lengthens our journey, we’re more than happy to follow this advice.

We’re almost the only ones on highway 23, first riding up along the mountains and then down next to the water. We have to take two ferries, as the road keeps switching lake sides. The water appears and disappears from our sight as the road curves, and the surroundings are breath-taking.

Highway 6, which we reach with the second ferry, is a dream come true for every biker: curves without end. As the curves follow each other, the landscape starts changing, mountains and forests, leaving you with a feeling of being in the middle of nowhere, becoming fields. We’ve reached the Okanagan Valley, where we’ll be staying with Jo and Rick for a couple of days so that I can show this beautiful region to Papa.

The next day, we set off along Kalamalka Lake to visit the Kangaroo Farm in Lake Country. The farm was created in the 1980s to save kangaroos and wallabies from New Zealand which would have been killed otherwise.

Our next stop leads us high up into the hills. The Okanagan valley is famous for its wine production and hosts close to 200 wineries. The best part about it? You can stop at most of them and try your way through the various vintages: crisp whites, fruity rosés and rich reds. Papa is going to hate me for all those bottles we’ll have to find a spot for on the motorcycle! Some of our favourites: Intrigue Wines, Arrowleaf and Grey Monk.

The last places we have to visit are the fruit farms around Vernon. Because this is the other particularity of the Okanagan Valley. It produces some of the best fruits in Canada! The road leads us to Planet Bee for some delicious honey and to Davison Orchards. If you get a chance, make sure to taste their peach pie!

As much as we love our time here in the Okanagan Valley, we have to continue towards Vancouver. Here again, we choose to follow the scenic road, along the different lakes, instead of taking the Trans-Canada Highway. This makes us almost go all the way South to the American border, before taking highway 3 westwards towards the coast.

So far, we’ve travelled roughly 4.000 km with both motorcycles. Chaton is running smoothly, loving the curves in the road. But that morning, I notice that the chain is starting to get quite loose. Time for some tightening. Thankfully, there’s a repair shop right next to our motel. Because, guess what, of course I forgot to pack the right tools to tighten Chaton’s chain. The people there lend us their tools and after a few twists and turns, we’re ready to leave again!

All Episodes:

Part 1: Finding the right bike
Part 2: Canada and Jasper National Park
Part 3: The Icefields Parkway 
Part 4: The Okanagan Valley
Part 5: Vancouver and the Sea-to-Sky Highway
Part 6: US 101, Washington and Oregon
Part 7: Idaho & Montana, the Lewis & Clark Highway to Denver
Part 8: Denver
Part 9: Kansas City

Make sure to follow Joanne and her Dad on her route:

Instagram WheelsOnRoadHoles: @wheelsonroadholes/
Instagram Joanne:@jo_lmk/
Instagram: Christian, her dad:@worldwidebiker/
Website: https://wheelsonroadholes.com