Canada Road Trip: Kelowna BC to Nanaimo BC

Day 10, 280 miles

I have to admit, I kind of fell in love with Kelowna. It’s in the Okanagan Valley of BC, an area with a very special microclimate that’s sunny and dry, perfect for vineyards and fruit orchards. It’s situated on Okanagan lake, the hills are covered in sagebrush in areas. It just felt familiar somehow, mountains, but also desert-like. I failed to pick some sage, I really wanted some for my dashboard. Here’s a few photos of the downtown area.

Downtown Kelowna was pretty eclectic, dog friendly and welcoming. Lot’s of pride flags.

Hey Brian, do you have tattoo shop name envy?

The diner I really wanted to visit for breakfast was closed on Tuesday’s, so I settled for another spot up the street. I wanted a place beloved by locals, I settled, this wasn’t it. OEB breakfast co. was modern, colorful and well thought out, like, too thought out? It felt contrived rather than home grown. I think when a neon sign tells me my soul is being filled, it just automatically isn’t. Food was pretty good. When I asked my server what OEB stood for, she had to think for a minute: Outstanding People, Embracing Evolution, Bold Food. Alrighty then.

OEB

Heading out of Kelowna I took a right onto 97c (the Okanagan connector) towards Merritt, this was the most curvy pass yet. There was some sleet at the top.

Needing to get OFF the major highway, I turned onto 5A south towards Princeton. This was the best decision of the this whole trip I think. 5A was a sleepy route through high, dry buttes shielding a few ranches in the valley. Just beautiful.

Route 5A, a few ranches.

I can never resist a broken barn.

The route from Princeton to Hope is spectacular, it’s called the Crow’s Nest. High desert down, down into the super-lush BC forest, you know the ones, smells like everything green. Smells like home.

Near Manning

shallow lakes dotted throughout.

An incredible rock slide that buried a lake in 1965.

It was difficult to take a photo of the enormous rock slide. It was alien.

Deep dark BC forest ahead, traveling along the skagit river.

At Hope the route joined up with the mighty Fraser River that drains into the Pacific in Vancouver. I rejoined the divided highway until Abbotsford when the congestion filled all the lanes, I took some back roads through Langley into Surrey which stirred all sorts of chilhood memories visiting cousins, my grandma and other family near White Rock/Crescent Beach. Tsawwassen ferry is out at the end of a spit of land a stones throw from the US border.

I made it in time to catch the 5pm ferry from Tsawwassen to Nanaimo! A quick 2 hour ride.

The larger body of water between the mainland and the island is called the Salish Sea, the route from Tsawwassen to Nanaimo crosses the Strait of Georgia. (contained within the Salish Sea)

I’m resting and visiting with my mom until Sunday, when we’ll head out for our own roadtrip through Whistler, back through the northern rockies, Edmonton and back through the lower Okanagan.

Catch ya later!