Heading Home to the Okanagan Valley

September 19 – Through Glacier National Park to Revelstoke

We were up and on the road by 9:30 this morning.

Our first stop was the Petro-Canada in Lake Louise for what would likely be the last of our “cheap” gas for a while—$1.51 a litre.

From there, we continued to the Yoho National Park Visitor Centre, where we left the motorhomes. John and Suzanne climbed into our Jeep with us, and we headed over to Emerald Lake.

Emerald Lake was beautiful.

The combination of the turquoise water, mountains and fall scenery made it another spectacular stop in the Rockies.

Eventually, we got back on the road and continued west. We ran into an hour-long construction delay before finally making our way into Glacier National Park.

We stopped at the Rogers Pass Discovery Centre, but by then the rain had arrived.

Rather than hang around in the wet weather, we continued toward Revelstoke.

After getting set up at the Lamplighter and having supper, we took the Jeep for a drive out past the dam toward the provincial park. We went as far as the park, turned around and headed back.

It was a pretty nice drive.

We continued through downtown Revelstoke before heading back home for the evening.

September 20 – Battling the Wind in Revelstoke

We started the day by taking the Jeep to Bighorn Auto Sales and Service.

We needed to have two things looked at—the emergency brake and the TPMS.

They were able to take care of the TPMS problem, but unfortunately, they couldn’t fix the emergency brake.

Afterward, we planned to cycle out past the dam.

We made it to the dam, but the strong north wind had other ideas.

It was blowing hard enough that it turned us around and sent us back toward town.

We continued cycling downtown instead.

I found a Patagonia jacket at one of the stores, while June picked up a pair of shorts at another.

Despite the wind, we managed almost 30 kilometres on the bikes.

Afterward, June worked out while I decided to walk back into town.

I stopped for a beer and then picked up the Jeep before heading home. We made one more outing today and that was to drive up Mount Revelstoke in Mount Revelstoke National Park for sunset.

Not quite the bike ride we’d planned, but still a good day exploring Revelstoke.

September 21 – Along the Okanagan Lake

We had a lazy morning and eventually left Revelstoke around 11:00.

The drive south was relatively short, and by 1:30 we had arrived at Kekuli Bay Provincial Park.

Once we were settled, we pulled out the trail bikes and headed over to the Kettle Valley Rail Trail.

We followed the trail toward the south end of the lake and then turned around.

The ride totaled about 25 kilometres.

Afterward, we returned to the motorhome, settled in with our books and enjoyed the sunshine and the view.

It was a beautiful, relaxing afternoon.

After so many months of travelling, sometimes sitting still and enjoying the scenery is exactly what you need.

September 22 – Finishing the Okanagan Rail Trail

We woke to a light overcast sky, with the silhouette of the sun just barely showing through.

Today we had one more cycling goal.

We wanted to finish our ride along the lake.

We headed out on the Okanagan Rail Trail toward Mile 0 in Vernon. It was only about 10 kilometres to the beach and back, but it was a satisfying way to finish off our cycling along the lake.

Back at the motorhome, June worked out while I cleaned the bicycles and finally put them away.

The bikes had carried us an incredible distance over the past few months, through Alaska, the Yukon, the Northwest Territories and British Columbia.

They had earned their rest.

Later, we drove over to visit Wayne and Pam Anderson, the couple from Rincon we’d met earlier in Banff.

They live on a golf course north of Kelowna, and what was supposed to be a quick visit turned into a wonderful three-hour happy hour.

It’s funny how those things happen while travelling.

A quick drink becomes a long conversation, and before you know it, several hours have passed.

On the way home, we stopped at Pita Pit for a wrap for dinner.

We arrived back just in time to run the generator for a few minutes before quiet time.

September 23 – Penticton and the Final Stretch

We pulled out around 10:00 this morning and headed south toward Penticton.

But, of course, we needed one more stop before leaving the Kelowna area.

Costco.

After stocking up, we continued south toward Wrights Beach in Penticton.

The journey was getting shorter now.

After months of travelling through Alaska and northern Canada, we were finally getting close to home.

The long journey was winding down, but there was still a little more Okanagan sunshine, a few more kilometres of road and a few more memories to make before the adventure was officially over.