The Final Days – Through the Okanagan and Home to Osoyoos

September 23 – Settling into Penticton

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

Our first stop was Costco, because apparently even after months of travelling, there is always room for one more Costco run!

We arrived at Wright’s Beach Campground around 1:00 and got set up in Site 244.

We had hoped for Site 253, one of our preferred sites, but it was occupied, and our other choice, Site 219, was also taken.

June headed out on her bike along the Kettle Valley Rail Trail toward OK Falls and back, while I took Harley into town to make a few stops at Dr. Hitch, Midtown RV and Skaha Ford.

Once our errands were finished, we settled into a happy reading hour and enjoyed a quiet evening.

After months of constantly moving, these slower days in the Okanagan were feeling pretty good.

September 24 – Cycling the East Side of the Lake

We started the day with a marathon Skype call with Lois—three hours!

Eventually, we managed to tear ourselves away from the computer and get outside.

We headed out on the bikes along East Side Road toward OK Falls and back, then continued up to Indigenous Bloom.

It turned into a very nice 38-kilometre ride.

Afterward, we got in a workout before getting cleaned up for the evening.

That night, we went over to Dave and Sue’s for sushi.

We spent a couple of very enjoyable hours eating, drinking and catching up.

It was nice being back among friends and familiar surroundings.

September 25 – Climbing Green Mountain

Today was another serious cycling day.

We headed up Green Mountain Road, climbing steadily into the hills.

The ride was 45.6 kilometres round trip with 617 metres of elevation gain.

The climb took us about an hour and 20 minutes.

The reward came on the way back down.

Only 33 minutes!

After the ride, June worked out and watched Rio while I went grocery shopping.

Then we settled back outside to read in the warm sunshine.

As the afternoon cooled, we moved into happy hour, enjoying the view over the lake.

It was hard to believe that summer was winding down.

September 26 – Naramata and a Few More Repairs

Today I took the Jeep into Parkers in Penticton for several things that needed attention: the recall repair, brakes, horn and general service.

The good news was that the recall was completed and the service was done.

The brakes were also tweaked, although they still need a part to finish the job.

The horn?

Still not working.

Apparently, Harley wasn’t quite ready to be completely trouble-free yet.

While I dealt with the Jeep, we also managed to get in another excellent bike ride.

We cycled north through Naramata, enjoying one of the beautiful rides along the Okanagan.

Because of construction, we couldn’t go quite as far up the bench as we’d hoped, so we continued along the lakeshore and then looped back via Old Airport Road.

The ride covered 52 kilometres and included 460 metres of elevation gain.

Afterward, we returned home and spent some time reading in the sunshine.

That evening, we went up to Dave and Sue’s for dinner.

We also met their new neighbour, Shelly.

It was another enjoyable evening with friends and good conversation.

September 27 – Homeward Bound

There was no need to rush this morning.

We only had about 60 kilometres to travel.

Our destination was Osoyoos.

June had a massage appointment at 11:00, so she took Harley and planned to come down later.

I pulled out of Penticton at around 11:00 and headed south.

After months of travel, thousands of kilometres, countless campsites and more adventures than we could possibly count, we were finally on the last leg.

Osoyoos was only 60 kilometres away.

Home.

The Alaska and Yukon adventure that had started months earlier had taken us through British Columbia, Alberta, the Yukon, Alaska, the Northwest Territories and back again.

We had crossed the Arctic Circle, stood beside the Arctic Ocean, watched whales breach, kayaked among enormous icebergs, hiked mountains, cycled hundreds of kilometres, watched grizzlies, moose, bears, caribou, lynx and bison, experienced incredible glaciers and waterfalls, survived a broken refrigerator, bought a new to us Jeep, watched the Aurora Borealis dance across the sky and even spent 36 very stressful hours wondering if we’d ever escape Utqiagvik.

And now we were heading home.

The road to Osoyoos was the final few kilometres of an extraordinary journey.

After all we’d seen and done, it was hard to believe the adventure was finally coming to an end.

But one thing was certain:

This was a trip we would never forget.

With only a few more days with John, Suzanne and Rio in Osoyoos before closing this chapter!