My weekend camping trip was an enjoyable success!
I left Thursday morning just before 7am. Although there was the normal traffic volume, it was going in the other direction. Getting out of the city was easy. The temperature was comfortable, the weather was fantastic.
I filled up in Hope as I usually do, and started the trip in earnest. I never feel like I’ve left until I hit highway number 3.
So with great music in my ears, the warm sun shining on me, and the excitement of riding my bike into a weekend of relaxation and camping, I headed for Manning Park.
I had the highway to myself! It seems this route is not heavily used, especially in off-peak times of the year. It was great to ride with so little traffic. I could carve the curves and take in the scenery at my own pace, and without the noise of other traffic. It was wonderful.
This is the highest elevation for the highway. I always seem to underestimate how cold it can get, and this ride was no exception. I didn’t bother and stop to change clothes, but I was a little cold 
The decent back into the warmer orchard covered hills was a welcome relief from the cold. I wish it was a little later in the year. The many fruit stands would have been a great excuse to take a break for some freshly picked fruit and veg.
I would like to take a moment to admit that I have an addiction. This addiction is a little bit of a distraction for me when I ride, and I’m not sure if I should seek help. It’s the temperature guage. It’s not good enough for me to be able to feel how warm it is. I need to KNOW what the temperature is. I need to confirmation. I like to guess how warm it is and then look to see how close I was.
The temperature increased constantly as I neared Osoyoos. It was wonderful to thaw out from the cold of Manning Park. By the time I reached Osoyoos it was up to 28 degrees. Wonderful!
I pulled into my favorite campsite – Cabana Beach Campsite around 11:30am. I love the little cabanas. It’s great to have power for my gadgets, and I love having a fridge and a sink, not to mention the protection from the elements. Particularly in Osoyoos where it can get quite windy and hot, the cabanas are a perfect addition.
The owner of the campsite updated me on all the gossip from the campsite. By the time I selected my spot, I knew the story of every camper who was there. The 4 young fruit pickers form Quebec, the couple who were out of work and staying at the campsite until they found work, and the fellow who was working and staying at the campsite until he could afford his own place. It seemed I was the only person who was really just camping, and not needing a home.
Setting up camp is one of my favorite parts of camping. I’m sure no one who knows me would be surprised by this. I love organizing everything and setting things up.
I chose the campsite right in the corner by the orchard. It turned out to be a very good spot. It was far enough away from everyone else that I had peace and quite. It was also close to the road. Getting in and out of the site with the motorcycle could not have been easier.
After setting up camp, I went into town. I stopped in at Smitty’s for lunch. I was too hungry to buy food and go shopping. After lunch I wandered around Osoyoos, window shopping and browsing. Osoyoos is amazingly barren when it comes to supplies. Aside from the incredibly well stocked Home Hardware, everything else is under-stocked. The Source (formerly radio shack) looked more like it had recently been looted. I suppose the winter months are not kind to this little town.
I bought some food at the local store, some water, and some beer. I have to balance the hydration from the water with the beer after all – can’t get too well hydrated!
I spend the rest of the afternoon relaxing by the water, under a set of big tress, on a beach blanket – very nice!
After all that relaxing I wanted something to do, so I went for a ride. First, I explored the area around the campsite. There is a beautiful vineyard a little further down the main road.
I also wanted to find out a little more about the new Desert Cultural Centre built by the very intelligent people of the Nk’Mip reserve. They have taken reserve land, and built a huge RV and tenting site (a very beautiful site with full hookups, and great amenities), a winery, a riding stable, a golf course, a grocery Store, a restaurant, a huge high-end resort, and most recently, the new Desert Cultural Centre.
After that I went for a ride up the hill, towards Nelson, to take in the view. This switchback up the mountainside is one of my favorite roads anywhere. It’s such a great feeling to climb so high, so quickly.
I went back to my campsite and enjoyed the rest of the evening. I went for a long barefoot walk, as usual, sat on the dock with my feet in the water, and watched the sunset. I love the warm air in Osoyoos. The air didn’t start to cool until after 9pm, but it was great to be so warm and comfortable until so late at night. There was no need for extra clothes. Fantastic. I stayed up until 10pm before finally calling it a night.
I woke up at 5am on Friday. A bit too early, but it’s my routine when I camp. I like to get up early so that I can get ready, shower, and use the facilities before anyone else is around.
Once I had breakfast, I decided to see if I could find a co beach that I read about on the Internet around Penticton. The beach is called Three Mile Beach. Nicole was nice enough to send me text message after she finished work with instructions.
The drive was nice, and again, there wasn’t a lot of traffic. I stopped off at a very nice view point to take a few photos.
The beach is nice, but nothing compared to Wreck. I went for a little walk and sat and relaxed a little. It was sadly a little too cold even to sit and relax, so I didn’t spend too long there.
Once back I relaxed a little bit, waiting for Larry to arrive. He arrived almost an hour early. We spent the afternoon going for a long walk along the water, and then going for a nice dinner. After dinner we went back up to the viewpoint. I took a few photographs to stitch together a panorama.
Panorama:
We spent the evening chatting the hours away. It was a great visit.
At one point, we saw two motorcycle riders – they looked like a young couple. As we were watching them set up thier camp we were commenting on how we wondered how they could carry enough equipment to camp. They were both of sport bikes, and only had small pack packs, and no on-bike storage. It soon became clear that they really didn’t have enough equipment. As we watched them set up thier tent we could hardly believe what we saw. When they left for dinner we had to go and take photographs. this was without a doubt the smallest tent I have ever seen. Not only was it too small for me to fit into properly, they were both going to sleep in it!!!
We went to bed around midnight. The air was really breezy, but warm and so very pleasant.
The next morning I woke up at 4:45am! Once I was up I couldn’t sleep any more, so I decided I would start to pack up. The weather called for rain on Sunday, and I decided to head back home again. Riding isn’t much fun in the rain, and I had already had a wonderful time.
The weekend was wonderful. A little adventure, a lot of relaxing, and some great company.
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