August 17-18, 2009
We left Kamloops and headed southeast to the Okanagan Valley. This is a beautiful valley that has fruit orchards and vineyards all along the road. This area is also more populated than north and central BC so Rex has to get used to lots of traffic again. We stopped at Okanagan Lake Provincial Park around noon. This park is on Okanagan Lake and is very popular with boaters, consequently it was almost full but we were able to find a site for the night. After lunch we went looking for wineries. There are over 200 vineyards between here and the US border. After stopping at several wineries, we managed to find one that had some nice sweet fruit wines that we like. We stopped at a fruit/vegetable stand and bought some great peaches and tomatoes. We didn’t buy too much as we are going to cross into the US tomorrow and are not sure if we can bring any fruit back into the US. This stand also had some blueberry and peach muffins so we bought one of each for breakfast tomorrow.
After the delicious muffins this morning we continued down the Okanagan Valley and enjoyed seeing more orchards and vineyards. This area of BC is beautiful and we think we would like to come back and explore some more. We crossed the border at Osoyoos and it took us longer than at any other border crossing as we confessed to having fruit/vegetables and dog biscuits with us. A border agent went into the 5th wheel and looked in a few of the cabinets and the refrigerator. She confiscated 3 apples which did not have a label showing country of origin. We had two other apples that did have labels which said product of US, so we got to keep them. We also got to keep the 2 peaches we had as she said fruit in season was OK to bring across the border. But what really got us to wondering is that she confiscated a whole sack of dog biscuits because we had taken them out of the original packaging and she had no way of knowing what was in them – she said they could have some animal fat or unknown meat products. One lesson learned is that when you are going to cross the border, do not take things out of the original packaging. Anyway she was one of the nicest and friendliest border agents we have dealt with on the entire trip and we were soon on our way.
As soon as we got across the border into Washington we stopped at another fruit stand and bought some more peaches, tomatoes and cherries and are they really good - almost as good as Colorado western slope peaches. We also stopped at a grocery store for some needed items and, of course, a new sack of dog biscuits.
At Tonasket, WA we turned away from the Okanagan Valley and headed east on highway 20 into the Kettle River Range. This is a big contrast to the Okanagan Valley as it is a very dry, mountainous area and is brown instead of green. We stopped in Kettle Falls and are staying at Panorama RV Park tonight.
After the delicious muffins this morning we continued down the Okanagan Valley and enjoyed seeing more orchards and vineyards. This area of BC is beautiful and we think we would like to come back and explore some more. We crossed the border at Osoyoos and it took us longer than at any other border crossing as we confessed to having fruit/vegetables and dog biscuits with us. A border agent went into the 5th wheel and looked in a few of the cabinets and the refrigerator. She confiscated 3 apples which did not have a label showing country of origin. We had two other apples that did have labels which said product of US, so we got to keep them. We also got to keep the 2 peaches we had as she said fruit in season was OK to bring across the border. But what really got us to wondering is that she confiscated a whole sack of dog biscuits because we had taken them out of the original packaging and she had no way of knowing what was in them – she said they could have some animal fat or unknown meat products. One lesson learned is that when you are going to cross the border, do not take things out of the original packaging. Anyway she was one of the nicest and friendliest border agents we have dealt with on the entire trip and we were soon on our way.
As soon as we got across the border into Washington we stopped at another fruit stand and bought some more peaches, tomatoes and cherries and are they really good - almost as good as Colorado western slope peaches. We also stopped at a grocery store for some needed items and, of course, a new sack of dog biscuits.
At Tonasket, WA we turned away from the Okanagan Valley and headed east on highway 20 into the Kettle River Range. This is a big contrast to the Okanagan Valley as it is a very dry, mountainous area and is brown instead of green. We stopped in Kettle Falls and are staying at Panorama RV Park tonight.
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