Day 5: Princeton - (Keremeos) - Penticton

Today was to be a hot day. It was, eventually.

Me and Dennis on Old Hedley road

Left camp by 0830 in an attempt to beat the supposed heat that was coming. I rode through the town as there were a few sights I wanted to see before heading off, and promptly met Jane and Dennis, heading down the wrong path.
I called them back and we headed off on the Old Hedley road, towards Hedley and, ultimately, Keremeos.
This road runs parallel to the highway and is very peaceful and tree-lined.

I found a white horse for Dennis to feed carrot sticks to. I think this horse was used to treats as she came to the fence as soon as we stopped.

Once we had joined up with the main highway again, Hedley appeared on the horizon. Originally an established gold, silver and copper mine, it has run it's course, and is now a tourist town, with, I must say, not too much going for it.

I think there is something in the water in these little towns.

Not long after leaving Hedley, the orchards on the outskirts of Keremeos loomed into view. Pretty much anything grows here, but this time round it was apples. Piles of them.

OneWheel

It was at a rest stop just outside Keremeos that I met Jim, on his way to Rosslands to see his son.
He asked where I was from and asked if I surfed or snowboarded. I said I did and he told me he had something to show me.
He dashed to his car and took out a device I had never seen before.
It had one wheel in the middle and two footplates either side of it, in the same positions they would be on a snowboard/surfboard.
He turned it upside down and flicked a switch on it, turned it back over and jumped on.
This device, called OneWheel, then drove him around the parking area, all he had to do was lean in the direction he wanted to go. Surfing/snowboarding on dry land, brilliant!

'Downtown' Hedley

The 2km stretch of road leading into Keremeos is lined with fruit stalls, all selling fruit, nuts, melons and pretty much anything else you can think of, namely maple syrup, nuts and honey.

In town I met up with Jane, Dennis and Bruno, from Montreal, whose bike was in the shop getting new bearings in the front hub. A quick lunch later, I headed off for Penticton.

Outskirts of Hedley

My original plan was to stay in Keremeos for the night, but as it was only lunchtime, I had hours to kill. Besides, Bruno was staying at the campsite and said it wasn't that great.

The very helpful lady at the Info centre suggested an alternative route to Penticton that cut out the traffic.
Green Mountain Valley road, a quiet little road leading through the Green Valley, dropping you into Penticton. This route was a little longer that the highway, but missed out on a couple of climbs.

Green Mountain Valley road

Whatever!
There was more climbing on this little detour than would have been had I stayed on the highway!
It was beautiful though.

I found the campsite in Penticton, quickly setup my tent and went in search of dinner.
The restaurant linked to the campsite was about to close, so I begged them to whip something up for me. I didn't really need to beg as they were only too happy to assist. They could not have produced a better meal for me; quesadillas with rice, beans and hot sauce and cheese. So much cheese.
It was delicious and exactly what was required.

There was a full moon tonight. Coyotes were howling....or maybe that was a dream..?

Best. Dinner. Ever!

Distance: 130 km
Time: 6:18:15
Height gained/lost: 1633m /-1948m
Calories: 4369

Ford Lake on Green Mountain Valley Rd