Fall is in the air

Cherry season has passed, peaches, nectarines and apricots are done.   We are now into the fall fruits; plums and apples.

August 27th; In the background of this apple orchard is the White Mountain wildfire that grew rapidly due to high southeast winds. 

This summer has been a unusually hot and dry summer with a total (from April 1) of over 1800 fires in British Columbia alone.   The worst was Rock Creek, covering over 4,500 hectares since breaking out mid-August. 

Photo Courtesy of Vancouver Sun

The fires take so much life and forced hundreds of people to abandon their homes, some livestock and pets left to fend for themselves.   Sadly, it will take years for the forest to regrow a shady canopy and a lot of wildlife parishes in the fast moving fires.

The big Ponderosa pine trees that grow in this area will survive amazingly.   If the bark isn't totally eaten through, they will survive and the pine cones require a forest fire to releases their nuts so over the years, new seedlings will sprout and grow.

White Mountain Wildfire from a view in Glenmore, overlooking Kelowna.

Drove to Upper Canyon Drive just west of Scenic View RV Park in Glenmore where we are staying to see how the views are affected by the wildfires and to see some of the massive developments being constructed.

The normal mountain views overlooking Kelowna and Okanagan Lake were nonexistent.















Looking like a coastal morning in the fall with a fog bank.

Air quality definitely is poor in mid-August.

The Martin Mars Water Bombers were sitting idle while a wildfire blew up right in their backyard near Port Alberni on Vancouver Island. 

Photo courtesy the Web

The massive air tanker was built as a transport plane for the U.S. Navy in 1946, and is the largest fixed-wing bomber in the world, with a capacity of more than 27,0000 liters.

Originally four were bought to fight forest fires in British Columbia but only one remains operational. 

Unfortunately, it took 20,000 signatures on a petition and weeks for the Government to issue a contract, plus training a new pilot to get the 70 year old plane in the air to fight a fire right at the doorstep to where the plane is housed in Port Alberni.   The bomber can drop 27,000 liters of water.  

Because of its size, it can only land in and school water from 113 water bodies in B.C., as opposed to 1,700 that other aircraft can access and not suitable for steep terrain.

The B.C. Government calculates the per hour cost at $40,000 per day on standby and $10,000 per hour in flying time.  

RV/Camping in the Okanagan

Out of curiosity and while we were in the Okanagan, decided to see if there were any other places of interest for next summer if we decided to return for a month or two.

Penticton - the RV/campgrounds are extremely crowded in the summer with vacationing families.

Most are on or near the gorgeous sandy beaches and a fantastic place for people to enjoy all types of water sports.

Went to Banbury Green RV and campground (in an orchard we stayed at several years ago when biking the Kettle Valley trails).   We were tenting at the time and yes, it was packed but nothing like it is this season.

Salmon Arm, Vernon, Peachland -- there a few areas and no sewer/hookups in most.   They are not developed for long term stays.   We found one near Summerland but it is all full-time dwellers and like all the campgrounds - tight quarters.

Not surprising - we like space and quiet.  We have moved on from those days of camping with someone's tent so close you can hear someone breathing (or farting).

Mission Creek changes

The stream is normal

then.....

the water was turned off slowly.    This is a spawning channel and mid-August the clean up crew comes in.

Apparently, small fish species (white fish, trout and others) were 'displaced' by electric shock and moved in order to prepare for the Kokanee.

The power washers worked the entire creek.   I asked "why are you washing rocks that are under water?"   Answers:   Are you a tourist?.... we are beautifying Kelowna!   Other answer .... "do you know what comes in here?   We're making their beds."   

The Spawning Channel was constructed in 1988 to increase the availability  of spawning gravel for adults.   

Kokanee are land-locked sockeye salmon, a freshwater salmon that spend their adult lives in big bodies of water before returning to the site of their birth to lay their eggs and die.

In this case, these Kokanee live in Okanagan Lake before heading upstream into Mission Creek.   The channel was built after a myriad of issues, from habitat destruction to nutrient levels in the lake and competition for food after a shrimp (called Mysis Relicta) was introduced to the lake.   The shrimp were brought in as feed for trout, but ended up as competition for young kokanee as they both feed on the same zooplankton.

The average age of an adult is four years.   When preparing to spawn, they no longer eat and they absorb their scales which contain the nutrients necessary for energy.

In November, when water temperature is around 0 degrees the eggs have developed two tiny eyes and they slowly grow they emerge in Februrary.  By the end of April, they have developed into fry and with the rushing spring runoff waters, they migrate downstream to the enter the lake.

Okanagan Lake is 135 km long (84 miles) and a maximum depth of 232 meters (761 feet).    A legendary water spirit, reportedly seen by First Nations people since the 19th century, named Ogopogo (Salish - "lake demon") lives in the lake.

The sea serpent is described as a 40-50 foot long lake monster.   Evidence is limited to unclear photographs and film and it has been suggested that people have seen common animals or even a floating log and misidentified the beast.

The Lake has been searched and researched by film companies from Japan, Germany, The History Channel and BBC.   National Geographic arrived in February of 2005.

To date, there have been over 200 recorded sightings of something strange in the lake.  Sept 1925 some thirty cars of people parked along a beach to try to make sense of something very large moving through the waters.  The first recorded sighting was by a white person in 1872.

We should have brought the kayaks.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN  . .   .    .      .       .

I PRESENT TO YOU - OUR NEW MODE OF TRANSPORTATION.

IT HAS ARRIVED!!!!!!

The trailer is officially in Kelowna, on the lot.   We will have it to our RV site next Tuesday.   The PDI needs to be completed, wiring has been done for satellite and they will need a few days in order to make certain everything is ship shape.   The propane tanks have been switched, Marc has taken one recliner and the couch out already and started working on getting the desk together.

Next week will be unpacking the boxes and seeing just how much we can fit in, then the excess (which of course there will be when downsizing) will be dealt with.

Photos and updates will come, hopefully fairly soon.    Let the games begin!