Kelowna Trek

Last week was definitely a travel week. The first two days were spent in Kelowna on a work assignment, followed by 3 vacation days in Tofino.

Propeller tips create the craziest air patterns sometimes.

This wasn't a trip for admiring the snow-capped peaks, but the cloud cover
itself was impressive.

Wine country in hibernation.

This sidewalk discovery piqued my interest. In booking my accommodation I had thought the place was a "hotel" with a pool, but in reality it was a "motel" with a pool. Which is fine; the place was quite nice with newly renovated rooms. But...the pool was in a separate building located across the parking lot. Somehow I just couldn't make myself cross that sub-zero expanse of asphalt with wet hair having just exited a hot, humid pool environment. But I did throw on a jacket and toque to walk around the building to see how the whole thing was set-up. During my circumnavigation I walked a portion of city sidewalk in which was inscribed the name of Steve Fonyo. Strangely enough I have somewhat of a past connection with him as he and I shared a class in high school in south Surrey. That would have been about 2 years prior to Steve's Journey for Lives. He's from Kelowna I think (or is it Vernon?), which would certainly account for the concrete impression.

However, this trip really was all about the rental vehicle. This was the best one yet: a Subaru Cross Trek. It's been on my test drive radar for a long time. Years ago friends of ours had a Subaru Outback in which we traveled to Cape Scott at the northwest tip of Vancouver Island. But I hafta say, the Cross Trek is a huge improvement over the Outback. It's not that I disliked the Outback; it's just that to me the comparison is kind of between a Dodge Dart/ Chevy Malibu/ Honda Civic to a...a...I don't want to say a BMW since that's bit too upscale and I've never driven one, but I have been a passenger in one. I guess it all comes down to fit, finish and power. I was impressed by all three in the Cross Trek. Plus, size-wise it reminds me of my Mazda 3, which I like a lot. So the 'Trek felt like a mechanically upgraded, suspension-lifted Mazda 3. I felt quite at home. This one's my new favourite, with the Nissan Rogue SUV closely following (ranked of course within only the vehicles I've rented on my business trips). I drove a Subaru Forester recently as well on last year's Vancouver Island road trip, and it was nice, but I much prefer the Cross Trek.

Since I had use of this particular all-wheel drive Subaru for more than one day, and I actually had some spare time on my trip, I decided to seize the opportunity and test drive it in it's intended environment. The KVR trailhead fit the bill perfectly. It's about 8 km of gravel road seasonally topped with snow for about the final 3 K. Not another vehicle on the road all the way up, only one truck parked at the summit parking lot (with a deployed snow mobile ramp) and only one vehicle encountered on the descent (another Subie! LOL).

This is where the pedestrian/ bicycle trail starts, just beyond
the swing gate, hugging the base of the hill. Off limits now
of course due to deep snow.