Western Canada Wilderness Committee

The Okanagan Report, part 1: Sun-Oka Beach

So I’m back from the Okanagan and I write this having just come out of the shower. It’s a nice feeling. I managed to have only two showers during the fortnight I was on the road, so being clean has regained a sense of novelty for me. My noble steed (read: my car) is in the shop getting attended to now as well. He’s a ’91 and has had a very busy time recently. I’m very happy that he didn’t breakdown on the road and wish him a swift and inexpensive recovery from his various ailments. Alright, let’s get down to business…

The mission this time out was to protest the new user fees that the Liberals have instituted in provincial parks. Last year, parking meters were put in 28 parks around the lower mainland and Vancouver Island. This year that number was boosted to 41, with 13 parks in the Okanagan getting new meters. Parking will cost you $1 an hour or either $3 or $5 for the day. There’s also a $50 annul parking pass that you can use at any of these parks. It’s a good deal if you’re going to make at least 17 trips to a $3-to-park-park or 11 trips to a $5 one. I know that sounds like a lot of visits but just think: that’s the introductory price; the pass was supposed to have jumped to $75 in April of this year, but it’s running late. Maybe they’re waiting for the popularity of paying-to-park to sink in.

Oh, and if your wondering, the new fees are a direct result of the government cutting the Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection's budget. They then formed the Recreation Stewardship Panel and mandated them to find the missing budget in the pockets of park visitors, even though provincial parks pay for themselves many times over already. Just think of the new fees coupled with reduction of services offered this year as penance for your years of responsible tax-paying citizenship. Hey, no one said life was fair.

Sun-Oka Beach was my first stop. I began on Canada Day. It was a hot, sunny day in the rainshadow. And while it was the busiest I ever say the park, the parking lot only managed to fill up to about 70% capacity. Understand this: In years past, if you didn’t get there by 10am or so, you wouldn’t get a spot; they’d turn you away at the entrance. This place was crazy popular. But business was down this year. The response was great from the brave souls who continued to visit despite the meters. Petitions got filled in record time.

Some cool people I met there:

An 80 year-old woman and her 90 year-old husband - He had been
visiting the beach for 71(!) years. They came several times a week
(I saw them there three times in four days). She wondered what was
happening in the world when the beach was no longer free.

The park manager - Young and handsome, he was put in charge of the
park after only 6 weeks on the job because the kind of money the job
pays doesn’t lend itself to responsible management and his old bosses
got fired for not caring enough.

The contractor for 16 Okanagan parks - This is the head boss man in
the parks around the lake. He took down the signs I had attached to
the meters (‘Don’t like the meters? Sign the petition!’) because they’re
against the rules, but he did sign the petition. That enabled me to
namedrop and convince the seasonal employees, who were oft hesitant
out of fear of reprimand, to sign also. In addition, he informed me that,
“This job used to be the greatest. Now, it just totally sucks.”

The lady at the concession stand - For her, I have the most pity. Not
only is her business suffering due to the decrease in visitorship, she
has to provide those who come to visit with change to feed the hated
meters. On July 2nd, the Friday after Canada Day she told me she had
gotten $400 in change from the bank, enough to last the whole weekend.
It was gone in the one day. The meters ate most of it.

I found a place to camp at the Dickinson Family Farm. They charge $10 a night to sleep in their cherry orchard. It has running water, an outdoor sink, a toaster, a fridge, and (most importantly) is pretty quiet. I’m 99% sure that it’s the best deal for accommodation in Summerland.

But Sun-Oka was just the first half of my trip. Tune in to my next entry for the excitement of Bear Creek. It’s gonna have everything: closed trails, the front page of the newspaper, the nitty-gritty about the meters and much, much. Ah, man, I can’t wait!