Peachland Eagles Nest B&B
5816 Brown Place V0H 1X4 Peachland, BC, Canada

Snowshoeing and Skiing in the Peachland Area See more Okanagan Life articles at: https://1eaglesnest.ca/okanagan-life/articles/ Not only is Peachland, BC blessed with a wonderful summer season but a beautiful winter as well. It is a perfect place to visit for winter adventure. After your adventure you can return to Peachland to a great dinner at the local restaurants, a glass of fine local wine and a cozy night at the Peachland Eagles Nest B&B which caters to winter adventu...Continue reading

Winter Hikes and Adventure in the Peachland Area Not only is Peachland, BC blessed with a wonderful summer season but a beautiful winter as well. It is a perfect place to visit for winter adventure, then return to a great dinner at the local restaurants, a glass of fine local wine and a cozy night at Peachland Eagles Nest B&B, (https://1eaglesnest.ca/) that caters to winter adventure guests. It is a time to enjoy another season and take advantage of winter prices. Two excelle...nt Apps for hiking and biking are trailforks.com (https://www.trailforks.com/) and alltrails.com (https://www.alltrails.com/canada/british-columbia/peachland) After wine tours hiking is the thing most of our guests want to do. With a warming climate more trails are accessible during the winter. Peachland Hikes There are four hikes in Peachland that can be enjoyed during the winter. They are Hardy Falls, Trepanier Creek Trail, Gladstone Trail and the Peachland waterfront. Please see more at Peachland Winter Hikes https://www.alltrails.com/canada/british-columbia/peachland South Okanagan Hikes Carol Stathers, a 30 year Okanagan resident, has written an excellent article about two hikes south of Peachland. These hikes are the McIntyre Bluffs Trail and the White-Mahoney Lakes Loop. Please see Carol’s article at Winter Hiking in the South Okanagan, BC. (https://www.travel-british-columbia.com//winter-hiking-in/ ) Kelowna Hikes The Kelowna area offers a number of winter hikes. Here are a couple of links that you will enjoy. 3 WINTER FRIENDLY HIKES IN KELOWNA https://www.tourismkelowna.com//3-winter-friendly-hikes-i/ 4 WINTER HIKES THAT WILL MAKE YOU LOVE THE SNOW https://www.tourismkelowna.com//4-winter-hikes-that-will-/ In next month’s Okanagan Life Publication, I will be exploring the areas to snowshoeing and ski. All the best to you this winter. Murray & Valerie Wood

The Tale of Two Innkeepers Mathew Abrey is a journalist student that work with the Peachland Chamber of Commerce during the summer of 2020. He created a program called The humans of Peachland and his interview have been published on the Chamber website. Mathew was kind enough to interview Valerie and I. Life is a mystery. I think it is a Jewish saying I make plans and God laughs. I never thought we would end up in Peachland, BC but here is The Tale of Two Innkeepers at ...Continue reading

Quail Valley Personal Driver The Personal Driver concept is simply the Simplest way to explore the beautiful Okanagan Valley. Whether it be a wine tour or visiting some of your favorite attractions through out our beautiful valley. Here is how it works:... -Your Car -Your Schedule -Your Itinerary You contact us with your schedule and Itinerary, we will review it and estimate how many hours it will require to see all the sites. We will show up at your B&B or hotel, you turn your keys over to our driver and sit back and enjoy the sites. You may now thoroughly enjoy any wine tours and tastings without the worry of driving. The hourly rate is charged from the time we depart till the time we return. FEE: $40 per hour min 3 hours paid in advance of tour. Over time is the same rate of $40 paid upon your return. Gratuities are always appreciated. In these Covid 19 times you are not being put in a van with unknown people. You will be with your own family or friends and our driver will be wearing a mask. This may be a way for you to enjoy the wine country safely, economically and on your own schedule. Contact me if this is of interest or you have questions. Murray Wood; 604-786-9908 [email protected].

See more Okanagan Life articles at: https://1eaglesnest.ca/okanagan-life/articles/ Fish on Ice Fishing 365 days a year. The Okanagan and surrounding country is blessed with many Big Water lakes as well as the secluded backcountry ponds and lakes. An angler can fish all year round for different species and apply many different angling techniques. We, at the eagles Nest B&B https://1eaglesnest.ca/ have an excellent fishing guide, Rodney Hennig, to show you where and how t...o catch the big ones and have a lot of fun doing it. His company name is Rodney’s Reel Outdoors. https://www.kelownafishing.com/ I will let Rod tell you about his ice fishing and winter trolling adventures; Ice Fishing "Our ice fishing charters are usually underway by mid December and typically continue through until late March. We target Rainbow Trout, Perch and Brook Trout with the use of an underwater camera system that allows us to see the fish. On the cooler days or if the wind should come up we use a six-man ice fishing hut for a more comfortable day. We keep a hot blazing fire on shore for our guests and included in your fishing charter is a hot lunch of smokies roasted over the fire, snacks and hot chocolate. Our Australian guests tell me they call smokies, snagsI like that better than smokies! When fishing for Perch we can also do a breaded Perch fry right on the ice! You just gotta catch’em! Should you decide to keep some fish we will clean and bag them for you at the end of your ice fishing charter". https://www.kelownafishing.com/ice-fishing-charters-with-r/ Winter Trolling "Our Okanagan Valley ‘Big Lake’ guided fishing charters run year round in the comfort of our heated cabin on board our 22 foot Thunderjet boat. Some of the lakes we fish are Okanagan, Shuswap, Mabel, Kalamalka, Wood, Skaha and Osoyoos to name a few. We are blessed with such an abundance of big water lakes to fish and this allows us to take advantage of the peak seasons each lake has to offer". https://www.kelownafishing.com/guided-fishing-trips-charte/ Come and stay at the Peachland Eagles Nest B&B and enjoy the mild Okanagan winter and at the same time experience all the winter sports. Downhill and cross country skiing, snowshoeing, hiking, wine tours and now ice and winter fishing. When your daily adventure is done come back to your private suite and enjoy the fire table on your private deck along with a hot toddy. Each deck has a BBQ so you can grill your fish you caught with Rodney’s Reel Outdoors. https://1eaglesnest.ca/ Watch for my spring article where I will talk more about the fabulous Okanagan fishing. Rodney’s Reel Outdoors Rod Hennig 250-718-7744 See more

Your Grape Escape Fall is wine festival time in the Okanagan but have you ever thought about actually being part of the grape harvest? Well now you can. Jayne and Paul Graydon, owners of Saxon Estate Winery will show you how to harvest grapes this coming October. You get to live the life of a vintner and it helps them as well! Saxon Estate Winery is a 4-acre organic vineyard is in the shadow of Giant Head Mountain in Summerland, BC. It is one of the oldest established vineyar...ds in BC, being planted in 2000 when the original owners replaced an ageing organic orchard with four varietals: Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Gewürztraminer and Léon Millot. Saxon is the only grower of this grape in the Okanagan. Come stay with us at the Peachland Eagles Nest B&B and get your hands dirty with the winemaker in a true wine festival manner by harvesting the grapes. It is not a difficult process. One clips the bunch from the vine making sure there are no leaves and dead grapes. Place the bunch in a basket and then grab another bunch and clip it from the vine. That’s it. You are surrounded by the beauty of the vines, the smell of the earth and the vistas of fall colours. Saxon Estate Winery: https://www.saxonwinery.com/ Wine Club: Saxon has six wines on our list typically and an ever growing wine club that receive a 15% discount off our wines. https://www.saxonwinery.com/join-our-wine-club/ NOTE: Harvest is expected to be in October this year. When the grapes are ready they must be picked. Your stay may not coincide with the ripening. If you have agreed to help harvest and the grapes are ready, then you will be expected at the winery. At the time of this writing we have availability in our Orchard House during October (https://1eaglesnest.ca/our-suites/orchard-house/) and later in the month there are a few days in the Treehouse Suite (https://1eaglesnest.ca/our-suites/the-treehouse-suite/) or the Blue Horizon Suite (https://1eaglesnest.ca/our-suites/blue-horizon-suite/).

Valerie Wood's Excellent Adventure

High as a Kite Lift off! It was a special day for a special lady, my wife and partner, Valerie Wood. It was her birthday, May 31, and I wanted to provide an event that would enable her to check off another item on her bucket list. We find the Okanagan a beautiful place to live and from the air it is magnificent. Valhalla Helicopters has a base in West Kelowna, a 15-minute drive from the Peachland Eagles Nest. I enjoyed the staff at Valhalla Helicopters and they have put toget...her excellent tours. A helicopter is an excellent viewing platform. No wings or struts to obscure your view and it has the ability to hover above an area that catches your attention. Valerie wanted to see the Eagles Nest B&B from the air. We look across the lake at Rattle Snake island and the Okanagan Mountain Provincial Park and have always wondered what was over the mountain. We hovered over the Eagles Nest and then crossed the lake and swooped up the mountain face and crested. It was a different world! Wild and craggy. Volcanic and glaciated. Along the rock seems there and canyons there are pond lakes and game trails. On our way back to base we flew along a canyon with magnificent rock formations towering on either side of the helicopter. We now look across the lake at the mountain with new understanding and appreciation Valhalla Helicopters are the perfect aircraft for adventure. They can take you to a mountain top picnic, an alpine lake escape, wedding photos on a mountain and many other scenic adventures. The Okanagan wine country is beautiful and from the air. You will see the lovey patterns that the rows of vines and the topography, together, create. You will also land and taste some of the wonderful wines. Contact Delwyn Boutwell, Tour Co-ordinator (250) 769-1486 https://www.valhallahelicopters.com/helicopter-tours/

Happiness and the rivers of time. As I get older I keep waiting for the wiser part to kick in so I thought I would read some words of wisdom that another elder has written. The book is called Fishing the Rivers of Time by Tony Taylor.... Taylor is a geologist and a naturalist who spent a few years in the Cowichan valley, BC, back in 1968. The author had a part in reviving the West Coast trail as well. He was returning to the valley 40 years later from Australia to meet his grandson for the first time. He was hoping to teach the grandson something about himself, fishing and how life works. Taylor does a wonderful job of blending his love of nature, geology, philosophy and his apprehension about meeting his grandson. Here is an excerpt I enjoyed: As I lay there in front of the fire it seemed to me there are five things a person could do every day to be healthy, hopeful and happy and I wanted to pass these on to my grandson. I knew I couldn’t just tell him; I had to demonstrate by my example. First, is to develop friendships. I always smile and greet people politely giving them a chance to speak if they want to; Secondly, being physically active is always important, for your mind as well as your body; Thirdly, everyone every day until the day they die should foster curiosity about the world. Doing this achieves the fourth and perhaps the most important thing; Fourth, is continuing your education throughout your life. Fifth, is not to think about money all the time. Instead offer help and services to all. These five things maintain a good mental health. Valerie and I have found that volunteering in our community of Peachland has greatly expander our friendships, sense of worth and feeling a part of our community. I think it keeps one youthful as well. This year Valerie has been volunteering as a leader of a bereavement group at the Peachland Wellness centre, host of a bereavement weekly walk through the hospice society of Kelowna and is a Caring Clown that visits the extended care and hospice facilities. I have been the VP for the Peachland Chamber. This year I will be a Sherriff on the Kettle Valley Steam Train https://www.kettlevalleyrail.org/ride/great-train-robbery/, and working at the Silver Lake Kids Camp http://www.silverlakecamp.net/. Please note that these photos were taken before the pandemic.

The Wild Coast Valerie and I were invited by some old friends, David and Nathalie, to join them on an adventure to the Wild Pacific Coastline on the west coast of Vancouver Island. David had a photo studio in Kamloops and Nathalie had a successful book store. I had a photo studio in Williams Lake, BC and we used to hang out in the early 80s. We and lost touch over the years. Some 40 years late we decided to take in the west coast of BC during the winter storms. What did I like: The Canadian dollar at par, taking a break from our B&B, embracing BC during the winter, being awe struck by walking in forests with 800-year-old trees, the wild coast and making old acquaintances into new friends.

Robbie Burns 2020 Valerie and I had the good fortune to be invited to a Robbie Burns Dinner and Whiskey tasting Last Jan. 24th. Never wanting to miss a chance to dress up we donned the tartan which included a kilt for me. It was a delightful evening. Valerie gave The Reply to the Laddies in poem form and my job was to guard and address the haggis as well as give a talk about one of Bobbie Burns’ poems. I noted that there were similarities between Robbie Burns and my paterna...l grandfather, James Golder Wood. He was born in 1880 by the river Tey near Dundee, Scotland. They were both poets and song writers but both had to farm to servive. The poem I chose was My Father was a Farmer and I wove in the huge impact the Scots have had on the development of Canada. Now I though Wood was an English name so I looked the name on the internet. It turns out there is a Clan Wood since 1211 settling in the area of Largo between Edinburgh and Dundee, Scotland. We have castles, tartans and a long history. Cool! https://www.clan-wood.org.uk/ See more

Further Adventures of Valentine, the Heat nosed Reindeer Valentine (alias Valerie Wood) is part of a group called the Caring Clowns. This is a volunteer group that visits folks in hospices and long term care homes. They are in costume and bring some humour and lightness to the residences. She dressed in costume for the 2020 Peachland polar bear swim to honour all the Volunteers in our community. Taking the plunge was way out of her comfort zone! What ever your goal is take a ...step towards it, even if it is tentative and then plunge in. We wish our Peachland Community, friends and family a wonderful New Year filled with discovery, love and laughter. Valerie & Murray Wood Peachland Eagles Nest B&B

Christmas at 50 + centre, 2019 I have been a lone wolf most of my life. I lived at the coast amongst thousands of people for many years and yet felt no sense of community. Then we moved to Peachland. I have volunteered as a director with the Peachland Chamber of Commerce for the past 3 years and Valerie Wood, my wife, volunteers with the Wellness Centre, Kelowna Hospital Hospice and with Caring Clowns. These activities have given us a home community and the opportunity to wor...k with wonderful and effective people. On Christmas day, Valerie, voluntold me that we were helping set up the 50 Plus hall for their Christmas dinner. It was fun and everyone was in the Christmas Spirt. It was the first time in a long time I understood what being in the Christmas Spirt meant. Serving. I now believe to stay young and connected, volunteer. Valerie and I wish a happy and prosperous New Year to the people our village of Peachland and all its wonderful volunteers. Murray & Valerie Wood Peachland Eagles Nest B&B

Winter finally arrived and I got to try out my new toy, I mean vital piece of equipment for running the Peachland Eagles Nest B&B. Temps are now above zero and it is disappearing. Will we get a white Christmas?

Early November at the Eagles Nest. Almost ready for winter. I just have to put the plow on the ATV.

A Vintner’s Life I like to tell people I have an interest in an Okanagan winery. Whereas I am actually a member of the Adopt a Row program hosted by Red Rooster Winery on the Narmada Bench near Penticton, BC. For $325 the program provides a case of wine and 3 wonderful parties. We also get to prune vines in the spring, tuck the vines in the summer and harvest the grapes in October. Each work event is followed by an amazing lunch in the winery. It’s great way to be a vintner... vicariously! My friend, Karl Lackner, joined me for the harvest. It was a harder pick this year that took an extra 2 hours. This cool summer and the September rains softened the grape skins allowing the birds and wasps to access to the grapes. They just hollowed them out. We must have dropped 50% to 60% of the grapes on the ground. It was disappointing. What a difference from last year. Welcome to farming. I would like to thank Burke Ganton; winery supervisor, Katherine Mackenzie; Estate Manager, Karen Gillis; Vineyard Operations Manager and Elaine Vickers; Wine Maker for being such great hosts and sharing their knowledge of the wine industry with us.

My barber, Moe at Number 4 Hair Co. Peachland, asked me what I like best about being an Innkeeper. I had never been asked that question before and than I realized it's the reviews our guests leave. It makes the work worthwhile when I know we have provided a good experience for someone. Here is Sena's; Murray's property is an incredible spot. The view is stunning, the location convenient, and the Orchard House itself is clean, homey, and well-equipped for you to have a comfortable stay. Murray is warm and inviting and has ample knowledge of the area. We were impressed by nice touches such as basic breakfast foods in the fridge and found the kitchen and whole house to be exceptionally well outfitted with any kitchen supplies, linens, etc. you may need. We would absolutely stay here again!

I have a new Golf Buddy Fifteen years ago Valerie persuaded me to try golf. Well, I was hooked and immediately when and bought us both a set of clubs. Valerie didn’t catch the bug as I did and never played. Recently Valerie and I both took lessons from Shea McLaughlin at the Two Eagles Golf Club in West Kelowna. Shea did a great job and we both felt more confident. I took Valerie for her first game to a lovely 9-hole course south of Penticton called St. Andrews by the Lake. S...he did great and now I not only have an excellent companion but a golf buddy as well. https://standrewsbythelake.com/ Weeping willows surround the lake which provide a wonderful scenic challenge. Your putting skills will be tested by the contoured greens and the three holes with water hazards. Our signature hole is #7, a 165-yard par 3, requiring an accurate tee shot from an elevated tee to an island green. Voted the best nine-hole golf course in the South Okanagan for two years running and nominated in 2019, St. Andrews offers guests and members alike a memorable golfing experience. There are more than 19 golf course with in close proximity of the Peachland Eagles Nest B&B.

The Sheriff Has Come to Town All aboard! Four amigos, Valerie and Murray Wood of Peachland Eagles Nest B&B and Shela and Jay Hughson boarded the 1920 vintage coaches pulled by a beautiful and massive steam engine September 15, 2019.... It was a wet rainy day but that didn’t dampen everyone’s’ excitement. Something was going to happen? The Kettle Valley Railroad (KVR) was built in the early 20th century, the KVR moved people, fruit and freight across British Columbia’s southern interior to Hope, where it met national rail lines. The non-profit Kettle Valley Railway society now runs sightseeing trips from May to October from Summerland to Trout Creek bridge, 16 kilometres away a 90-minute return journey. The KVR hosts a number of exciting events and one is The Great Train Robbery. Valerie and I never miss an opportunity to dress up so she was decked out in her western finest and I in my Wyatt Earp lawman outfit. On the return trip the Garnet Valley Gang burst from the pines, horses charging and bounding and the six guns were blazing. They boarded the train and proceeded to rob the passages at gun point. It was all a great deal of fun and the loot all went to charity (I think one of the dance hall girls was named Charity??) The gang took me aside after the event and thanked us for being good sports. It was suggested I should be sheriff for them next year. That would be a good retirement gig, fighting of the Garnet Valley Gang in the Summerland wine country. Yeehaaa!

This is why we like being Innkeepers: This is a review from, Tetiana, who booked the Orchard House through Airbnb: It’s an amaizing cozy place to stay: convenient location, great amenities, awesome host. Am the view is just unbelievable: each morning it made me smile and reminded how amazing life is. Enough room for two families with kids. Highly recommended!... Murray Wood & Valerie Wood

B to B Adventure August 2019 Valerie and I have been operating a B&B for about 4.5 years now, however, I have never stayed at a B&B or booked one through Airbnb. We were having a family reunion in Qualicum Beach on Vancouver Island. A sweet little town. Here was my chance for a B&B experience so I booked one through Airbnb.... I stuck gold when I found Holly’s One Sweet Little Suite . It was nestled in the woods with an 8 min. walk to the beach. Comfortable, full kitchen and very nicely finished. We will be back. https://www.airbnb.ca/rooms/31262894 I decided to say and extra night and moved to another B&B. Wow, car bodies covered with black berries, poor finishes and to top it all farm animals. Now I don’t have anything against animal but the 5am rooster was too much. There wasn’t any coffee so I left at 6:30am. The rooster was still crowing. Now here is the weird thing. I became fixated about that rooster and decided to get one of my own and he now roosts on our barn. Our animals are a lot quieter and there are no vet bills. (see barn photo)

From Ridge to Ridge Myra Canyon, August 2019 The Peachland Eagles Nest B&B sits up on a ridge above the village and has a view of the lake and mountains from Kelowna in the north to Summerland in the south. A thirty-mile view. When you operate a B&B the To Do List is endless. We enjoy being Innkeepers but some days we just have to get off the ridge as we call it. So on the August long weekend we went to another ridge.... Many of our guests rave about the Myra Canyon Trestles on the old Kettle Valley Railroad (KVR) route. It was an amazing engineering feat from 1912 to 1914 constructing the rail bed and trestles up the canyon to the ridge. As most of you know many of the trestles burn in 2003. It was another amazing feat of public and private money as well as effort to rebuild them. The views are amazing, the company was great and of course we had to stop at the McCulloch Station Pub for a cool one and an excellent lunch. Here are some photos of our day. There is so much to do in the Okanagan. The adventure continues. See more

I went farming the other day. I went farming the other day. I got the call from the winery that my grapes needed pruning, rain or shine. You see I had joined the Adopted a Row program at the Red Rooster Winery and it was time to do some work. My grape vines needed me. I fell in love with the Okanagan wine country 22 years ago and have had the pleasure of living in Peachland for the last four years. I always thought that if I could come back in a second life I would be a vin...Continue reading

I when looking for spring on the KVR trail on the Naramada Bench. I wasn't there either.

Peachlanders love the World of Wheels

WELCOME TO PEACHLAND WORLD OF WHEELS Each year more than 550 cars, trucks, motorcycles and antique boats attended the Peachland World of Wheels Show and Shine. ... Many of the participants come back year after year to attend this show and the Peachland World of Wheels organizing committee welcomes all existing and new participants to attend the 2017 show. The Peachland World of Wheels Show & Shine runs from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm. On show day vehicles line up on both sides of Beach Avenue and also set up in Heritage Park and neighboring Cousins Park. The Show & Shine attracts more than 10,000 visitors annually and the organizing committee looks forward to the 10,000 plus visitors who will attend in 2017. Our suites at Peachland Eagles Nest B&B are all booked for this event and we are all excited to see all the amazing cars. Make the trip, it is worth it! The event is May 21, 2017, 11 am to 4 pm.

Before & After Photos

Sommelier Express, Summerland It was time to have some fun. I had been working on buying and building Phase 1 of the Peachland Eagles Nest B&B for several months. When the Treehouse Suite opened the guests were having all the fun. I stopped in at the 8th Generation Vineyard and they told me about a wonderful event organized by the Bottleneck Drive Winery Association called The Sommelier Express (bottleneckdrive.com)... It turned out to be a wonderful event. The guests arrived at the Ketal Valley Steam Train station (KVR). All were in good spirits and the Vintners were serving their finest sparkling wines and there was a wonderful jazz duo providing entertainment. The all aboard shout was heard and we all scrambled to just the right seat for the train ride. I had invited a long-time friend, Karl, to join me for this event. Karl was a Chief of Transport in the Burnaby fire department so we had to sit by the engine. During the trip I was constantly impressed with the beauty of the valleys below and the fine white wine we were served to the first leg of the journey. Once we arrived at the KVR trestle, where the train turns around, we were greeted by the same Jazz trio and two of the cideries serving wonderful ciders and hors d'oeuvres. Once underway back to the KVR station the evening sun skimmed the valley and back lighted the vines. To add to the beauty we were served fine red wines. Once we arrived back at the KVR station we were greeted with more music and beautifully set tables. The evening dinner was 4 courses. The vintners had chosen wines to pair with each course. They joined us at the table and we had interesting conversations. The cost was only $125 and that was a bargain for the most wonderful afternoon and evening. I sincerely hope this becomes an annual event. See the Sommelier Express Album

Airbnb thinks the Peachland Eagles Nest B&B is doing something right: Murray, it’s time to celebrate. You’ve earned Superhost status! You’ve delighted your guests, and we think that deserves to be rewarded. In the year leading up to 2016-09-30, you hosted 14 trips, earned 5-star reviews 100% of the time, and had a 100% response rate with no cancellations. We’ve developed the Superhost program to celebrate and support responsive, active, and highly-rated hosts like you.