Campfire Stories
Agur Lake is a barrier-free, fully wheelchair-accessible campground in the beautiful Okanagan Valley, just outside of Summerland, BC. The camp has several accessible cabins as well as trailer and tent lots. Every year I visit the camp at least once in the summer with my care worker to enjoy the outdoors and do some fishing.
One year AO (Accessible Okanagan) rented out the whole campground for a weekend of camping and outdoor experiences, and of course, yours truly attended. AO is a non-profit group based in the Okanagan with the goal of…you guessed it, making the Okanagan Valley accessible to everybody regardless of disability.
My first story from this AO weekend takes place with my care worker Jeff. The drive up to Agur Lake is almost like driving in the middle of a deserted island and there is no cell service. As we were traveling down the back dusty roads to the camp the van shit the bed. Without the ability to call anyone for help, Jeff opted to start walking down the road hoping to find help or possibly even the camp, though we didn’t even know how far out we were at that point. Thankfully he kindly left the door open for air for me and my dog Journey who were stuck in the van in the 30-plus-degree weather of an Okanagan summer.
After about 20 minutes, as I was basting in my own sweat like a steak on the BBQ, Jeff showed up in the backseat of a pick-up. Even though running into other people on this back road was nice, I couldn’t get into the truck so, Jeff and I had to start walking (well, Jeff did, I rolled) and the truck followed behind. On our walk, we ran into a cattle guard that I wouldn’t be able to go around in my wheelchair so Jeff hopped into the truck and they went and grabbed some 2x4’s from the camp. We rigged up the 2x4s so that I could use them as a ramp to get over the cattle guard. It was very narrow and as I was in my power chair I had to use extreme precision not to drive off of these boards and take a dirt nap (or you could call it a “grate nap”). Our makeshift bridge and my superb driving skills were a success and finally, we made it to camp.
I called my dad who lucky for me happens to work just down the highway in Penticton. He was able to get a new transmission and fix the van, thanks to his heavy-duty mechanical skills. I do not think I have ever heard such colorful language come out of my father's mouth, it was like a rainbow.
While at camp, AO hosted a variety of activities including wheelchair paddleboarding. Paddleboarding was a new experience for me, you could say I lost my paddleboarding virginity that day. I was transferred onto an adaptive chair on the board, and with someone standing behind me paddling, we set off into the wild blue yonder. Journey is always glued to my side but was for good reason not allowed onto the paddleboard with me. As we got further away from the dock, Journey started getting more and more anxious. I’ve never had a female so in love with me, but what can I say I’ve got this one wrapped around my finger. It was a great experience and I would love to try it again someday, but I don’t think Journey was a fan.
My last Agur Lake story of the trip takes place in the brilliantly set-up adaptive cabins. The cabins were designed to be fully wheelchair-accessible with ceiling tracks in the bedrooms, roll-in showers and sinks, and adjustable beds. Jeff rolled me into the shower on a commode and then left for me to take a shower. I leaned forward to grab my soap and silly me wasn’t wearing my seatbelt and ended up falling forward right out of my commode. There must have been a screw sticking out on my commode because on the way down I scraped my butt on something and it began to bleed. Because I was in the shower the water made the bleeding look like a scene straight from some of the true crime podcasts I enjoy. When Jeff came in to help me he almost had a heart attack from the pool of blood I was laying in. Jeff was trying to stay calm, even though initially he thought it was way worse than just a small scrape. He eventually came to realize that I wasn’t actually hurt and we laughed about the whole situation as he helped me back into my chair.
Agur Lake will continue to be an annual trip for me and my care workers. These are just some of the stories and good memories I have from the place that I call the ‘Lake House’. Can’t wait to return later this summer.
