Okanagan Odyssey is a quirky and lyrical examination of British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley. Sticking to the backroads and byways, Gayton gently pokes and prods local ecosystems, histories, vineyards and people. From Osoyoos in the south to Armstrong at the head of the Valley, the author revels in the biological and social diversity while sampling local wines and fruit along the way. In his unique version of wine pairing, Gayton matches up local books and landscapes with local vintages, giving terroir a whole new meaning. An ecologist by profession, Gayton deftly negotiates the tension between the Okanagan that is home to many endangered species and ecosystems, and the same Okanagan that is a mecca for developers and urban refugees. Okanagan Odyssey is not a travel guide, but represents travel writing at its idiosyncratic best.

Don Gayton is the 2009/2010 Haig-Brown Centenary Writer in Residence at the University of Victoria and an author of popular non-fiction. His books include Interwoven Wild, Kokanee, Landscapes of the Interior and The Wheatgrass Mechanism. He also writes for Canadian Geographic as well as technical articles on grasslands, climate change and fire ecology. His awards include the Saskatchewan Writers Guild non-fiction award, the US National Outdoor Book Award, the Canadian Science Writers Award and two shortlistings for the BC Book Awards. Gayton lives and works in Summerland, BC.