For many early settlers, the steamboats were the only way to reach their homesteads for both themselves and their freight. There were very few roads in the Okanagan Valley at the beginning of the 1900s. So, the Aberdeen and Okanagan were welcome sights for Okanagan Lake pioneers. If settlers along the lake wanted to stop the CPR paddlewheelers, they only had to put out a white flag on a pole or start a fire on the beach to get the captain’s attention. If settlers had an emergency and they wanted the paddlewheeler to stop quickly, they would light two fires. The sternwheeler was well suited for these stops where no dock was available. The ship’s bow could pull almost all the way onto the beach, and then a gangplank would be used to bridge the short stretch of water between boat and land. Although the boat would not stop for long, this contact with the Aberdeen and the Okanagan made the early settlers feel less isolated.