MONDAY 1st AUGUST - KAMLOOPS to CACHE CREEK

We'd gotten a few groceries the night before so enjoyed breakfast in our room.   We then went through the now very familiar routine of packing Ellie and getting on the road.  We followed the North Thompson River all the way to Kamloops which made for a few picture perfect moments.

The mountains and trees now allowed a little room for farmland.

The layout of the land had changed dramatically by the time we reached Kamloops.  The steep hills were now barren and dry, almost desert-like.  It wasn't that inviting at all.  We did, however, find a great diner called 'Harolds' where we had lunch.

From here we went to the BC Wildlife Park where their main aim is to rehabilitate injured native animals, a cause close to my heart.  

We were given preferential treatment and allowed to visit the animal hospital.  I was given the honour of naming a sick animal they were working on.  I wished it was a baby bear or moose, but  alas it was a common crow.  None-the-less, it deserves a chance too and I named him 'Charcoal'.  We were shown the ins-and-outs of the workings of the place and then sent on our way to explore the centre and see the captive animals that can never be released for various reasons.  We were disappointed as we chose the completely wrong time of  the day to visit - high noon when most of the animals are hiding out of the sun or sleeping in the long grass or their burrows!  We did get to see marmots, racoons, long-haired sheep, mountain goat, elk, black bear, kyotes, a moose and the beautiful trumpeter swan.  It was the last exhibit, two young Grizzly bears, that saved the day and put on quite a show for us.

The day had passed us by and we wanted to get further down the road before calling it quits.  We rode alongside Kamloops Lake and on to Cache Creek, and given the time of evening, this became one of the most memorable and beautiful rides of the whole trip.  It was twilight and the golden sun hues shone across the valley and on to the barren mountains in the background.  It was stunning.  Camera did not do it justice.

Ellie clocked over 30,000 miles on her speedometer.

It was 7.00pm when we pulled in to Cache Creek.  Late as usual...!!!   The motels were really cheap here and there were so many of them for such a small place.

Our room was right across the street from the pub and the servo.   A policy of 'No Alcohol' to be consumed outdoors was evident and judging by the 'affected natives' I figured there was a problem here.  Still, it wasn't a bad place to stay and it served it's purpose well.