Boating the South Thompson River

What better way to spend a sunny summer day than on the beautiful South Thompson River for a boat ride.  We spent many summers doing this, but those days are past and this day is a great reminder of great family boating days.  The view is so different from here on the river.

Boating on the South Thompson River

We travelled upriver with family and friends in a couple of boats with the plan to stop on Banana Island for a picnic and fun.  The sun was shining, the river was calm and the sights were relaxing.

Eagle eye view

The hoodoos and clay banks line the South Thompson, and create some very interesting shapes as well as viewpoints.  It is more likely we’d see an eagle in a tree but this one was happy to watch everything from the bank’s edge.  See more eagles here.

Grazing the green grass

The river is still high the beginning of July but that doesn’t seem to discourage these cattle from grazing on the riverbank.  I’m sure that green grass is tastier than sagebrush and they’re checking it out.

The Pritchard bridge

Pritchard Bridge has historic appeal, it is rare that we see anything old anymore, hopefully it lasts another many years.  It has the strength to allow a logging truck to pass over so it should be.  There was a ferry crossing at this point before the single lane bridge was built.

Historic Pritchard bridge

I have not found much history for this bridge but it was built in 1920 when sternwheelers would travel up and down the river, hence the room to pass under.  There was also a busy wharf and a train station here.

An osprey in the nest

We see these nests on our travels but rarely do we see an osprey in there so this was a surprise.  The river hawk, as they’re also called, always nest on high platforms near fresh water and live mainly on fish.   They are a large raptor with a wing span of 180 cm, which is almost 6 ft. Osprey are the only living species that live nearly worldwide, the only place they are not found is in Antarctica.

Alpaca herd shows little interest

When we passed by these sheep, we were far enough away to not realize we weren’t looking at sheep.  Photo close-up says their necks are too long…….I think they are alpacas!  Research says they are quiet and peaceful, hum to one another to communicate and they look pretty darn cute, too!

The bald headed eagle

The bald headed eagle is such a majestic looking bird and I do not seem to get enough photos of them, in my humble opinion. (: This one was watching the passers-by and waiting for his lunch to appear.  There are more of this eagle to see here. 

The South Thompson River offers some great scenery and sights to enjoy.  We will never tire of these sights and hope to see them again.  There is just no place like home.