Autumn Days ~ Barnhartvale ~ Lac Du Bois Grasslands

We awoke to a beautiful sunny day in Kamloops one recent morning, something we hadn’t seen in awhile. This one has some clouds in an otherwise perfect sky to reflect the colors of the sun and give us another reason to be thankful we are alive and living in Kamloops.  

Kamloops East

We are surrounded by beautiful sights to enjoy daily, from sunrise to sunset.  We have rivers and valleys and mountains and hills.  We have birds and bears and wildlife that share Kamloops with us.  We have wonderful friends and neighbors that give our city the life and serenity that we need in order to call it home.

A farmers hard work

We took some drives on the two sunny days we enjoyed and visited some of our countryside views to get some fall pictures and enjoy the sights.  If I were a real serious photographer, I would be up before sunrise to get shots of some of these beautiful places but that just doesn’t fit into the life of this “photo-essay-ographer”.   I only hope that my photos do justice.

Bose Lake

We visited Barnhartvale to see Buse Lake, but a bit early for what I was hoping to see.  Buse Lake turns a vivid magenta in the fall and although we’ve been there to see it at that time before, the sun wasn’t shining and just does not tell the story.  We tried again.

Bose Lake 2

Today was sunny but it was too early for the change.  I’ve been planning this for several years now but it just hasn’t worked out!  It is a pretty spot and should you be interested in seeing the lake with the magenta colors, click on here to see a paper article from a few years ago.  It tells the story very well.

Lac Du Bois Road

Our next day was on the other side of town, or is it other direction?  Kamloops sits at the meetings of the South and North Thompson Rivers.  Barnhartvale is east of the city and south of the South Thompson River and today’s travels are north of the city and west of the North Thompson River.  Are you still with me? Lol

Lac Du Bois

We are on the Lac Du Bois Road and enjoying the sights of the Lac Du Bois Grasslands Protected Area.  There are several small ponds throughout the area, which vary in size depending on the time of year.  We spent many winter Sundays in this area snowmobiling when the kids were young.  Bonfires, roasted wieners and lots of fun!  There is some very interesting information here if you wish to learn more about this area. 

Roadside pond

This is where we begin to find more trees to see the color in the grasslands.  The trees lined the road that bordered the pond, a good sized one, at that.   Several of these ponds are scattered around.  We’ve had quite a bit more than normal rainfall lately so I would guess that we are seeing more water than normal for autumn time.

McQueen Lake

McQueen Lake is part of the Kamloops Thompson School District and is used as an Environmental Education Centre. The Centre is very impressive and offers lots of perfect day visits as well as overnight accommodations for students.  It was many years ago that I made a visit with one of my kids’ class and remember collecting bugs and other goodies, but I have no doubt that much has changed and improved over the years since then. 

McQueen Lake 2

The centre is off limits to the general public but the lake is roadside and offers some great views.  Even with the gate closed, the lake is still enjoyed by other ‘students’ who stop by for a visit today.  Cattle is seen roaming the area, standing on the side of the road to invite us in.  Others are a bit shy and keep their distance.

Animals enjoy the sunshine

And what drive in the country would be complete without seeing the beautiful horses and happy cattle hanging around enjoying the sunshine in these hills.  The horses were in Barnhartvale and the cattle were in the Lac Du Bois Grasslands enjoying their free range life.  I do wonder why they were at the corral though, are they waiting for a truck to arrive to give them a ride down to the barn for the winter?