There is no place like home.
Our summer is drawing to an end with shorter cooler days but not without
the same beautiful surroundings we are so fortunate to be able to enjoy no
matter the season. Perhaps my opinion is
slightly biased but I don’t think I am alone.
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| Mt. Paul and the Dome Hills |
Mt.
Paul and Mt. Peter (behind Mt. Paul) sit at this meeting of the waters on the
Kamloops Indian Reserve. The Dome Hills
and Strawberry Hills sit north (left) of them.
Unfortunately, the KIB no longer give permits to hike the trails of
these mountains but The Kamloops Trails blog has lots of information on all the
hiking trails in our area. Not speaking from personal experience, a hiker I am
not, but I’ve seen photos of how grand it looks from some of the hikes. Click here to learn more about the trails.
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| Mt. Paul and Mt. Peter from Schubert Dr. |
Another view of Mt. Paul and Peter is from the North Shore
across the North Thompson. The river is
high but calm at this time from the spring runoff of snow in the mountains up
north of Kamloops. We’ve passed the potential
flood time without a problem and the level will get much lower as summer
progresses.
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| MacPark marmot |
Summertime brings out the busy yellow-bellied marmot
families down in MacArthur Park. The
babies come out of their hiding places at about one month old and are now
running around finding their own lunch.
Hibernation takes place over the winter months, so Spring visits to the
Park do not offer too many marmots to see until their doors open for the babies.
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| Marmot curiosity |
I love these little fellas and enjoy getting up close and
personal, although sure not this close.
Great to have the lens that allows me to take these close-ups. Marmots are timid but curious and will come
if they think you might have some food.
I’ve never fed them, it’s not a good idea and there are signs that say
that, too.
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| The Power of Hope |
The City of Kamloops partnered up with the Kamloops Food
Bank to create a fundraiser called “Locking in Hope” that we can see and enjoy.
“The Power of Hope” is seen at Riverside Park where the North and South
Thompson Rivers meet. We can purchase a
Hope lock, decorate it and hang it on this public art. Learn more here. All proceeds will go to the Kamloops Food
Bank.
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| "Rivers" on Lorne Street |
This view is from the pedestrian bridge that crosses over
the railway tracks on 3rd Avenue.
The sculpture is called ‘Rivers’ and was installed here in 2014. This sculpture by Haida artist Michael Nicoll
Yahgulanaas for Kamloops “recreates the moment before the North and South
Thompson join and become the single Thompson River”, Although my viewpoint is quite high, I cannot
see the top of this sculpture that points to the sky. To see and read more of this, click here.
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| Deer visitors |
A drive through a quiet Westsyde neighborhood and what do we
see? This deer Mom and two babies. One of the young ones quietly snuck away when
we stopped to take some photos but these two thought nothing of us. They posed for a moment then went on with
their business of keeping the grass short.
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| Hoodoo valley |
A drive along Shuswap Road on the north side of the South
Thompson River, gives some great views of the hoodoos there. Kamloops is located in the valleys created by
the rivers and in a semi-arid area so hoodoos are quite common here in several
locations. Although our hills may not
qualify to be called mountains, no matter what they are called, we are
surrounded by great views.
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| View of North Shore |
The name Kamloops is derived from Tk’emlups, which means the
meeting of the waters. The North
Thompson meets the South Thompson here, creating Kamloops Lake a short distance
west then continues on as the Thompson River from the end of Kamloops Lake in
Savona until it meets the Fraser River in Lytton.
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| Autumn morning |
The colors will soon change and the leaves will fall but in
that short space of time we will be surrounded by some colorful scenes. This photo was taken last Fall as we drove up
Summit Extension and with the morning fog of a sunny day just lifting, it was
such a pretty sight.
There really is no place like home!
