Friday, Sept 21 - Lac la Hache to Salmon Arm

This is just a quick recap of our camper travel day number 10. Left Lac la Hache rather late as we had problems with sani dump - for some reason the tank wouldn't empty (here in Salmon Arm it worked). Then we had to get batteries for the GyPSy guide which has us on the map again since Williams Lake where Highway 20 ended. We passed 108 Mile Ranch and after a while left Highway 97 south and took Highway 5 east (Yellowhead Hwy) to Little Fort. The landscape was completely different. Lots of smaller ranches and rolling hills, the land was a lot more inhabited (nothing compared to Germany, though. BC has about 4 mio inhabitants living in a province which is roughly 3 times the size of Germany). Shortly after Lac des Roches we left the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Region and entered the Thompson Okanagan. In Little Fort we stopped to make a phone call (still no cell activity), have coffee and relax a bit. Did I tell you that ever since last night it rained cats and dogs? At Barriere we stopped again as we wanted to cut short to Adams Lake and Adams River. Due to the weather we thought it'll be wise to ask a local. We saw a visitor info and Ines was very helpful not only with her straight answer not to take this winding gravel road but also on giving us information on the surrounding area. In 2003 there was a very heavy fire in the Kamloops area which also affected Barriere and burnt down one sawmill. Lucky enough the fire sort of surrounded the town and did not go through it. So the black trees you can see on the pictures are not pine beatle or leech affected but simply burnt. We took a detour via Kamloops to get to Adams River. Every year in October the salmon return to spawn in this area with every 4th year being a highlight when millions and millions of them find their way home. The salmon spawn and die which provides lots of food for bears and eagles and also contributes a lot to the fertility of the land. We went on a short loop along the river and thru the woods despite the rain. Felt like an enchanted wood and I was Little Red Ridinghood (Rotkäppchen). By now we had entered the Sushwap Lakes area, a houseboating and fishing haven. We have a pretty good picture of how the big lakes provide a spectacular backdrop when driving on Transcanada Highway # 1 despite the rainy and foggy weather. Arrived at View Point Motel which we chose because it had internet access and looked okay. It is very clean, neat, showers are fine, the only thing we hadn't thought about was Hwy #1 running about 40 metres and the railway about 100. Nevertheless we had a good night sleep and are ready for adventure again! Enjoy your day and back later.