Sat, Sept 22 – Salmon Arm to Merritt

Let’s start with the real camper life for a change. The moment you have found your site for the night and set foot into the camper, the place looks a mess. A good thing if one doesn’t mind. Another good thing is that one has to do the dishes right away or latest next morning if you plan on getting back on the road again - and make sure they are well stowed away (so far, we lost two glasses while travelling). And here’s another duty, not daily but usually every second day: fueling up. We had prices range from slightly under 1.00 CAD up to 1.06 just before Kamloops. Originally we had planned to visit Douglas Lake and their large cattle ranch. But we were also tempted visiting Canada’s Capital of Country Music, Merritt that is (and I was tempted by the idea of getting Cowboy boots). We could have taken a „gray“ (gravel, dirt, paved but loose) road via Douglas Lake to Quilchena and up to Merritt but since we didn't find out details on the road conditions, we’d rather took the safe way back via Highway #1 to Kamloops and Hwy 5A south. Took us some time to find this way - partly due to the female co-pilot and due to the signage. The latter is very different from what we are used to in Germany. There certainly are road signs here in BC but they are different in terms of indicating the turnoffs. Sometimes they are immediately after you’ve read the sign, sometimes they are not. Takes a while to get used to this.
Back on the road, GyPSy reminded us of the BC Wildlife Park which is actually just right off the highway near Kamloops and adjacent to a RV Park with a water slide. We stopped and it was the first time Markus and I went to an animal park together (although seeing some of them are important means of education, I feel depressed seeing the animals behind fences). This park also has an animal shelter and tries to put sick animals back into their natural habitat once they regained their strength. Here, we finally saw bears, moose, cougar and even wolves. But we also saw a bear in the middle of Hwy 5A. Although about 300 metres away you could see it standing on the road. We saw it as we were about to stop to take a picture of the breathtaking scenery. If we hadn’t stopped we would have seen the bear even closer – as did the cars behind us. It must have been a pretty big bear as we were able to see it from thus far. You’ll have to take our word for it as we do not have a picture to proof it. Hwy 5A took us through variing and beautiful landscapes. Lots of lakes, hills, dry land, green ranch land; less populated than the Sushwap/Salmon Arm area.
Downtown Merritt is the size of about one block, Western style; the landmark being the Coldwater Hotel & Pub. Lots of history here. The story goes that notorious robber Bill Miner not only hid „his“ bonds and valuables in room number 29 of the hotel – but was also caught there when he came to get them. We had a very tasty steak dinner in the pub, very very good! The Visitor Info Booth is very neat, it is adjacent to a historic house and landmark of the city and makes you travel in time – backwards, Victorian/pioneer mix. Again, very helpful staff. Merritt hosts Mountainfest each summer, a country music festival that attracts many many visitors. They even have a Walk of Stars starring the Dixie Chicks among others. And murals: We had the honor of taking a picture of Elvis – which has not yet been inaugurated and supposedly the only mural of Elvis in Canada (Graceland approved). Overnight at Claybanks RV Park which has very nice hosts, is in walking distance of downtown. Sani Dump off-site (right across the street).