Clearwater and Wells Gray Provincial Park

Liam, Adam, Phoebe and Sean at the Big Moose, Clearwater

Clearwater is a village about 130 kms from Kamloops on the way to Jasper. We stayed at a great place on Dutch Lake which conveniently had a very nice Chinese restaurant!!! The drive there was spectacular. I had not realised the landscape was so different so nearby! Kamloops sits at the top of the desert and the mountains are relatively rocky. The countryside we drove through was forested and so green. We saw deer by the road.



Spahats Falls





Adam and Liam





Helmcken Falls - the 4th tallest in Canada



On Saturday we met Louise and Nico and two of their children, Sean and Adam, at the entrance to Wells Gray Provincial Park. Adam is in Liam's class and Louise and Nico kindly offered to show us some highlights of the park. And highlights they were!! We had a great day visiting a number of waterfalls and enjoying the scenery. A picnic lunch finished it off well!



Dawson Falls





At Dutch Lake



Yum!



Later in the afternoon we headed back to the motel, and the kids enjoyed playing in and by the beach of the lake that our motel was on. Even though the water was cold, the air was warm and it was a relaxing time. In the evening we enjoyed good company, good wine and good food together.





On Sunday we headed to the trout hatchery in Clearwater which supplies many fishing lakes around BC. We had a bit of a fright with the car overheating, but after adding more coolant things seem to be OK? Frank is having it checked today at school.

 



A view from the ferry looking up the North Thompson River



We had another lovely drive home and went via McLure's Ferry, a ferry that crosses the North Thompson river north of Kamloops, taking a maximum of 2 cars at a time and using the flow of the river to get across it. We saw a number of small animals on the outskirts of Kamloops but not the bear we had been hoping to see. A friend who was in Clearwater at the same time as we were saw about 5!!! Oh well, we will see one one day - and probably get a big fright!!!

We delivered Al to the airport for her evening flight to Calgary to meet up with her Rockies tour on Monday morning. She will have a week in the Rockies before cruising concierge class to Alaska. She will be back in Kamloops in 2 weeks. We can't wait to hear about all her adventures!!!



Phoebe in matching swimsuit and snack



Liam in action











Al Kime visits us!



Al arrives in Kamloops!



I had a great Mother's Day with breakfast in bed and lovely yellow chrysanthemums along with the nice card and blue carnation Liam coloured for me at school. Then we headed to the airport to pick up Al Kime!



Al, Liam and Phoebe with Ms Moose.



It has been so nice to have her here. We have stayed around Kamloops, just doing our regular thing taking Liam to and from school in the morning and then heading out in the afternoon.

Two black bears at play.

Al up close with a Barred Owl.



Enjoying lunch at Costco!



I have really enjoyed Al's company and being able to introduce her to some of the local shopping and dining highlights downtown and around town! We have been to the Wildlife Park, where we were able to see bears, moose, elk, owls, and others, the Kamloops museum, the Farmer's Markets and the First Nations museum. We also enjoyed supper at Kevin and Carmen's and with Joel (of moose cake fame), Leslie and family.

Inside a First Nations Winter home



Last Friday was a professional development day for teachers, so Liam had the day off. We did a bit of shopping in the morning and then headed out for a scenic drive through Barnhartvale to Salmon Arm via Westwold and Falkland. We timed our trip well for a stop off at the 97 Diner in Westwold. The exterior was not promising but the interior was great and the food excellent - worth another trip! We continued on through the Salmon River Valley to Salmon Arm, where it was summery and warm. Then we headed home to collect Frank to head off for our weekend at Clearwater.



The Route 97 Diner, Westwold

Phoebe, Al and Liam at Salmon Arm



Some comings and goings...



at the Opening

Bob - by Frank's students



Just some other things we have been up to....

In April some of Frank's students had works in the local School District art exhibition at the Sagebrush theatre. It was a great show in a lovely spot and we enjoyed the opening.



A scene at the markets



There is a great farmers' market that runs twice a week now through to October downtown. We went to have a look last Saturday and it is great! Lots of organics, including bread, meat, eggs and fresh produce. There were lots of people there and it has a great atmosphere.



ONE street of garage sales



Last Sunday we went to the mother of all garage sales. There was a neighbourhood garage sale in nearby Juniper Ridge, and we were in search of a BBQ, so we went along. We started in the first street, got our BBQ and some toys and were very happy. At the end of the street, we noticed that the next street also had sales, and the next and the next.....we ended up there for 4 hours, only saw about half and were sunburned! We came away with not only the BBQ, but lots of toys, a sled and a GT Snowracer ready for next winter!



On the deck!



Thanks to Tom and his truck we were then able to bring home said BBQ and set up the deck for outside eating. Sunday evening was beautiful and we enjoyed a drink with Tom and Teresa and their son Ben out on the deck. We also enjoyed our supper out there. Unfortunately the good weather has not repeated itself since then, but it will come.




At the finish line

Yesterday Liam's school had a walkathon to raise money for their fitness track. I went along for the walk and it was great. The kindergarteners had to walk a 2km course. On the finish line each child received a 'medal' cookie on a string! It was too cute. Thanks to the numerous Australian relatives who unknowingly sponsored Liam $4 each in his endeavours! Your generosity is appreciated!!!

It was our 11th wedding anniversary yesterday, so we all went to celebrate at Mino's Greek restaurant. It came highly recommended by Jennifer and since we went to Greece for our 10th anniversary it seemed like the obvious choice. It was FANTASTIC! Delicious food, cold beers, great service, and enough food in our platter for two to feed the whole family AND leave enough food for us to bring home for lunch today. We are looking forward to going there again!!!



At Mino's



Al Kime arrives tomorrow morning - we are so excited!



Easter in Kelowna

For the Easter weekend we decided to make a trip to Kelowna (pron. Ka-low-na), the largest town in the BC interior which is two hours south of here. It is on Lake Okanagan, and is a popular Summer destination with the lake and numerous wineries.

Kelowna is a First Nations word for female bear.

We stayed at a lovely hotel on the lake, just a short walk from down town Kelowna. We really enjoyed taking it easy. On our arrival we sussed out the main street, which we revisited the following day when everything was open. 



Kelowna from Mt Knox



By the lake was a large playground where we whiled away some time! We made the first of two visits to Orchard Park Mall, the largest Mall in BC. It was good! Late in the afternoon we drove up Mount Knox for a spectacular view of the town and the lake. I spotted my first deer - my first real wildlife spotting other than a couple of squirrels!



The view from the Mission Hill winery



On Sunday after our Easter Egg hunt we enjoyed a great Easter breakfast at the Bohemian Cafe and then explored the cultural area of town, with a beautiful Japanese garden, the Art Gallery and other public artworks and spaces. We finished off the day with a visit to a couple of wineries in West Kelowna. We are still coming to terms with having to pay for wine tasting!! The wineries themselves were in lovely locations with spectacular views!

Some street art

We finished up on Monday with another visit to the Mall before heading back to Kamloops. The temperature was noticeably warmer and we came back with sunburn!

Liam and Phoebe and their development in Kamloops....

Well, I thought I would let you know how Liam and Phoebe are going, for those interested!!

Super Liam.

Liam is thoroughly enjoying his kindergarten experience. He is coping with the walk to school very well, and is enjoying all the activities he is exposed to at school. They have a set routine with Gym being on Tuesday, and Library being on Thursday. He was initially ambivalent about gym, and when I asked him about it he said that the Gymnasium was great, but that they made him run all the time!! He is enjoying it more now. They have had a range of activities including a 2 week gymnastics program and golf! There is the walkathon coming up next week and the athletics carnival after that.

That's my boy!

He has made some nice friends and is enjoying playdates at their places and at home, too. He has started swimming lessons and is liking those. He is in a level at which he is very confident and looks forward to the next lesson, which is great. Lessons are twice a week. We have recently acquired a bike and he is eager to learn to ride. As his birthday is in the Summer break, he and his friend Adam, whose birthday is also over Summer, are going to have a combined party at the local bowling alley in late June. We will be inviting the whole class and are very excited that Pascale and Lucie (and Hel and Pete) will be able to be there, too. He has a wobbly tooth and can't wait for it to fall out.

At the end of a big day's garage sale-ing.

Phoebe is continually changing! We think she has grown, but the scales tell otherwise! She is a keen talker (another one!!) and is right into animal noises, naming things and asking for the things she wants. She is great at following directions, discussing the state of her nappy and pointing out when she has made a mess with her food or milk. She sings a lot of the time, usually Scooby-Do (with words!) or the theme from Harry Potter. She is also right into new clothes. I wore a new shirt tonight and she gave me the once over and said "....ty" (pretty). She is getting the whole personal interaction thing worked out!!



Mountain climbing.



She is very interested in buses, and conveniently we are on the bus route! She is able to see the bus go behind our house, then in front of our house and enjoys pointing it out to us. That, and the train, too, as we drive along the Trans-Canada Highway. Following Liam's lead she is a keen consumer, and every time a Barbie ad comes on TV she lets me know. Scary. She is enjoying the local playground and also the equipment at school, with climbing up to the top and sticking a foot out into some unsafe place her favourite. The swings are also a hit. As far as eating goes, we are making slow progress. But then there are days she can't get enough! Yesterday she was asking for food all day! Her faves at the moment are baby cereal puffs (assorted flavours), watermelon, olives, corn and the crumb coating of anything. Cheese is also of interest. Oh, and maple cream biscuits!!