Where we are at.....

We are living in an area of Kamloops called Barnhartvale. It is a little more rural than downtown, and community spirit is evident.

Liam walking home from school.

Barnhartvale is about 13 kms from downtown Kamloops. To get here we drive east along the 1 Trans Canada highway for about 10 kms, then drive up into the hills for about 3kms to get to our house. The highway runs along the river (which is covered in sheets of ice at the moment) and the cross-Canada railway. The cargo trains are amazing, with 100+ carriages, and 2 or 3 engines. The valley all this sits in has fantastic rock formations in 2 levels, one very rocky, and the higher having some growth on it.

We have a corner store at the end of our road that has a comprehensive range of groceries and beverages, especially Australian wine! The owners are really friendly and welcoming. It is about a 1.5 km walk from our place.

Our house from the street.

Our house is on one of the two larger roads into the area. It is a lovely, tastefully decorated house with a great outlook over nearby hills (I think we'd call them mountains in Queanbeyan!) It is a two storey house that has the main living spaces on the top (street) level, and a very large basement where the laundry and hobby/play spaces are. Digs for our visitors are down there! Liam and Phoebe are sharing a room (Liam's dream come true!) and we are all very comfortable. We keep the house heated at a constant 18 degrees, and it is warm! It is well insulated and the windows are all double glazed, so we really feel like we are in our own little haven with no noise other than the coyotes at night!

The yard is very large. I can't tell you what is there yet because it is under snow!

Those who have already been bored with my snow shoveling stories will know that we have a short driveway on a slight incline. It doesn't seem that short to me when I have special snow shovel in hand, but in summer I am sure it will seem very short!!!

The park near our house.

We have neighbours to one side, and the other is a vacant block. Across the road is an old orchard which is home to 3 horses. They are tough animals who are out there in all weather. One morning we saw them with snow on their backs! Liam and Phoebe like them a lot.

Liam's school, RL Clemitson Elementary (RLC) is about 1km up our road. The school sits on the top of the hill, so it is slightly uphill on the way there, but the walk home is a breeze! There is a playground just up from our house,and in the warmer weather we will be able to take a short cut through it to get to RLC.

Frank outside NorKam.

Frank's school, NorKam, is on the other side of town in an area called 'North Shore'. It is a 20 - 25min drive there. He is carpooling at the moment with a colleague who lives nearby.





The vehicle.







The tread on our new tires!



Our car is a 2001 Dodge Caravan and it is great! It drives well and is very comfy. We bought a new set of snow tires last weekend so it is holding better on the road now, too!