The Canadian Rockies Road Trip - First Stop: Kamloops

Our trip was well thought through....we didn't have too many stretches of extremely long driving and even with the couple stretches that were on the long side, switching off drivers was very helpful as was random stops to stretch our legs and grab a breath of fresh air. Doing such a long road trip and knowing the various stops and activities we were planning on, it did mean we packed the car with a lot of gear. This required some strategic packing as well to make sure we not only fit everything, but had access to what we needed, when we needed it without having to unpack everything. Outside of some rattling camping chairs for pretty much the entire trip that we just couldn't get quiet, it all worked out and we managed just fine. 

We started our road trip adventure, leaving on Friday early afternoon of a long weekend which only meant traffic on the highway was going to be jammed. As expected, there was an accident or something that caused traffic to back up badly, so we exited and took the scenic backroads to avoid the accident stretch. This brought us out into Abbotsford and right past our regular blueberry farm, so after a quick decision to stop and pick up 5lbs of blueberries for the trip (sadly we didn't get to eat all the blueberries in the end, but more on that later), we continued our trek up to Kamloops, where we stayed for a couple nights. We stayed right in downtown Kamloops at the Delta and were only a couple blocks walk from the South Thompson River and Riverside Park, a large, beautiful park with beach areas providing easy access to the river. The Delta hotel is fairly newly renovated and we stayed in a lovely and spacious one bedroom suite compliments of Z's loyalty status. We were also treated to a nice welcome gift with a box of chocolates and fancy bottled sparkling water; one of which came handy the second night as it was needed to spot clean some wine spillage on Z's clothes - works just like club soda. Our hotel rate included a complimentary wine tasting at Monte Creek Winery and entrance to the B.C. Wildlife Park, a wildlife rehabilitation park, which gave us two firm activities for our stay. We discovered that there was a farmer's market a short walk from the hotel on Saturdays, so we set out after breakfast to explore. It was already starting to get fairly hot early on in the day so our trip to the farmer's market was a little rushed but we did buy some really fresh, tasty, good quality apricots, black raspberries, and mini carrots for snacks. The heat really just accelerated what our real plan was for Saturday afternoon, floating down the Thompson River in our new double-seater with cooler storage flotation device. The logistics of our float took some planning because you start the float at one point of the river and end in another so unless you have two vehicles where you can ferry back and forth, this can create some challenges. But my trusty planner had figured out the best way to make this happen was leaving the car at the end point and calling a taxi to take us to the start point. This worked out well. When we got to the boat launch start point, a friendly stranger offered us use of his air pump, but we graciously declined because we had brought our own pump. In the end though we did top up using the air pump just to get a bit more air. 

All pumped up and ready to go. This was my first experience floating down a river and I've got to say it was extremely peaceful and relaxing. It took us about 2.5 hours from start to finish and besides a couple times having to paddle a bit, the river just took us. We were shocked that on what was probably the hottest day of the weekend, that we were pretty much the only ones on the river floating. We did see one group of four who had a motorized float that allowed them the option of either floating or moving faster with the motor, but outside of that there were only a few speed boats going up and down. 

Knowing it would be smoking hot and this would take a couple hours, we came prepared with drinks and some cookies for snacks that we packed in the cooler part. We decided it would be great to heat up our cookies by leaving them in the sun as we floated and when we ate them, it was like they had just been warmed up in an oven. 

At one point during our leisurely float, Z jumped into the cold river and then encouraged me to do the same. I was hesitant but in the end did and it proved to be refreshing from the hot sun. We also had a family of ducks float with us for some time, I think perhaps they thought they would get food from us, but that didn't happen and eventually they lost interest in us and swam off.

 

Floating in our luxury two-person floatie was a fantastic way to spend the hot sunny day before heading to our wine tasting at Monte Creek Ranch Winery. Z discovered this winery on a road trip he took without me last summer (I was a little busy with my head in the books). The wine tasting had to be booked in advance with a reservation, drops in were not allowed. I really had no idea that Kamloops had wineries in the area, but I learned there are three. Monte Creek is an organic winery and farm with over 75 acres of vines. Its tasting room overlooks the Thompson River and valley, providing a very scenic wine tasting experience. It's a relatively new winery, since 2009 and only open to the public since 2015. We ended up purchasing a few of Z's favourite bottles and a couple rosés for me which I knew would be great for sharing with some of our friends. 

Before heading out on our next leg of the road trip, we spent the morning at the BC Wildlife Park.  What is different about this park is that it is a sanctuary for wild animals that are in need of rehabilitation having been so injured that if they were left in the wild they would not have survived. The park tries it best to provide space that represents the animals' nature habitat, but at the same time for the protection of the staff and visitors, the animals are fenced or caged. It was neat to see eagles, elk, grizzly bears, and owls, but at the same token it was sad to know that these animals would likely never be able to roam free again. From here, it was pack up the car and hit the road for a 448km drive further northeast to Jasper for the next part of our adventure.