Day 5: Kamloops

We leave Lillooet around 9 am heading north. First, we need to refuel and the question of whether the display is in liters or gallons is quickly answered. We pay almost €200 for 123 liters. René suspects a hole in the tank, but no, at €2.16 per liter, the majority of the travel budget will go towards gasoline.

The vegetation changes from the rain and coniferous forests of the coastal mountains to a sparse vegetation (pines, sagebrush) of the interior. We see agricultural use with cattle farms. We drive along the Cariboo Wagon Road, an old stagecoach route heading north. After an hour, we reach the historic Hat Creek Ranch. It is an old roadhouse from 1861 and today a charming little museum house that showcases the era of arduous overland travel in the 19th century with contemporary wagons and stagecoaches. The children want to go gold panning first. So we take the pans, rinse out the sand, and find small amounts of gold (pyrite) and semi-precious stones. It's fun, but the idea that in the past the gold diggers did this all day in the cold is frightening.
Then we look at the houses, the barns for horses, chickens, etc., as well as the inn. The latter is well preserved and vividly shows the way of life of the people with a salon, sleeping quarters, kitchen, etc. Now it's time to take a ride in the stagecoach. The coach has little comfort. There are no windows and it shakes a lot. After the ride, the guide asks if we can imagine doing this ride for 10 hours a day, 5 days in a row, unimaginable for us. Then there is a small exhibition of the adjacent Native Reservoir. There are skins of bears, wolves, beavers, and cougars on display. Overall, we really like the museum. Afterwards, we have lunch and drive to Kamloops. There we go shopping and take a look at the city from the car. The city does not offer any particular sights. Our destination for today is the Pauls Lake Provincial Park. After dinner, René and I take a walk to the lake. Yesterday's hike is still in our bones, so the climb from the campsite to the lake and back is exhausting. Back at the car, we sit by the campfire and relax.