Second day on the #RockyMountaineer #Kamloops to #Vancouver

After a restful night we were soon back on the train and off on the second part of our journey, 

As we left Kamloops behind, the scenery was vastly different than the day before. We had a leisurely journey along a twenty mile lake. This gave me a chance to do a couple of quick studies as we passed the small towns and eventually the river. The area was quite barren with the odd farm along the way.

In the early days one of the farmers used to shoot at the train as he was upset that blowing the horn before entering tunnels upset his animals. This was stopped but there are times when he still walks around or drives his tractor naked as a protest. We waved nicely as we passed him fully clothed on this occasion.

We saw several wild birds; a couple of Osprey and a few Long horned sheep but the landscape was fairly plain.

​​The next part of the journey followed the river towards Vancouver. Here we saw the might of the river including the impressive Hell's Gate. Every minute, 750-million litres of water crashes through a narrow 33-metre (108-foot) wide gorge - double that of Niagara Falls. No wonder Hell's Gate put the "fear of God" into early explorers.

As the river slowed down we saw the large flotillas of logs waiting to go to the mills as a large part of the local economy. It was here that we saw a sight which we had never seen before where two rivers joined together. One was a dark sluggish grey and the other a vibrant fast flowing blue. The area where they joined was half and half until the fast flowing one melted into the slower one. This two toned effect was impressive

There were several interesting stories of the early settlers and their struggles finding passages and routes in this area and we realised how harsh life must have been in the early days.

Eventually we arrived in Vancouver for one night's stay before the next leg of our journey. 

What did we think of the trip on the Rocky Mountaineer? That will be the next blog!