Saturday, March 27, 2010

Scenic Sunday in Kamloops

Kamloops, British Columbia is a very different place from where I live in Vancouver. Kamloops is about 4 hours drive north and is located in what is called the Interior of the province. It is cattle country and for years this small city was more like a frontier town.

[Panoramic shot of the North Shore, Kamloops]

I'm happy to say that in the past decade or so things have changed a lot. New commercial buildings have gone up aplenty. New areas of the city have seen significant residential development and there are new facilities and services to be used such as the new downtown library and the one that will open on April 19, 2010 on the north shore. There are also new hotels and restaurants.

[Photo of the newest hotel opened in February 2010]

If you are a golfer there are numerous golf resorts. If you are a mountain biker, the city is known for it's mountain bike trails. If you love the outdoors the entire region is known for fishing and camping. If you like hot weather you are also in luck as the summer temperatures can frequently get over 30ÂșCelsius. So you will likely want to hang out in one of the city's many beautiful parks just to stay cool and relax. Or you might participate in a community or national event like Canada's birthday on Canada Day, July 1st.

[Collage of photos taken at park on Canada Day 2009. 
Click on photo to enlarge]

Whatever you want to do, you will likely be able to do it in Kamloops. But you better hurry. Those real estate prices have been going up, up and up.

Here now are a few photos taken downtown in February 2010.

[Plaza Hotel, a landmark in the city centre]

[Zack's Coffee shop, a long time business in downtown core]

[City sidewalks are nice and wide downtown and planter pots await Spring]

[Traffic is not exceptionally heavy]

[Buildings downtown retain their history. Big malls are on the hill & across the river]

[This mall has undergone about 3 complete renovations in last 40 years]

[One of the local radio stations]

[Bus routes are extensive and run every 15-30 minutes depending on time of day]


Scenic Sunday

Click on the badge above for more scenes from around the globe.

32 comments:

Chie Wilks said...

Hello, thanks for visiting my SS post..you photos are awesome too..I love the view of the mountains behind those big building.. ALthough I haven't been to this place and actually not familiar to its name, i find the place an awesome spot to visit..spec. that in the first photo

EG CameraGirl said...

This is a great post about Kamloops. I haven't been there for many years so it's nice to see it now!

Kirigalpoththa said...

The image at the top is fabulous!

Maia T said...

Thanks for the tour, and a rich presentation. As I see in the first photo, the geographic situation of the city is spectacular. Nice post.

Diary From Africa said...

That was a great tour, thank you ! I can't get over how neat, clean & well maintained everything is compared to how our towns and cities (mostly) look here in Africa !

Joyful said...

@Chie thank you for visiting my SS post as well and thank you for the wonderful compliment. I know you would love it if you were to travel to this place of beauty. Come again soon :-)

Joyful said...

@ EG, so glad you were able to relive some memories of your former trip to Kamloops. I'm sure if you were to visit again you would find a lot of positive changes. Take care and come again soon :-)

Joyful said...

@ Kirigalpoththa I'm so glad you love the panoramic view of the city. It is really quite breath taking; especially at night.

Joyful said...

@ Maia, we agree that the geographic location of the city is quite spectacular. Perhaps some day you will have a chance to visit :-)

Joyful said...

@ Lynda, so great that you could visit again. I'm glad you are finding the city views so interesting. I know when I go to your continent I simply love checking out the buildings and homes. I hope to have more such photos for you in future.

Susan said...

Very nice cityscapes. Thank you for sharing the information about Kamloops.

Euroangel said...

seems like a good place to visit..

Laura in Paris said...

Thank you for the guided tour!

Verna Luga said...

Thanks for sharing .... nice place of yours...

thanks for dropping by ...

Joyful said...

@ Susan, glad you enjoyed the city view.

Joyful said...

@ Laura, you are most welcome. Please visit again soon.

Joyful said...

@ Vernz, you are welcome and thank you for stopping by. If you were to visit Kamloops, I'm sure you would find something to love. Especially in the hot summer.

Notes From The Frugal Trenches said...

So lovely! I really enjoyed Kamloops! I think when I was there I stayed at Holiday Inn Express! I remember it had an indoor pool and was near a petrol (gas) station!

Karsyn524 said...

Thanks for visiting my blog! I love your blog...your pictures are breathtaking. I decided to follow you, hope you don't mind. I am looking forward to seeing the world from your cameras point of view!

Karsyn

www.mytakeonparenting.blogspot.com

Joyful said...

@ Notes, I'm so glad you really enjoyed Kamloops. The Holiday Inn Express you speak of is on the hill closer to the highways going north, south, east and west. The Holiday Inn & suites in my photo is a new one on the North Shore and also has a swimming pool. I can't wait to use it :-)

Joyful said...

@ Karsyn, so happy you dropped by and enjoyed my blog. Thank you so much for the lovely compliment and I look forward to your future comments on what I "see" in "my world".

Unknown said...

Thanks for the tour. Looks like a nice market in the collage.

Joyful said...

@ Evelyn, thank you for stopping by. I forgot to mention above (have now done so) that you can click on the collage to enlarge as there is a lot there to look at. And, "yes" there was a very nice market there in the park on Canada Day. It is a time for the local artisans of which there are many, to share and sell their works.

Katy ~ said...

While "progress" is good, does it make you also a little sad to see so much industry and commercialism and lose the wild beauty. I see that where I live. Gone are the farmlands and the orchards... I know people need a place to live etc. I don't know what the balance is...

Apiary Arts Hawai'i said...

Thank you for visiting my blog...I love your photos of kamloops and you blog is wonderful!!! aloha from hawaii!

Joyful said...

@Katy, you are exactly right. The beloved apple trees which once flourished within the city boundaries are no longer as plentiful. In fact they are rare in the city area but the entire surrounding area still grows a lot of apples (thankfully).

Joyful said...

@Patti, aloha! Thank you for dropping by. The kind words are much appreciated and I hope I "see" you again soon.

NatureFootstep said...

thanks for sharing. The birds on my blog is Cormorants. :)

Joyful said...

@Nature, thank you for dropping by and letting me know what the birds in your photo are.

Joyful said...

@Katy, you are exactly right. The beloved apple trees which once flourished within the city boundaries are no longer as plentiful. In fact they are rare in the city area but the entire surrounding area still grows a lot of apples (thankfully).

Joyful said...

Thank you for visiting my blog...I love your photos of kamloops and you blog is wonderful!!! aloha from hawaii!

Joyful said...

Hello, thanks for visiting my SS post..you photos are awesome too..I love the view of the mountains behind those big building.. ALthough I haven't been to this place and actually not familiar to its name, i find the place an awesome spot to visit..spec. that in the first photo

Christmas Lights & Short Break

  Every year the Christmas light displays bring me a lot of seasonal cheer. I'm sharing a few of them from this year for you. Usually I ...