The morning was spent investigating and discussing route options to get past the wildfires and the smoke. Kamloops had fires around it but ultimately was our choice because it was faster and the traffic cameras didn’t show any significant issues with the highway. It is wonderful to have so much information at your fingertips these days.

We encountered quite a bit of smoke and spent most of the day driving to get through it.

The only stop we made was at the location where the final spike was driven in 1885 when the eastern and western portions of the Canadian Pacific Railway met. This was a historic moment as it was a condition of British Columbia joining Canada.

No, this isn’t the real last spike, but you get the idea….

Back at the parking lot, Ruth spied a tractor trailer with beautiful rusty bits and had to add a few pictures to her existing rust and rock picture collection.

The driver of the truck returned, threw up (not because of Ruth’s photos), and got back in his cab and continued his journey as did we.

The Blanket Creek Provincial Park became our home for the night. It is right along the Columbia River which was lacking water because a dam downstream had been opened a week before. The dream of going for a swim there was dashed.

Fortunately for us, the park has a swimming lagoon that was full of water. It is filled with water from a nearby waterfall. It was pretty cold but we swam for 20 minutes nonetheless.

The park staff were busy chasing a bear out of the camping area. We were told it may be a one year old cub that may have lost its mother.