Trip Reflections Part One - Barkerville

I should have taken a picture of the loaded van as we left. Most people think that there is no way I could get all that stuff and the 5 of us into our minivan. Dean says of my packing "She believes anything is possible". It is true that I am a wizard of cramming stuff into our van... But I must say that it would all work better if my children were amputees. Those darn legs are such a nuisance. And I pack stuff into every conceivable place. How we got the two dogs in as well, is one of life's mysteries. We were aiming to leave at 6am but when I went to bed at 4am after finishing cleaning the living room where our housesitter would be sleeping, I knew that plan was not very practical... I woke up at 8am and we were out of here by 10am. We were supposed to meet my twin sisters and a husband at Barkerville for dinner that first night but being Clarkes as we are, we missed each other. Too bad, those were really excellent greek pork chops we brought, Bean!

The next day we were rather tired but we spent most of the day wandering around Barkerville. Then we all went back to the campsite and had naps before dinner. I loved that it was still so much the same as it was when I was a child. They brag that they haven't changed their displays in the 50 years since it opened (1958).

I especially remember this one - the "painless tooth extraction".
Kaetlyn and Drew explored together for most of the morning.








Rhiannon and I sat down a lot. Here she is in front of the last person who lived in Barkerville fulltime until he died in 1979. He was an active gold miner.

Dean and Rhiannon went for a stage coach ride together.











Drew claimed to be exhausted and Kaetlyn and I left him sitting on a bench to browse the jewelry store. The next thing we know, he passes us with 3! girls - all of them dressed in Chinese clothes!

Rhiannon's favourite part was the lesson she attended in the old schoolhouse.


We had spectacular Caribou weather. Sunny and cloudy in the low 20's and only a wee light sprinkling of rain one afternoon. The campsite (Lowhee) was beautiful and the people were friendly. Blueberries were growing everywhere. A good start to our holiday!