We had travelled many times through the Fraser Valley on the way to the coast, stopping only for gas. This year we decided to rectify that by spending more time there. Two million people - there must be something of interest! We usually travel in September, once school is in session, as it is easier to find camping locations, and the types of venues we are interested to visit are still open.
Our first stop was a Forest Service campsite on Old Hedley Road on the banks of the Similkameen River. Hedley is an old mining town, and tours are still available to the mine site and former townsite on there mountain top. The Mascot Mine moved the ore by overhead tram down to the mill in Hedley itself. The local museum hosts a fascinating collection of information on the lifestyle of folks who lived and worked there.
Departing Hedley, we continued along the old road to Princeton in time for brunch, then travelled through Merritt, Cache Creek, and Lytton, arriving in Lillooett to visit with friends. Lillooett was the starting point of the overland portion of the Gold Rush Trail. Miners travelling to the gold discoveries in Barkerville to the north disembarked paddle wheelers here and began their journey up the Fraser River Valley to what is now Quesnel, and thence east to Barkerville. In fairly short order, a wagon road developed, with services for horses and travellers at regular intervals. The milestones are still remembered in places such as Cache Creek, 100 Mile House, 108 Mile Ranch and 150 Mile House.
We usually stay at the municipal campground in Lillooet. It is in an idyllic setting at the entrance to the village, with ready access to the downtown. However, due to the construction of a new water treatment plant, it was without services and effectively closed. We instead stayed at Fraser Cove Campground near to old bridge into town. While walking to see the bridge, I met with a few travellers, and we took photos for each other with the bridge in the background, and of the Aboriginal fishermen on the opposite bank. About this time, we heard them calling out, but could not clearly understand what they were saying. In a few minutes, we learned they were warning us of a bear on the embankment below us. Needless to say, we quickly departed the location.
After two windy nights in the Fraser Canyon, we headed south on the Duffy Lake Road to Pemberton. Highway 99, called the Sea to Sky Highway traverses 7 climactic zones in the 180 kilometres between coastal Squamish and desert Lillooet. Much of the road heading south had been recently paved, and as such was far more enjoyable to drive than expected. It is a narrow, winding road, though, and I was very glad to have the exhaust brake on the truck to keep our speeds low on the descent to Pemberton.
Pemberton has grown in recent years, but is less affected by the rapid growth in Whistler than I had expected. It is still an agricultural valley, and produces virus-free seed potatoes. It seems the surrounding mountainous terrain has prevented the spread of potato virus to the area. There are numerous signs reminding folks of the potato quarantine area. Nearing completion was a new post & beam Farmers' Market building. We enjoyed fabulous sushi here before moving a few kilometres south to Narin Falls Provincial Park, a wonderfully quiet location compared to the previous two stops.
Narin Falls was a great jumping off point for a quick trip to Whistler, where we wandered amongst the shops, and had an enjoyable lunch before returning to our campsite.
Our final stop north of Vancouver was Squamish, where we stayed at the Eagle Vista RV Resort. Squamish has grown immensely since the last time I visited. While there we did an oil change on the truck, viewed the Farmers' Market, and had lunch at Howe Sound Brewery. Eagle Vista has a fun mini golf with a mining theme, so we played a few rounds during our stay. This was also the jumping off point for a tour of the Britannia Beach Mining Museum. Like many BC resource towns of the day, Britannia Beach was a company town with limited access to the outside world. The sense of community shown in the historical photos was huge; these small communities had just about all the trappings of much larger centres - sports facilities, civic, fraternal and social groups, theatre, and other events.
To be continued...