Best Places to See in BC - Houston House

You simply cannot go wrong by spending

a few hours roaming the heritage site of

Derby Reach Regional Park

in Langley, British Columbia.

The Houston farm stands on the site of 

the original Hudson's Bay Company Fort.

Houston House was built in 1909 by Alex Houston,

who's father James Houston is credited for

being the first European to discover gold 

along the Fraser River.

With it's unique history and cultural

 roots dating back to British Columbia's

Gold Rush, Derby Reach

continues to inspire and intrigue

history and photography buffs.

To see more photos from
fabulous British Columbia
please visit my other website
karencooperbritishcolumbia.ca

Best Places to See in BC - Barkerville

Billy Barker struck gold on
August 17, 1862 near present day Barkerville.
The town of Barkerville was born to meet the demand of
other gold and dream seekers who
came to BC in search of fame and fortune.

My quest to research
British Columbia's Gold Rush
history and the men and women who
contributed to it's richly interwoven
history led me finally to Barkerville.

The Barkerville area of British Columbia
is an adventure unto itself to explore and enjoy.
The Gold Rush history of our province is evident everywhere.
Town and city names, streets and highways
bear the name of past explorers and adventures.

I can only imagine the hardships the
pioneer's of the past endured in their journey
this far north with only pick axe's and dreams of adventure.
The terrain can be brutal in the winter.
Snow and winds drive even the hardiest indoors
for months at a time.

Billy Barker was the Gold Rush's dream come true.
His mine produced over 37,000 ounces of gold.
In today's market that would be roughly
40 million dollars. Billy Barker's wildest dreams
came true.

Today the town is restored and can be visited
even during the winter months. I wanted to experience
what the pioneers would have endured during the
worst times of the winter. Barkerville did not
disappoint me.

Today with the aid of snow tires,
heated seats and 4 wheel drive vehicles,
it's hard to imagine the same journey by mule or horseback
along switchbacks and winding windswept passes.

British Columbia.
The land of adventure.

Best Places to See in BC, Little Harrison Lake

Another one of my all time favorite places to see in
British Columbia is Little Harrison Lake.
I have been on a quest to photograph as much
of the Douglas Trail in BC that remains.
Part of that history is Port Douglas.

Little Harrison Lake connects to Harrison Lake
via a channel and was navigated by steamboat
during the Gold Rush in the 1850's.
Gold prospectors and miners would ply their way from
New Westminster up the Fraser River to
Harrison River, across Harrison Lake to
Port Douglas. Then began their overland journey.
The tenacity and endurance of these
early settlers of our province is astounding.
Today this area seems remote and is, undeniably,
wildly beautiful.
In the 1850's it must have seemed
daunting and dangerous.

I can only imagine what those early gold seekers
felt as they navigated their way through this land of
eagles and waterfalls, mountain lakes
and the ultimate in natural beauty.

Best Places to See in BC, Harrison Lake

My journey to photograph the Gold Rush history of
British Columbia has led me to places that
I knew little of.
Take Harrison Lake.
I have known it from my various trips to the Harrison Hot Springs
community. But I had just barely explored her
incredible grace and beauty until traveling along
the entire west side from Harrison Hot Springs to
Port Douglas.
Not for the faint of heart or those without four wheel
drive vehicles, the road literally turns into creek beds
in some sections.
The views are totally stunning.
The wildlife is abundant and unfettered by the
few of us that venture into their peaceful and sublime space.
There are so many waterfalls and plants, mountain vistas
and peace waiting to be experienced here that I need another lifetime
to explore and savor it fully.
For now,
I have touched the spirit of this land along the great Harrison Lake.

Seton Portage, BC

Situated between Anderson Lake
and Seton Lake in British Columbia
is Seton Portage.
(Map located here)
Part of the Douglas Road used
during the Gold Rush era
in British Columbia,
Seton Portage was the land connection
between the the 2 lakes, and
was traversed by
a 3 mile mule drawn railway.
From Seton Lake, it was
another 5 mile overland journey
for the gold seekers to reach Lillooet.

The journey must have been arduous.
The views - astounding.

D'Arcy, BC

One of the best adventures in British
Columbia is to follow the various
paths of the gold seekers.

D'Arcy, on the shore of Anderson Lake,
was founded during British Columbia's
Gold Rush
and originally called Port Anderson.
Steam ships plied the waters of
Anderson Lake taking gold hunters
across the 21 km's to Seton Portage.
Then across Seton Lake and on to Lillooet,
the hardy men and women made their way to the
various gold fields of British Columbia


I am still awed at the lengths
that gold seekers went to follow their
dreams. This area is rugged and
totally beautiful. To explore it today
is not for the faint of heart. The roads
are narrow and crumbling in some parts, winding
and twisting along mountains that seemingly
drop into the very depths of the lakes.
Traversing it during the 1800's
on horseback, by foot or even
by bicycle must have been a totally
hair raising experience.

Exploring the Gold Rush Trail -- Bridge of the 23 Camels, Lillooet, BC

The Gold Rush in British Columbia, Canada
saw many inventive, wild and wacky ideas.
One of those were ... camels.
23 camels were brought to BC in 1862
by John C. Calbreath (or Callbreath, spellings vary.)
He decided that camels could carry heavier loads for longer distances
than donkeys, mules or horses, and were
more sure footed. And besides, everyone knows
camels don't need much water. Right?

Camels are tempermental critters at best.
And a wee bit cranky when the mood hits them.
These particular 23 camels had the habit of
biting mules, oxen and even men.
Well, really, it's a hard life carrying loads
at the whim of miners, I'd be snarly, too.
What's a camel to do?

Camels hoofs are perfectly adapted for
walking the sands of deserts, and also
perfectly adapted for kicking things.
It's been reported that the
camels were even fitted with ... shoes for
walking over the rough trails and jagged rocks
of the Gold Rush trails. I kid you not.
A camel kicks, give it shoes to kick harder. But I digress.

The sight of the double humped bactrian camels
caused many kerfuffles, too. Horses bolted at the mere sight
of them, and apparently their smell was, well, smelly.
By 1864,the experiment a failure, the poor animals were turned loose to
forge for themselves.
Henry Ingram saved three of the camels,
and "Lady", the last surviving bactrian,
died in 1896 (again, dates vary in the literature).

The bridge at Lillooet was
dedicated to these
illustrious, often misunderstood, animals.

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Exploring the Gold Rush Trail - Lillooet, BC

Lillooet, BC, is considered to be
Mile 0 of the Cariboo Wagon Trail.
I had originally assumed that the Gold Rush
Trail started somewhere near Hope or Lytton, or
perhaps even New Westminster.
Certainly there are names that you could associate with the Trail
in all of those cities, Cariboo Road, Prospect Point
and Smugglers Cove being amongst them.
History is full of twists and turns and
convolutions that need sorting out in ones mind to
make sense of the big picture.
I now come to think of the Gold Rush in
British Columbia as the "Gold Rush Adventure."

The actual Gold Rush in B.C. started in 1858, the Cariboo
Wagon Trail was constructed by the Royal Engineers from
1861 onwards.

Many hope filled prospectors landed in Victoria, New Westminster, or any number
of way points along the way.
They needed to find provisions and supplies to make
the arduous journey into the gold fields of Barkerville, and these
cities met their needs.

Lillooet became the first major stopping point
for the prospectors on their journeys to the gold fields.
Water navigation was possible to ports like
Yale and Port Douglas, after that, it was
the overland routes.

It seems that the actual "Gold Rush Trail"
is not was I have originally perceived it to be.
The "Trail" is actually several different routes,
pathways, wagon tracks, and roads to adventure that
the original prospectors used.

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