road trip 2022 - day 2 to Clinton

 In the morning I continued north on Highway 99 from Lillooet, with several stops at pullouts to enjoy the scenery. This is a view of Lillooet, with the town center toward the back.

After an hour or so, I reached the Marble Canyon area. (Don't be confused by the name, if you look it up there are many, many places named Marble Canyon.) There is a provincial park there, which has some campsites along a nice lake and is popular for boating and fishing. More interesting, though, was the landscape on either side of the road as I drove through. There are very steep limestone formations above hills on one side, and lakes on the other in which you see white glowing limestone patches under deep blue water. Unfortunately there was really no place to stop to take pictures.

The next stop, a short while later, was Hat Creek Ranch. I planned for very little driving today as I expected to spend some time here. I wasn't sure what to make of the advertising for it - that is, if it would be a tacky tourist trap or not. However, I was not disappointed. It is a BC and a Canadian Heritage site, and the layout and the buildings are all very authentic. There are barns, farm buildings, and the actual Hat Creek House, all built in the late 1800's. Informative signs give a good feeling for the history and the role of the Cariboo Wagon Road in the difficult terrain of BC before the railroad. 

The interior of the Hat Creek House is full of original furniture and antique items from the time. Even the wallpaper in the hallways and bedrooms is authentic. Here's a shot of the salon.

When I went outside, the guy taking care of the horses had them out pulling a carriage for exercise, and he asked me I wanted a ride, so I hopped in.

There is also a Shuswap Indigenous Interpretive Site with several artefacts and a guide who describes some of the plants that were used for food and medicine, and describes the various processes for drying and cooking food, for example. Also very well done.

All in all, I spent over 2 hours at the ranch. I'd recommend it. Fortunately it was not too hot today so spending all that time outside was not too tiring. Still, I had an ice cream cone at the restaurant.

After I left the ranch I turned north onto Highway 97, and went straight to the village of Clinton where I stopped for the day.