September road trip: Williams Lake and Barkerville

The next destination was Williams Lake, about 4 hours east of Anahim Lake. The road is unpaved until about Nimpo Lake, but after that it is easy driving. About half way we stopped at Bull Canyon Provincial Park to walk around a bit. 

Before reaching Williams Lake we turned south on a gravel road toward Farwell Canyon. There is a great view of the canyon. Someone we talked to in Williams Lake said that because of the flooding and landslides recently, the shape of the canyon and river at the bottom has changed significantly.

Williams Lake is real ranch country. I think the Williams Lake Stampede is the second biggest rodeo next to the Calgary Stampede. True to form, on the way to Farwell Canyon we saw cowboys on horses rounding up cattle. 

Williams Lake is fairly small, and we got some recommendations for places to eat and get coffee, from the man at the Eagles Nest Resort. There is also a craft brewery in town called Fox Mountain Brewing. 

While in the Chilcotins, Celene wanted to do some horseback riding. When I was planning the trip I enquired at a couple of places, but everything was booked up. We asked again at the Tourist Information Center in Williams Lake, but the only places they knew about were about an hour and a half away, closer to 100 Mile House. 

The next day we had a full day in Williams Lake. We did laundry, walked around town, looked in the Station House Gallery, and stopped for coffee at The Bean Counter.  At a bulletin board at the back of the coffee shop there was a poster for horseback riding,  just outside town, called Wyld Whisper Trails. It is run by one person, Bobi. We called her up and arranged for horseback riding the next day.  The rest of the day we took it easy, went to the craft beer place.

The next morning we went horseback riding. We met Bobi at her ranch and she set us up with boots and horses, and we road for a couple of hours on and off trail in the surrounding woods. She has a real love of horses and knows a lot. I haven't been on a horse since I was a kid, but it was very comfortable.

In the afternoon we drove to Barkerville, a perfectly preserved mining town from the gold rush of the late 1800's.  

 I had been there a couple of years ago, so I booked the same place I'd stayed in last time, the authentic St. George Hotel, right in the middle of the town. Everything inside is from the 1800s, so it is quite an experience to stay there. The host also dresses in costume. There a beautiful sitting area where we had breakfast and met other guests. That night we had dinner in the nearby town of Wells. 

We had one full day in Barkerville. Unfortunately the programming like the shows and tours had already finished for the season, and the hotel was the only thing open, but it was still very interesting to walk around and read about the buildings. There is also a trail that goes a few kilometers beyond Barkerville to what was once a mining town called Richfield, but all that remains is the old courthouse. It was interesting that along the path, which follows Williams Creek, there were signs indicating active claims. So the area is still being searched for gold!

The day before while driving from Williams Lake, we stopped at the tourist information center in Quesnel. There we saw a poster about an old silent movie show with panio accompaniment, at the 100 year old theatre in Wells. The woman at the St. George Hotel knew about it and highly recommended it. 

So in the late afternoon we went to Wells, spent some time looking around, had dinner, and went to the show. Wells dates back to about the 1930's, and now it is an artistic community. There is the Island Mountain Arts organization, which had programs and events like shows and workshops. We visited the gallery of Peter Corbett, located in an old church, and saw his amazing oil paintings of mountain landscapes. We had dinner at the Wells Hotel, and then went to see the show at the Sunset Theatre. The show was a lot of fun, featuring a couple of silent films of Buster Keaton, and the pianist was a known jazz musician from the area, Patrick Courtin. 

The next day was the first of two long driving days back to Vancouver. We stopped overnight at Cache Creek. By chance, that day there was a large old-fashioned car show in the park beside the hotel. People came from all around, and there were cars of the 1960's, 1930's, and even earlier.

Finally, the last day of the road trip, driving from Cache Creek to Vancouver, via the old No. 1 highway.