May 18, Barkerville

                                              Gold mining town of Barkerville

Today we headed for Barkerville.  It's a  gold mining town that has been restored and we had been told they have shopkeepers dressed in costumes and various exhibits.  It's located about 50 miles from Quesnell.  Our good weather had left us and the morning looked pretty dreary, but we were excited about exploring this little town. It turned out we dodged the rain for the day, although it was cold and windy.

On the way we saw a moose in the marshes.  She was pretty curious about us.

Entrance fee was $14.00 ca and it turned out this was a pretty good bargain.  If you bring your receipt back the next day you can get in for $2.00. Seniors are less.  The set up is much like Jamestown or Williamsberg with re enactments of scenes from yesterdays.  I'm sure we would have paid twice that much in the States. There is a carriage that will take  you through the town for $6.00 and there are also docents who will give you a guided tour of the town and China Town.  I found China Town most interesting. I knew there was a large Chinese population during the California gold rush but I didn't realize BC has such a large population during that time. The Chinese came to earn enough money to send back home to finance the overthrow of the current oppressive dynasty.

I attended an exhibit on the water wheel and how it works and listened to reminiscences of Judge Bigley, known as the hanging judge  and his court clerk.  Both were funny and yet informative. The wheel brings the gravel up from the mine and then the water washes the gravel away, leaving the gold.  It took most of day to see everything, although my brain went into overload there was so much to see.  I think I would be best to do it in two days.

There are several restuarants and shops on main street.  We stopped at the bakery and had lunch.  The baker told us this was a good time to come because the  season hadn't quite started yet.  During the summer there is a line out the door.  On the other hand not everything was open.

Placer gold mining is the method of choice for the area vs hard rock gold mining.  Apparently the whole area is still very actively gold mining.  In fact, Lightening Creek is one of the most active areas.  I walked up the road in the morning and there were lots of "no trespassing" signs warning of claims and not to bother them.  I'm not sure how far the road went, but I saw at least a half dozen mining claim signs within a couple of miles.