The Cariboo Waggon Road

When we left the Clinton Pines RV park, we didn't get too far. We drove into the little town of Clinton.  Clinton has a population of only 740 people, but has preserved the historical buildings and is proud to be known as "The Gateway to the Caraboo".

The museum building was built in 1892 as a school and later used as the courthouse.  Originally the town was the site of the 47 Mile Roadhouse, a gold rush settlement on the Cariboo Waggon Road from Lillooet. My first question to the volunteer in the museum was, "Where is Cariboo?" I had scoured the maps but had not been able to locate any town or mountain by that name. Come to find out, it is the name of the regional district in British Columbia, just west of the Rocky Mountain Range, where gold was discovered. 

That afternoon we stopped in the town of Quesnel (pronounced kwe-NEL).  The city is located at the confluence of the Fraser and the Quesnel rivers.  It began as a supply town for miners during the Cariboo Gold Rush in the 1860's.

We walked all over town, and saw many plaques commenorating the early pioneers of the town, many of whom were Chinese.

Quesnel has 23 handpainted fire hydrants.  A local artist researched the city's history and painted some of its characters to help tell its story.  The "little people" are now the focus of a charming walking tour in the heart of downtown.  This blacksmith represents Kong Sing .  After an accident left him in a wheelchair, he turned his blacksmithing skills to knife making.  He became renowned for his quality work, and some of his knives have been used for 70 years!

Our walk eventually ended up at the Billy Barker Casino. It turns out Barker was quite the citizen in these parts, and he is remembered at Barkerville, a town about an hour away that reenacts the history of the colorful goldrush days. David and I often like to experience new casinos enroute with a limit of $10.00 gambling money.  David had only a $1.00 bill in his pocket, but we decided to try our luck anyway. He put the bill into what looked like a lucky slot machine.  Rejection! After three tries he called an attendant over and discovered that it was programmed to accept only Canadian money.  So he went over to the cashier and returned with a brassy looking coin of $1.00 Canadian, called a "loonie".  Back at the slot machine he tried unsuccessfully three more times and then called the attendant again.  She looked at him as if he was a complete idiot.  "Well of course it doesn't work, that machine takes a minimum of $5.00."  So much for our first adventure in a Canadian casino.  No big winnings here, but now David has his first Canadian lucky loonie.

Following the gold rush trail makes us realize that we have "struck it rich".  Everyday is full.  Life is fun, and we are rich, indeed!