On the Gold Rush Trail

We just finished a short trip further west in BC, exploring some of the early Gold Rush Trail. The main objective was to get to Lillooet and do some exploring around that area. And since the weather at home didn't seem to be shaping up to be very summer-like, we decided to head out.

Our first stop was just north of Rock Creek in a nice BC Provincial Park with a campsite right on Rock Creek. This is one of the Trans Canada Trail access points, so we did a bit of walking and trying to figure out what birds were chirping in the trees. One nice thing about camping at this time of year (and in mid-week) is that the campgrounds are still pretty empty.

The next day we made it through Kelowna and on to Merritt. We've been past Merritt many times, but we couldn't recall ever actually going through the town, and our route took us through Merritt and on to Spence's Bridge. We camped for the night just south of there at another nice BC Provincial Park Campground. Part of our entertainment was watching the CP and CN trains roll up and down the canyon just below the campground. There was also a short hike that followed an old gold rush trail dating back to the late 1800s.

The next day we were on to Lytton, where the Fraser and Thompson Rivers join, and on to Lillooet, former home of "Ma" Murray and staging point for some of the Cariboo Gold Rush.

Lillooet wasn't all that interesting, although it has a nice setting, located on the Fraser River, nestled down between some pretty imposing peaks. This is one of the hottest places in Canada, and you could see why.

We spent a few hours driving over the Duffy Lake Road to Pemberton, which seemed much like a junior version of Canmore or Banff or something - all new condos and little shops. Exploring this didn't take much time so we headed back to a nice Forest Service campground on Cayoosh Creek.

The next day we spent some time in Lillooet, then headed north and east to Cache Creek, on to Kamloops and towards Vernon.

En route, we stopped briefly at the old farm that Catherine's parents once owned, continuing on to a quiet place on the Shuswap River for the night.

Our last few hours before getting home was spent going over Monashee Pass, taking a look at Edgewater, wandering around the lakeshore promenades and botanical gardens in Nakusp and New Denver, before completing the last short drive back to the hacienda.