Daytripping	Back to the Current Issue Back to Features
around Barkerville, Lac La Hache, Nicola Lake, Manning Park, O’Keefe Ranch - by Kathy Mason

With only one week’s vacation, little money and a husband with a sore back, what does one do? Head for the seasonal site on Friday night as usual and use it as base for the week’s activities of course!!

Saturday was bright and sunny and with no pressure to make predetermined destinations, our dispositions matched. We devoured a leisurely breakfast, visited with camping neighbors, drove the hour or two to Keremeos where we bought mounds of cherries and munched on them all the way back to the trailer. Tough life but someone has to live it.

By Sunday, we were feeling quite rested and decided to take a drive. By some strange quirk, we ended up in Quesnel by evening. Len couldn’t hog all the driving for himself since his back froze up, sitting in one position, and he actually had to let me take over control of his precious truck. (In truth, he offers me the chance often enough but I generally decline since he loves driving so much and I find his clawing at the dashboard and stamping on imaginary brakes and fuel pedals disconcerting when I’m behind the wheel.) The weather continued sunny with only a few cloudy periods. After a sunset supper cooked over a campstove at 10 Mile Lake, we drove east toward Barkerville and set up camp in a forestry site at Cottonwood Meadows. Since we were daytripping, we had left the trailer behind and were now reduced to sleeping in the canopy. Fortunately, we had a very comfy mattress. As I read, a movement in the evening’s gloom caught Len’s eye. A half-grown moose wandered about, grazing. We watched through the canopy/truck windows for some time but did not see Mama. In the morning, however, her footprints were very much in evidence, all around the back of the truck and on the game trail we had parked near.

After a tailgate breakfast, we drove the rest of the way to Barkerville. A far cry from its heyday between 1862 and 1870 when it was the largest city west of Chicago and north of San Francisco, Barkerville is a town of over a hundred heritage buildings. Many shops are open for business and the live theatre, which depicts life in the goldrush times, is not to be missed. I can personally recommend the apple turnovers at the bakery. A one-mile walk from Barkerville takes one to the Richfield Courthouse where Judge Matthew Begbie presides over the trials of various unsavory characters found in the frenzied gold-mining town. Without cracking a smile, the Judge invites you to take his picture but assures you that as a ghost, his image will never appear on the film. Lunch at the Wake-up Jake Café is in rather opulent surroundings. Soup of the day was lima bean and cashew–actually very good. A visit to Barkerville is never complete without an hour or two in the historic cemetery. We were distressed to find it much more overgrown than on previous visits. Nevertheless, the cemetery is a monument to the hardships endured by the people of the time. Many did not survive past their thirtieth or fortieth birthdays. Barkerville has much more to offer; we had seen it twice before with our children. It’s a wonderful way to take them (and yourself) back in time and really experience history.

We ended the day by treating ourselves to a pizza dinner (Len had been obsessing about pizza for several days by then), and arrived on the doorstep of friends in Quesnel by evening.

Tuesday we visited with Gordon and Judy, then in the afternoon headed back to the trailer. We stopped at Lac La Hache for an hour’s canoeing and were glad to have brought the electric motor as it saved not only Len’s back but also enabled us to get back to shore after a windstorm came up while we were almost at the far shore. Between 100 Mile House and Clinton, the clouds opened up with a ferocious downpour. Of course this happened while I was driving.

On Wednesday, we treated ourselves to another quiet day of rest and relaxation. It was sunny and warm, and the reading was good out on the deck. In the evening, we took a drive up to Nicola Lake in Merritt where our youngest had gone to camp while attending the Music Festival. Both Greg and his cousin appeared to be doing fine, so we returned to the trailer and sat on the deck, applauding each insect which investigated our bug light.

I love Manning Park, particularly canoeing on Lightning Lake. Thursday was another lovely day at the trailer so we headed the hour or two west to the Park. Despite the wind, we were enjoying our outing, even eating our picnic lunch while parked in a sheltered cove. Just as we reached the far end of the lake, the clouds again opened. The rain was warm on my legs but by the time we got back, our shorts and shirts were drenched and we were feeling decidedly chilly. Luckily, there were sweatshirts and a change of jeans in the truck!

Time to take a tour of the campsite, which is now 100% reserved camping. Friends had made reservations at the earliest opportunity and because they had a large fifth and were traveling with her Dad, who also had a large unit, were very specific about their requirements. They wanted a double site of sufficient size to accommodate both their units. “No problem” they were told. Diane had expressed a few concerns about the reservation system before this so I was curious as to what accommodations they had received. We found them camped in neighboring sites. Turns out that when they arrived, the double site assigned to them could not possibly accommodate the two units. Fortunately, there were some other sites available so Lyle and Diane were able to select alternate sites. The experience did nothing to increase their faith in the reservation system. If the alternate sites had not been available, all their preplanning and paying for the privilege of a reservation would have been for nothing.

It seems that it should be simple enough to provide staff who are booking sites, with maps of the campgrounds in questions. This would enable them to determine site size, relationship to the lake (or other attraction), as well as facilities for handicapped persons. When purchasing tickets to a theatre event, one knows whether the seat is front row centre or way off in the bleachers. The theory of reservations has terrific potential but the actual practice still needs many improvements.

After spending the balance of Thursday soaking up the sunshine at the trailer, Friday found us at Nicola again. Both our sons were now there so we joined them in a morning swim. Afterward, we drove up to Kamloops and spotted my sister and brother-in-law meandering in the same direction. Following a roadside chat, we agreed to meet up with them at the house they had just purchased in Vernon. It was a leisurely day, driving through the small settlements of Monte Creek (another picnic on the shores of the lake), Falkland, etc. Stopped in at the O’Keefe Ranch outside Vernon. This is one of those places you promise yourself to visit sometime but never seem to get around to. Do it! It was a great lesson in the history of BC’s interior in the early 20th century. The manor house, especially, was an eye-opening experience. Before roads and the railroad, Mrs. O’Keefe had finer china and silverware than many homes boast today. I particularly was fascinated by the sound from the old music box. Dinner at the Ranch restaurant and we were off to see Mary and Jerry’s acquisition, a lovely home in a nice quiet corner of Vernon, the rolling hills making a beautiful backdrop. By bedtime, we were back at the trailer. Home sweet, away from home, HOME.