Tag Archives: travel

BARKERVILLE, BC EXCURSION

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This spring, I took my kids on a road trip to Barkerville in beautiful British Columbia to hopefully show them a bit of the wonder I experienced as a kid.

Barkerville was named after Billy Barker from Cambridgeshire, England. He was one of the first to strike gold in that location in 1862 and it proved to be the richest and became the most famous. You can take a quick look at the story/history of this iconic gold rush town here: Barkerville – Wikipedia. The official town website is here: Barkerville Historic Town & Park

As mentioned in a previous entry, I went to Barkerville as a kid and celebrated a birthday there. It is one of my fondest memories and I wanted to try and share that with my kids. We did a road trip staying in different places and exploring but that is for another entry. This is for the Barkerville portion, which was our main goal of the trip.

We opted to stay in a cabin that they have on site. They have 3 cabins built on a lot just before the parking area. They also do have accommodations right in the town which would be quite the experience but with the number of people we had, the cabin was the better choice. These cabins have 3 bedrooms, 2 with queen beds, 1 with two singles. Fully equipped kitchen, washer & dryer, 1.5 bathrooms and a nice sitting area. The best part is it is located a short walk into the town.

We spent our time there exploring all of the buildings and of course trying out some amazing sweets at the town bakery. Amongst the stores and buildings that are displays there are active stores selling all types of stuff. Everything from replicas of toys from the time period of Barkervilles hey day, to your regular souvenir items. You can even do some gold panning and get actual flakes of gold that you get to take home with you in a little tube.

A little bit of Barkerville

St. Saviours Anglican Church
In front of a store in China Town
Stagecoach ride

There is even a theater there where you can go and catch a show. They are reminiscent of the types of shows that may have been presented at the time. I found it very entertaining. I remember watching the play in that theater when I went there as a kid. I still have my playbill book with all of the autographs.

We ended our time in Barkerville with a tour of the old cemetery. We only explored a little bit as there were bears in the area and there was some fairly recent “evidence” left by a bear in the graveyard.

All in all everyone had a great time and I think the memories will stay with them. Who knows, maybe one day they will go back on their own and enjoy it even more. If you ever want something different to do, I suggest checking this place out. Its a bit of history and family memories combined.

Until next time – stay sane!

GHOST TOWN ADVENTURE

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Over the weekend my kids and I decided to go on a little adventure and check out the ghost town of Neidpath in Saskatchewan. This town had it’s first post office established in 1909 and was left to crumble when the railway abandoned that rail route in 1981. Below you will see a few pictures of the two grain elevators still standing, sort of, out of the original 4.

I think my appreciation for sites of the past came about from my step-father. He loved everything about the past. He would take us camping for 2 weeks every summer at some ghost town site to explore. I would see him out there with his brimmed hat and metal detector in hand looking for lost little treasures. He also introduced me to visiting old graveyards. Nothing disrespectful, but to just read any headstones you could to get a sense of the history. I in turn have passed on this admiration to my kids. I grew up surrounded by antique items. Not the fancy and expensive furniture but the small everyday items that people used in their daily lives. Metal tins that once held kitchen spices and old bottles. An old barber chair he hoped to one day restore and the bubble photo of his grandfather in his military uniform on the wall.

I love when I can take a closer look at the once inhabited dwellings and try to imagine what life was like then and in that town. Open fields all around and the big never ending sky above. The day was warm but with a nice breeze blowing across the prairies. At one time people lived there. Worked, went to school, played, laughed. Now there are a few old buildings left to slowly deteriorate back to the earth.

This was once perhaps the home of a family. I looked in at the old single kitchen faucet and old stove trying to picture how this was once a cozy home. Its hard to picture it when you see the state in which it has become.

Not too far from this old house we found a church. The entrance section of the building had separated from the main portion and in the field adjacent was an abandoned car. Why would someone just leave their car? We will never know.

I love to go and explore places like this. I am out of the house getting fresh air and I am enjoying the moment. Not worrying about now, the next 5 years or even further. (Thanks anxiety!) I am just in the moment and the past.

I hope you enjoy the pics and maybe these will help inspire you to go out and explore. Until next time-stay sane.

ROADWAY MEMORIES

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I have decided I am super lucky. My demon spawn….ahem….lovely kids, still love the chance to road trip with mom. Now when I say kids I am talking about 15, 19, and 23. I have decided that I will continue to go on road trips with them for as long as they want. Why? Well, I am not an idiot. I know that at some point they will have busy lives and cruising down the highway with their old mom won’t be in the plans.

I try to make the trips fun. Stretch them out so we can make any stops we want. Take pics, explore, be goofy. Music blasting, windows down and loaded on drinks and snacks we hit the road to where ever that trip is taking us. I am planning trips up to Northern BC, The Yukon and still researching more.

When I was growing up my step dad took us camping for 2 weeks every summer. We usually stayed at remote locations as he loved old ghost towns. There were times I may have gotten a little bored but as I grew older I looked back at those trips and I never thought of the bored, just the fun and interesting things we did. I have chosen to make memories for my kids to look back on and say “Mom wasn’t just a raging mean old bitch!”. Ah, yes, the teen years are fun aren’t they?

In todays world people are consumed with things and obtaining “treasures”. Going on those crazy expensive trips around the world. Not that I don’t have places I would love to visit and still hope to do so, BUT, I want my kids to appreciate what we have around us. Memories are important, not things I buy them. I have seen in my kids that they have absorbed this outlook and I am so thankful that they are who they are.

I think we forget that sometimes there is beauty and exploration right in our own backyard and that is what I want to do with my family. Explore, admire, laugh, and make memories. So get the hell outdoors, research a cool out of the way place to check out. Sing loud, eat horribly and laugh together.

Off I go until another thought strikes me. Until then – stay sane.