Ashcroft, Cache Creek, Hell's Gate, Lytton, Lillooet, Quesnel, Williams Lake, 100 Mile House, Kamloops, Hat Creek Ranch, Prince George, Prince Rupert, Burns Lake, Hazeltons, Smithers, Terrace, Spences Bridge, 70 Mile House, Houston, Port Edward and Dawson Creek...if there was any doubt that this is a big province, Barkerville Bella Donna Dixson has certainly put that to rest.
With almost 6,000 kilometres recorded, my All Roads Lead to Barkerville promotional tour has been an amazing experience to date.
Visits to communities, historic sites and best of all, the fabulous people of British Columbia has been a wonderful way to connect Barkerville with the rest of the province.
When I was at the PGX, I met a great couple that were married in Barkerville 10 years ago and they are going to celebrate their anniversary with us on the long weekend.
In Prince Rupert, while sashaying down the street in Cow Bay, I was thrilled to encounter three commercial fishermen taking fish right off the boat to a processor down the street in their push carts. What an absolutely perfect Prince Rupert thing to happen.
And it got even better when I got talking to the boys and discovered that one of them was the nephew of Bob Rae who runs the El Dorado Gold Panning Store in Barkerville.
In Smithers, I met a couple from Chicago at the Aspen Inn who did not know a thing about Barkerville but are planning a visit soon.
Just outside Lytton, I visited the Kumsheen River Rafting Resort, the only one of its kind in British Columbia. Waking up in a tepee in this gorgeous part of the world and enjoying one of the most delicious salads of my life at the end of a long day on the road created a memory that will never be forgotten.
Naturally, two of the guests at Kumsheen were from Williams Lake and are huge Barkerville fans.
The whole purpose of the Barkerville Bella Road Trip is to not only increase visitation for this season, but to create awareness that the journey to Barkerville, no matter which route you choose, is full of great communities, more fabulous historic sites and wonderful people.
Sept. 9-11, Barkerville will host our first Cowboy and Drover Jubilee and the season ends Sept. 25. Visit www.barkervilleisfun.ca to learn more and like us on Facebook to follow me on the last leg of my tour.
