Rushing for gold!

Canada was pioneered by pelt hunters, loggers and gold miners, and the major route for the latter category of people was from Lilleoot to Prince George via highway 97, then known as Cariboo Wagon Road.

This road was constructed in the mid 1800’s as the main road north in the gold rush after a Mr Barker struck gold in a place now known as Barkerville. Along the road lodges and guesthouses appeared, which were commonly named after the number of miles since Lilleoot. We stay the night in 100 Mile House, nowadays grown into a small town doing just that what the old guesthouses did back then. We are staying in a hotel built on the location of the original 100 Mile House, which burnt down in the 30’s.

After a very short drive this morning, we drove on to 108 Mile House Heritage Site, to glance in the past by visiting about 10 restored historic houses, among which the original 105 Mile House, built in 1867. The other buildings are either from the 108 or 105 Mile House sites and of lesser historical value. It is really good to see there still is that much attention for the local history, even if it is quite recent by our standards.

We also readied ourselves for a long haul tomorrow; we’ll be driving off to Prince George which is about 5 hours from where we are now. I’m looking forward to it though!