Before traveling to our overnight stop, we head back to Barkerville. 1861 marked the discovery of gold in the area with Billy Barker striking gold in 1862. Prospectors flood into the area and the city is built only to totally burn down in 186, taking less than 1 1/2 hours. One week later 20 buildings were rebuilt.

The historical Barkerville we see today has 125 buildings, exhibits, shops, etc. We arrive just in time to take the 75-minute guided tour. It was very enjoyable and the stories we were told helped to bring the city alive.

At the end of the very long block, we see the start of Chinatown, a very big part of Barkerville as more than half of the Cariboo region’s population was Chinese by the mid-1880s. Gold is still being mined in the area today. Conditions were tough in the day without a wagon road until 1865. Many left the area before the winter season began because they received more than 30 feet of snow.

On the weekend we arrived it was Indigenous Peoples Celebration and we see lots of drumming, singing, and dancing. The regalia is very elaborate and colorful when we compare it to the Alaskan native regalia we saw just weeks ago. Lots of talks about reconciliation and the terrible times of our BC history.