- Visit the fascinating gold rush town of Barkerville
- Got my first Chinese lesson in Chinatown
- Continue to the south
- Bathing and staying overnight at Helena Lake
I have breakfast right on the lake with the same beautiful view as the evening before. Then it's almost 30 kilometers back to Barkerville. For 16$ I buy an inexpensive entry ticket to the original gold rush town. There are over 125 historical buildings to discover. A real town and not just isolated houses, as is usually the case. The main street with a small chapel, hotel, restaurant, school, saloon, general store, dentist, doctor, hairdresser, bakery, blacksmith, jeweler, post office, library, pharmacy and much more is undoubtedly a gem. Some of the buildings are open to the public as museums, others are still in operation as shops and the remaining structures complete the overall picture. Immediately you feel transported back to the times of the Wild West. But the city really does bring the authentically dressed employees to life. There is also a program with a wide variety of demonstrations. For example, visitors can panning for gold themselves, visit the theater, attend a court hearing, travel through the town by stagecoach or watch a mining demonstration.
Finally, at the end of the main street, the visitor arrives at the historic Chinatown. More than half of the inhabitants of Barkerville were Chinese, who offered their services in the new world or simply dug for gold themselves. As I march by next to the school, the teacher is calling out to attend her lesson. I'm going to join in on the spur of the moment. Because the end of the season is slowly approaching here too, there are only eight of us who are introduced to the world of Confucius. The lesson begins with greeting, introducing, thanking and saying goodbye. Then we will learn seven characters and paint them on rice paper with a brush. Finally, we will be initiated into the secret of the abacus. An entertaining and educational thing too. I march a little further through the town, which has been protected by British Columbia as a Historic Western Town since 1958. Barkerville is definitely worth a visit!
After this excursion into the time of the gold rush, I find out more about the condition of the forest road to Likely. Unfortunately, the gravel road is hardly maintained and leads through an extremely remote area. Considering that I have to be in Vancouver in three days, I prefer the normal road to this adventure.
So I drive back to Quesnel and from there on to Williams Lake. On the way I stop to eat, read and enjoy the summer weather. Soon after, I reach 150 Mile House, where I took over my car in May. I drive to Alexandra's home to unload some unnecessary items. I will probably bring the car back here at the beginning of November. When I'm about to go again, Alexandra appears after all. We talk for a moment about my experiences and what happened in the meantime. Then I drive on until shortly after 6 p.m. I find a sign to a campground. The dirt road leads me quite far into the forest until I arrive at the wonderful Helena Lake. The place is so beautiful that I immediately decide to swim in the lake. After a plate of salad, I enjoy an incredibly beautiful sunset.
