MY CARIBOO ROAD TRIP: Part 2

QUIET WALKS AROUND QUESNEL

After my 10 hour bus trip, I arrived in Quesnel at 6.30 pm and was pleased to find that my hotel was located just across the parking lot of the Greyhound station. I'd checked in to the Billy Barker Inn & Casino for two nights. www.billybarkercasino.com  The very name of the hotel intrigued me and fit along with my planned adventure to Barkerville. William (Billy) Barker was the prospector famous for being one of the first to find a large amount of gold at Williams Creek where the town of Barkerville was established.

The hotel is built to look like the paddle wheelers that once plied the Fraser during the gold rush of the late 1800's. It's red smoke stack is visible from almost any corner of the town so once I went out exploring there wasn't much chance of getting 'lost'.  My pleasant little room was decorated in furnishings from the turn of the century really giving me a sense of being 'back in time'.

Quesnel is a pleasant little town, a perfect place to stop over if you are en route to Barkerville. From here I'll take a shuttle service into the old gold mining town.  If you don't have a car, the shuttle service is the only transportation into Barkerville.

My first venture was to walk about and explore the location and I was delighted to find that there are many options for exploring, something that came in very useful on my last day there when I had unfortunately missed my bus home and had to kill six hours browsing the town.

The town of Quesnel got it's name from Jule Maurice Quesnel who accompanied Simon Fraser (after whom the river is named) on his explorations down the Fraser River to the Pacific Ocean. It was originally known as Quesnellemouth to distinguish it from "Quesnel Forks" farther up the river, but by 1900 it was shortened to Quesnel.  As it was situated on the gold mining trail known as the Cariboo Wagon Road, it became the commercial centre of the Cariboo Gold Rush.  It is also the end of the Alexander Mackenzie Heritage Trail and was an important landing spot for the stern wheelers that plied the river.

Quesnel has a colorful history that includes the influence of the First Nations, pioneer explorers, Chinese immigration, gold rush fever and the fur trade. It's location at the confluence of the Fraser and Quesnel rivers has aided in the community's economic and cultural development. The entire area is rich in culture and history with various historical sites nearby.  The Chentsit'hala Carrier First Nations people met with Alexander Mackenzie when he traveled along the Fraser River in 1793 and in 1808, fur trader and explorer, Simon Fraser, camped at the junction of the rivers which today is the heart of Quesnel at what is now Ceal Tingley Park.  I was able to find these heritage sites as well as a number of heritage buildings while following the map of the Quesnel's Historical Heritage Walking Tour.

Across the river in this location known as the China Cut, is where the Chinese population settled. By the mid 1800's there was a sizable population of Chinese immigrants many of them prospectors seeking their fortune during the gold rush, others settling in Quesnel to become merchants and add to the town's economic and cultural growth.

Ceal Tingley Park, where you'll find the Quesnel Visitor's Bureau, is the site of Simon Fraser's camp.

I took the walk along the heritage trail by the river. There are markers along the way pointing out interesting historical information and locations. The river trail is good for cyclists and joggers too, and I met friendly people along the way, stopping now and then to enjoy the view and the day's warm sunshine.

I noticed a lot of attractive wood carvings around the town. This one was at the start of the walk I took by the river.

Here is the old Fraser Bridge, now just used for pedestrians.  I walked across it the first evening I was there.

There are displays of old equipment located along the heritage walk.  These are at one of the entrances to the path.

While browsing the town I also discovered several heritage buildings.  One of them was this church and the other was the Hudson Bay Company store.

 

There are many things to discover in Quesnel and even though I was upset for missing my bus on that last day there, I don't regret the opportunity it gave me to explore more of the town. I even found a perfect place to rest the last hour before finally catching the bus home.

NEXT: MY CARIBOO ROAD TRIP, part three:  WHERE IN THE WORLD IS WELLS?

A DAY WALKING STEVESTON'S HISTORICAL WATERFRONT

Steveston Village, located on the southwestern shore of Richmond, was once a frontier seaport and principal port on the mighty Fraser River.  It was founded by William Herbert Steves in 1880. He imagined it would be a town that would rival Vancouver.  The town flourished up to 1910 and then there was a decline in the salmon industry. At the turn of the twentieth century the village was one of the busiest fishing ports in the world.  There were fifteen salmon canneries, six hotels, numerous saloons and gambling dens and daily windjammers anchored in the port loading canned salmon to distribute to the world markets.  On weekends, up to 10,000 people thronged Steveston's boardwalks: sailors from all over the world, Native Indians, Japanese, Chinese and European immigrants.  In 1918 a devastating fire destroyed much of the town and there was more hardship during the 1930`s depression.

Bunkhouse kitchen

At the time the Second World War broke out there were many Japanese fishermen living here and after Pearl Harbour their boats and property were seized as they were all sent away to interment and Steveston lost half its population and many businesses.   There is a small memorial park for the Japanese fishermen at Garry Point and one of the historic houses left at Steveston belonged to a Japanese family.

It's always a pleasant outing to spend the day at Steveston.  You can rent bikes to ride along the dikes, visit the fish market on the wharf, or the Farmer's Market.  Or just stroll along the boardwalk and take in all the sights while you investigate the heritage buildings, some now turned into museums.

Kite flying at Garry Point

Last weekend my friends and went to Steveston, first for a salmon barbecue at my friend Diane's home. She bought the fish fresh from the fish market on Steveston's wharf.  Then we set off for a tour, to show my friend from Germany around.  Patrick has been to Vancouver many times, but never to Steveston.

By the Steveston boat works

We started off at one end of the boardwalk where there are several heritage houses including one of the bunkhouses used for workers in the cannery.  The day was hot and so walking along by the river was refreshing.  When we got to Steveston town there are many boutiques and excellent dock-side restaurants: everything from seafood to Italian food.  One of the most popular (on the wharf) is Pajo`s Fish and Chips.  The town itself has many heritage buildings including the Steveston Museum which shows the history of the community. (pick up a brochure that will guide you through a Steveston Village Heritage Walking tour).

Fisherman`s Wharf

The Fisherman`s Wharf was bustling with activity as the fish boats were in port displaying their catch and lots of people go there to buy their fresh salmon, shell fish and even sea urchins. 

Sea Urchins

Fresh Salmon for Sale

We stopped by the Gulf of Georgia Cannery which is a National Historic site, although this day we didn`t tour through it.  Then we walked over to Garry Point where you can enjoy a broad view of the river delta,  picnic at the beach or fly kites in the park.  At the very end of the Point is a memorial to fishermen.  It represents a seine net mending needle mounted on a round base with a compass rose motif that represents a compass, one of the main instruments used for navigation.

Sculpture of Salmon Cannery Workers.

The day proved to be invigorating and somewhat tiring by the time we walked all the way back to where the car was parked.  But if you take the bus there, or drive, you can park in the village and walk from there.  I also recommend renting bikes down on the wharf and cycling the dikes.  If you cycle east you`ll reach the historic London Heritage Farm or going around Garry Point you can cycle as far as the airport.

Fishermen`s Memorial at Garry Point

Patrick and I with a view of the River from Garry Point

SPECTACULAR SANTORINI

Fira, Santorini, perched on the edge of the caldera

SANTORINI: June 13 - 16, 2009

Without a doubt, Santorini has to be the most dramatic of all the Greek islands. The story of the volcanic explosion that took place there some time between 2000 and 1600 BC is like something out of science fiction. It is said it was the most powerful volcanic eruption recorded next to Krakatoa. It blew apart the island, leaving just fragments around the rim of the still smouldering caldera in the centre of the bay. The eruption and tsunamis it created played a major role in the destruction of the Minoan empire in Crete (and that's where Theseus was fleeing from when he abandoned the Cretan princess Ariadne on Naxos). Reports in the Bible tell of the ash falling over Egypt. All that is left of that mighty empire are a few fragmented ruins, Akrotiri and ancient Thira high up on a hillside. At Akrotiri they discovered some of the brilliant wall paintings the Minoans were noted for. Its a bit like Pompeii although on a small scale but I don't believe they discovered bodies. In fact, I wonder where everyone went? Did they heed the omens and escape before their island was blown to smithereens?

View of the caldera (crater)

The main town is Fira and from the edge of the cliffside you get magnificent views of the caldera and the surrounding islands that were once part of the whole island of Thira. It is also the place where you go in the evening to watch the fantastic sunsets. There are lots of tavernas and wine bars along the edge of the caldera where you can enjoy an evening meal or a drink while you see the splendid sunset show accompanied by suitable music. A very dramatic experience indeed!

Red Beach

We set off on another 'tour' which didn't turn out so well. The so-called guide who drove the mini van didn't speak English and wouldn't listen to our instructions. We were supposed to be able to choose where we wanted to go. He insisted on ignoring us and led us on a merry chase that would have cost us a bundle ($50 an hour for this rip-off 'tour) but we made such a fuss in the end we only had to pay $50 for 1 hour. That was the trip to the Boutari winery where we had a very good wine tasting experience with an excellent wine steward. Other than that, we wanted to visit Akrotiri and found it was closed. (Learned later that everyone in Greece knew it was closed and had been for some time, due to a tragic accident at the site). So the 'guide' then insisted on driving us to Ancient Thira where we had been already told the road was closed. In spite of our protests he drove up the winding narrow road where the wind was blowing so hard it threatened to blow the van off the road. We protested loudly and insisted this lunatic take us back to our hotel but he kept on driving around the island and finally we got back to the hotel.

The next day we set off by bus (we should have done this all along. Very cheap!) and headed for Akrotiri again. That's when we found out about the closure. So we hiked along the beach and the very rocky edge of a cliff and climbed down a pathway with red stones so sharp you could cut yourself if you fell, to one of the famous volcanic beaches of Santorini, Red Beach. The beach really is red, because all the stones and sand are from the volcano's eruption.

One thing my sister and niece enjoyed on Santorini was the shopping. It's a pricey and very touristic island and there's a lot of trendy shops as well as the usual souveniers. So I spent a lot of time hanging around waiting for them to make their purchases.

Every night we went to the cliff side coffee bars and found a good place to sit to watch the sunset. This is the main feature of the island and everyone flocks to the edge to watch.
Every night it's a bit more spectacular than the last. And somehow you never get tired of snapping photos of it.

Santorini Sunset

Finally our island hopping holiday was over. It was time to return to Athens as Jean and Debra had to catch a flight the next day back home. I still had six days left to visit with my friends and see a few more sights.

RETURN TO OLD SARUM

FORTIFICATION DITCH, OLD SARUM

May 28, after leaving Bath by train we arrived at Salisbury. Our intention (even before visiting Bath) was to head for the Iron Age hillfort at Old Sarum. We didn't regret our unexpected side-trip to Bath, however, and lingered there quite awhile before taking the train to our next destination. We got the hop-on-hop-off bus from the Salisbury station and set off for Old Sarum.

FORTRESS RUIN

This part of the trip, for me, was a renewal of some research for my W.I.P. novel "Dragons in the Sky: A Celtic Tale". As soon as I complete work on "Shadow of the Lion" I want to return to this beautiful first-person narrative that I'd set aside years ago in order to work on Alexander's story.

DRAGONS has a magic quality to it -- right from the beginning when I was searching for a setting for this story that was told to me by a Celtic girl, Olwen, in a voice that was almost as if I was channeling her. (Or maybe she was me in another lifetime.) I had gone to visit a friend in Bournemouth and then on to Stonehenge and later, while waiting in the bus station at Salisbury I'd noticed a sign that said "Old Sarum Iron Age Hillfort, 4 kms". I decided to walk there.

As I approached the earth mound where this ancient fort has once stood I had one of those dejas-vu moments where I actually could 'see' it all unfold as if I had actually been there before.
This, I knew, was the setting of my story about Olwen, the Druid's child.

I've made a couple of trips back to Old Sarum and made lots of notes, impressions, etc. But it's been some years now and I needed to refresh my mind and see if I could pick up any new 'vibes' at the site.

The times before I'd been alone, and this time I was with my sister and niece and as well there were other people on the hill. It was difficult for me to 'feel' anything, but I did take some video footage so I'd be able to refer to it later. I also discovered a part of the earth mound that I hadn't known was there on my first two visits. On top of the hill are the remains of the old fort.
This one would be at a much later date than Olwen's story, for DRAGONS is set in the 4th century B.C.

Old Sarum was developed in about 500 BC by Iron Age settlers and later occupied by Romans, Saxons and Normans. They built a castle and a royal palace and by the mid-12th century it was a busy town with a fine new cathedral Later a new settlement was made by the river, now known as Salisbury and Old Sarum was abandoned and fell into ruin.

After looking around and taking photos, we went back down to the road with the intention of hopping on the next bus to Stonehenge. Unfortunately we hopped on the wrong bus and then had to hop off and go back. No time for Stonehenge as we needed to get back to London to fetch our luggage and head for Cardiff.

VIEW OF SALISBURY FROM OLD SARUM MOUND

CRUISING DOWN THE RIVER: Part #1

CRUISING DOWN THE THAMES

May 27, 2009

"Cruisin' down the river...on a Wednesday afternoon..." We decided it would be fun to see London from the River Thames, so we caught a boat that was going all the way down as far as Hampton Court Palace. They are celebrating the 500th year of Henry VIII's ascension to the throne so there are a lot of reenactments happening around London, mainly at Hampton Court, Henry Tudor's old palace where a lot of things happened, including his wedding to his sixth wife, Kateryn Parr.

It was a nice relaxing cruise, a chance to rest our feet from all the previous two-day's walking tours. We sat back and enjoyed the slow journey and all the scenery as it slipped by. Little did we realize when we set out just how long the journey would take, what with waiting to pass through the locks and all. I suppose in Henry's day it must have taken a couple of days to get into London, docking at the Tower.

GOING THROUGH THE LOCKS

About four hours after leaving London's docks we pulled into the dock at Hampton Court.
It was by then late in the afternoon and unfortunately, we'd miss the wedding reenactment and some of the other events. We didn't even get to 'see' old Henry wandering around the palace halls. The wedding celebrations included a lot of events including helping Kateryn choose her wedding dress and joining Henry to celebrate his last hours as a single man. (Now that would have been quite the party!)

We did have time to almost get lost in the famous maze, part of the gardens, and a tour around the palace itself.

There are actually two parts to the palace: The Tudor part of Henry VIII and the newer, beautiful baroque palace of William III and Mary II. In Part II of this River Cruise (Henry's Haunts) I'll describe what we saw with some photos of the awesome interiors both Tudor and baroque.

It was quite a day! After our palace tour we had dinner in a very nice little pub in Hampton Court village, then took the train back to London.

HAMPTON COURT PALACE

WAITING TO SEE HENRY