Finishing Off in Barkerville

About two hours from Prince George was the historic town of Barkerville, where people can learn about the beginnings of British Columbia--which include the gold rush. 

Since Janae had just studied this piece of history at school, she was very excited about the experience.

Barkerville was definitely authentic--it had buildings that were almost as old as Canada, including this church which will celebrate its 150th birthday next year.

There were people dressed up in period costumes who told stories and stayed in character throughout our visit.

We got to travel by horse and buggy,

attend school lessons on etiquette and hygiene,

and learn how to play Chinese chess (Ben liked it so much he bought a set of his own to take home).

We also ate at a restaurant that actually existed during the gold rush,

dressed up as cowboys (and girls),

and saw amazing wildlife--including a mama bear and two cubs, only a few feet away from us. We also saw a mother and baby moose running along the side of the road, several deer and elk, a rabbit, and ground squirrels everywhere.

We stayed at a restored gold rush hotel (with no TV or cell phone service!),

and shopped at a store with a 100-year-old cash register.

(Janae and Alaina each bought a "school pen" with a little bottle of ink, in case you're wondering!)

On the second day we walked the half hour up to the court house to experience a murder trial that actually took place during the period,

and also half an hour in the other direction to see the cemetery (average age at time of death: 35).

We definitely got our 15000 steps in that day, which is good, because the next morning we were back in the car for the 9-hour ride back home.

                                       

I think we all learned a lot and enjoyed stepping back to visit an earlier time.