Ashcroft BC

We got an email from the RV Park we had reservations at in Cache Creek that they were flooded and were closed for repair. We ended up in nearby Ashcroft at a city owned park with about a dozen campsites with electric and water. Being literally feet from the Thompson River it was wonderful, except for also being feet from not one, but two relentless rail lines, always blasting their arrival as small-town railroad crossings have limited safety automation.

In the late 1800’s, the Canada Pacific Railroad connected small Ashcroft to the rest of Canada. Being the closest point that rail got to the Cariboo gold strikes, Ashcroft boomed as a supply town to the miners. Anything that they needed could be easily brought in by rail to Ashcroft, and at a reasonable price. After the gold panned out, the local Chinese population left over from the railroad construction crews began to grow potatoes and tomatoes – irrigating the sandy volcanic soil resulted in fertile agricultural land. At the turn of the century, the CPR served Ashcroft grown potatoes in all their restaurant cars exclusively because they were so good!

In 1975 the graduating class at the local secondary school wanted to place a graduation marker on the bluffs of the Thompson overlooking town. The town embraced this, not only as a way to recognized their local citizens, but also to keep graduating seniors busy, and reduce the amount of otherwise resulting graffiti. Apparently, it worked, and the tradition is still going today.

We headed out to Lillooet to get back to the gold trail on the Fraser River. We had been making our way up the Fraser River from Hope a while ago but decided to leave Lillooet for when we made our way back west a bit. The rough and tumble Fraser was every bit as powerful as we remembered.  In Lillooet we discovered the Mile 0 marker for the original Cariboo Gold Trail.

We visited what is now referred to as the Miyazaki House. Built by locals Caspar and Cerise Phair, it is one of the oldest structures still standing in Lillooet. It’s most famous owner was Dr. Masajiro Miyazaki, who after being interned nearby during the War, bought the home in 1945 when Canada lifted the ban on Japanese ownership of property. 

We also visited the old Bridge of the 23 Camels. During the Civil War, the US Army experimented with the use of camels as pack animals. While hardy, their personalities and habits made them unwelcome to soldiers, and the Army abandoned the experiment. Miners in Lillooet bought 25 of the US Army camels and transported them to work on the gold trail – 2 died along the way and 23 eventually were packing mining gear all over this part of BC. Eventually even the miners couldn’t stand the biting and spitting, and the government outlawed their use as pack animals.

We spotted this majestic Osprey overlooking its territoryy along the Thompson River.

Were finding that as we head north we are encountering more bugs, and the mosquitoes keep getting bigger, hungrier and more aggressive. But even the mosquitoes who are most annoying don’t hold a candle to these guys!

Talk to you soon!