A short drive up the Fraser River Canyon took us to a historic gem … the small town of Yale (pop. 250). Little remains of Yale’s boom days when gold made it the largest town west of Chicago and north of San Francisco. During the gold rush days of 1858, Yale was the terminus of one of the largest sternwheeler operations on the West Coast. At the small Yale museum much of the town’s history is chronicled through some remarkable photographs … one of our favorite photos is of the bridges on the Cariboo Wagon Trail … it certainly looked like a dangerous and uncomfortable trip.

Next to the museum there is a memorial to the large number of Chinese who immigrated here to build the railroad and the St. John the Divine Anglican Church, the oldest church in British Columbia. A block from the museum is a commemorative memorial marking the starting point of the Cariboo Wagon Trail. Down the road we explored the pioneer cemetery … with some of the oldest headstones dating back to 1862.

Manning Provincial Park, one of the largest parks in British Columbia, is just east of Hope on Hwy 3 also known as the Crowsnest Hwy. As we passed the West Gate we were confused by the large carved animal on the welcoming sign … was it a Saint Bernard or a beaver? We learned later that it was a marmot.

We stopped and took a short self guided hike through the Sumallo Grove, a marvelous old-growth forest of towering 500 year old Douglas firs, red cedars and hemlocks. The area receives 36 inches of rain annually so it’s bulging with moss and huge ferns. At the entrance a sign warns visitors to report any suspicious activity because, in the winter of 1996-97, thieves cut down and made off with several 400-year-old cedar trees worth more than $10,000 each.

(Page 2 of 2)

Copyright © 2006 TrailerGypsies.com. All Rights Reserved.