The sunrise Thursday morning...
Steve donned a mask to go outside to do some recycling and a few chores...Very thick smoke...
So Saturday, going stir-crazy from being stuck inside for two days, we decided to take a drive to Ashcroft...a little sightseeing trip. The smoke was a little lighter as we climbed to a higher altitude near the Highland Valley Copper Mine site ...
This is the huge tailing pond that's approximately 10 kilometres long...(Click on any photo to enlarge)
After a drive along the main street, we pulled over to take a walk in Heritage Place Park. This is a display about the Highland Valley Copper operation...representing their connection to the mining industry. The large haul truck was donated by the company...
The gazebo is home to a number of events throughout the year
including musicians that entertain during the summer, the Can
Can girls during Stampede weekend and a number of weddings.
In addition there is an area that honours our Japanese Sister City, Bifuka, Japan, that features a mural painted by renowned Bifuka artist, Mr. Kazuhiko Nagaki.
Steve wandered across the road to check out this building, thinking it might be the museum...nope, a private home but it does have historical site designation...
Located downtown at the corner of 4th and Brink Streets this brick buildings boasts one of the best museums in the BC interior. Open from mid-April until the end of October, visitors can learn about the history of the area, the people who settled here and our Chinese and First Nation backgrounds. Admission is by donation.The building was built in 1917 and was used as the Federal Post Office up until 1980. The Village of Ashcroft acquired the building and after completely remodeling the interior the Ashcroft Museum was officially opened in 1982.
The main floor contains exhibits that portray the history of the Southern Cariboo from the original First Nations to the men and women who later settled here. Replicas of early stores have been created and visitors are offered a taste of what it was like to stroll down the street in the early 1900’s. A colourful combination of artifacts, text and photographs vividly illustrates life as it was in the early “glory days”.
On the second floor the history of farming and ranching in the Hat Creek Valley has been recreated by following the stories of several of the area’s pioneer families.Thought this was interesting because in 2013 our first stop on our way to Alaska was at the Historic Hat Creek Ranch and always wondered how the area got it's name. Did somebody lose their hat in the creek? Nope!
On our way back to the truck Steve took a few more pictures. The Opera House...
Another Heritage Site...
Truly one of Ashcroft's finest gems. Desert Hills Ranch is a family operation that produces a wide variety of crops and you can purchase them directly from the ranch. In the spring their greenhouses provide not only local residents with bedding plants, vegetables plants and flower baskets, but they supply large outlets as well. Then as the season progresses, take a daily trip down to the "wagon" and pick up your fruits and vegetables that were picked that morning. With more and more concern for the environment and for eating fresh foods produced locally, nothing beats Desert Hills.We weren't in the need of any fresh produce but wandered through the market and ended up getting a watermelon and some corn-on-the-cob, along with a few tomatoes (65 cent/pound...wow!) for Hugh.
The wild (feral) horses we passed on the way to Ashcroft were still there...
The mine is on the opposite side of the highway but unfortunately too smokey for any detail...
It was after 3:00 by the time we got home...a great day sightseeing! So nice getting out exploring.
Sunday morning Steve cleaned out the back of the truck and loaded the quads back in...with the back country closed to off-road vehicles, we won't be using them again unless we get a lot of rain. Plus the added weight will help smooth out the ride a little. While he was busy doing that, I gave my "new" runners a scrubbing...trying to get as much of the Tunkwa dust off of them as possible. The tops are mesh, so it wasn't easy, but they definitely look much better.
With our chores done, we basically spent the rest of the afternoon inside, out of the smoke...Steve watching TV, while I knit.
Monday wasn't all that different...we did some chores in the morning (laundry, pumped the tanks and some other odds and ends) and then hunkered down inside with the AC running. I worked on this blog update while Steve did some reading and watched TV.
And that pretty well brings us up to date again. We will work tomorrow morning covering Doug and Sue who will be making their weekly trip into Kamloops. After we have finished work, we'll pack our suitcases and head back down to the coast for our appointment at Bernhausen Diesel. After clearing it with Doug and Sue, ensuring they won't need us to work, we also managed to tack on a few more days to go over to Vancouver Island to see Rob, Angie and our grand kids...looking forward to seeing those two little cuties!
I am sure you will enjoy a change of scenery and especially seeing your grandchildren. Have fun.
ReplyDeleteYou bet...we're looking forward to it!
DeleteThe wind must be out of the west as some of that smoke you are talking about has made its way over here. Not as bad as yours but there must be a fire in our area as well.
ReplyDeleteThe winds have finally shifted today and the air has cleared in Victoria. By the time we get back to Tunkwa Lake it should be gone there too, but if the winds switch back we'll be smokerd out again. I just checked the Ontario wildfire map and it looks like there are lots of wildfires there too.
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