Index
By Area/Theme
INTRODUCTION
This
site is my personal tribute to a very special part of British Columbia
in which I was fortunate to have spent my early childhood, and (now and
then) a few years of my adult life, and would be spending my
last/latter years there if I could - but circumsance dictated
oherwise. Still obscure nearly 150
years
after it played an important part in the founding of the Crown Colony
of British Columbia and the governane of the early provine, and despite
its stunning and complex scenery, it
has somehow escaped the intensity of settlement and development which
have so drastically changed other better-known parts of the
province.
Although most of its frontier-era buildings are long gone, and the
goldfield towns are largely quiet it retains much of the atmosphere of
the Wild West and, as almost everyone who visits the region comes to
realize, "has something unique" that mere words cannot explain.
Tourism aas finally come to Llllooet as it also had been earlier
prominent about, and a new gold rush on the Fraser's bars and another
in the re-opening of the Bralorne gold mine are now underway. The
popularity of the Anderson High-Line and BC Hydro's statmement that it
will keep the Hurley Main (Railroad Pass) open year-round, as
necessitated by its current re-fit of Lajoie Dam near Gold Bridge,
should all bring massive change in coming years.
Just
under five hours from Vancouver, and a little over two hours from the
Olympic site at Whistler, its torrid summer climate, sunny skies, rich
history and spectacular gorges, lakes and mountain ranges seem likely
to propel into the the forefront of provincial tourism, if not of urban
development as it exists in the Okanagan, Kootenay or the Strait of
Georgia regions. All this has been forecast before, however, and
yet
fortune never did catch up with the oft-cited boundless potential and
stunning beauty of the place and its resources and
agriculturally-favourable climate.
The ruggedness and variety of
the
scenery throughout the region have on important quality, however - they
create a sense of remoteness, of apartness, of a unique place very
separate and distinct from the regions around it, that no matter how
developed or connected to the outside world it may (or may not) one day
become, it will always remain what it is, and some vestige of its
storied past will always be found in the character of the people who
live in it.
The
site is
essentially a compilation of many, many photographs and related
commentaries. Some photos are from the author's family collection
or the author's own occasional photographic studies of the area, but
many kindly relayed from the BC Archives online
photographic database, or donated by readers of the site and residents
of the region. The site will be in consant revision
incorporating maps and newer photos and media and narratives on specific topics
and locations which were lacking before.
The author is
now prepared to invite potential sponsorship of individual pages,
either for commercial advertising by local businesses (or even
corporate sponsors) or by individuals interested in furthering and
supporting the site. Please contact me if you have any questions
or
wish to make application for sponsorship or advertising space.
The
site will remain non-profit, part of the reason for which is the use of
the BC Archives photos, but costs for any well-visited website that has
a lot of content invariably start to rise at some point (and, frankly,
the author spends a lot of time working on it in lieu of paid work and
would appreciate help
with the rent and groceries....), so I have started a donation acount witih Patreon (or???)
Index
of pages/sections by Area/Theme - in no particular order
Many people
have written me offering their own pics from the country, so as
time permits these will be added and the site expanded and rearranged
somewhat, so bookmark this page only as the structure of the site may
change over time. A guestbook is being added (linked below once I find a suitable app to enable it); please
feel free to leave your comments for others to read, or send them to
me directly via email.
For information or contributions, please contact me.
BC Archives # F-04091
Panoramic View of Lillooet from the south side of Cayoosh Creek,
looking north
Photo Walter Wesley Baer, 1920
