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WHERE IN THE WORLD IS WELLS?

I have heard of the town called "Wells" for many years and always wondered where it was and who lived there.  On my road trip to Barkerville, after the shuttle driver picked me up at Quesnel that Saturday morning, he said we would be making a brief stop at Wells to pick up other passengers. I would finally have an opportunity to see just where in the world Wells was and what this tiny town nestled 1200 meters up in the mountains had that might attract people to live there.



Back in the 1930's Wells was a company townsite for the Cariboo Gold Quartz Mine.  Its close proximity to the gold rush town of Barkerville made it a stop-over place for travelers to the area. The town is unique with its wooden-framed heritage buildings that are painted bright colors. It has become a favorite residence for writers and artists and is the home of the Island Mountain Arts School and Public Gallery. 


The narrow main street that looks like a set from a western movie is lined with coffee shops and art galleries.  The town has a theatre group that provides most of the actors for the interactive shows at Barkerville during the summer months, and there are various music events.  That weekend there was a Cowboy Jamboree dance in Wells, in conjunction with the Cowboy Jamboree weekend at Barkerville.



We only stopped long enough for me to take a few photographs but it piqued my interest enough that I wouldn't mind exploring it at another time.  There are hotels, motels, B&Bs and campground for travelers so it's a perfect stopping-off place for anyone going to Barkerville or other places in that area. 


The Williams Creek Nature Trail is near the town.  Wells has many well maintained hiking and biking trails and in winter opportunities for snowmobiling, cross-country skiing and dog sledding.  There are guided tours offered in the community and also equipment rentals.

I would have liked to explore more of this quaint little town but it was time to board the shuttle again and head farther up into the mountains to my destination: Barkerville, the town established and made famous during the Cariboo Gold Rush.


NEXT: MY CARIBOO ROAD TRIP: PART FOUR:  The Rollicking Town of Barkerville

My friend Rick had won tickets for the Grouse Mountain Sky Lift so he invited me to accompany him on a day-trip. It was only the second time for me to go up the Lift and for Rick it's been many years since his last visit.  You can ride the lift for $39.95, expensive, but there's lots to see and do when you reach the top.  The gondola swings 300 meters above the treetops and travels up the mountain in only 12 minutes.  The views are fantastic, but just wait til you actually get to the top!

The first thing we did was relax with a coffee at the mountain-top cafe and enjoy the view of Vancouver far below.  It was a clear enough day you could see all the way to Vancouver Island and past Point Roberts in the States.
Our first stop was at the Logger's Show.  They perform at intervals during the day and it's well-worth taking in the brave and often goofy antics of the loggers,  illustrating what old-time lumber-jacks did in the woods.
This unexpected character almost gave us a heart-attack with his antics high atop the pole.  Along with all the other performances by the two lumber-jacks who perform their various stunts such as axe-throwing, sawing contests and climbing,  it was an excellent show!

There's lots of things to do on the mountain including zip-lines, para sailing and the various shows including ecological lectures etc.  Of course, in winter time this mountain is a popular skiing resort for locals.  And hikers love climbing the famous Grouse Grind Trail.


We were just in time to take in the Birds in Motion show next.  These are birds of prey who perform and fly about while the trainer gives you the story about each bird.  The first was a Harris Falcon from the desert of South America. He was the only bird not found locally.  The next was a red-tailed hawk, then a great horned owl (I loved this guy!), a turkey vulture and a bald eagle. 

I've always wanted to go dog-sledding.  Since the days when my family lived in Edmonton, northern Alberta, and the annual Muk-luk Mardis Gras took place, I became keenly interesting in the dog teams that were brought down from the north country to participate in the dog-sled races. We had a dog of our own at the time,  a part Samoyed/Lab named Chinook who loved pulling the kids around on a home-made sled.  My husband made a proper racing sled for Chinook, we bought a harness, and my son, Steven, (at the time age about 10) entered her in the races.  Chinook would have won, too, except that the kid on the sled behind her stepped on the back of my son's sled, thereby slowing it down so he could get ahead and win.

I'm a dog-lover anyway, and fascinated by these sturdy dogs that work pulling the sleds, racing in the annual northern races and are used as 'working dogs' by the Inuits and northern people.  So when I discovered they had dog-sled rides at the Sun Peaks Resort where I was planning to visit, I was quite excited at the prospects.  It was expensive though - a lot out of my budget - but I lucked out.  Thanks to the Sun Peaks Tourism and the editor of Planet Eye, the on-line travel magazine that I write for, I was able to get an assignment for my 4 day stay on the mountain.  And the Sun Peaks Tourism gal, Melanie, was generous enough to include the dog-sled ride.