Last week we were on the road to Smithers, British Columbia to work with the Smithers Exploration Group and their terrific rock collections and attend the legendary Rock Talks, but we could not resist stopping by some of the incredible geology on the way!
Route
Our first day we had some great sing-alongs to some amazing tunes and we made it all the way from our office in Vancouver, BC up to Williams Lake, BC. On our first day we were lucky enough to stop off at Britannia Mine Museum and the historically-rich town of Lillooet.
At our first stop, we got out to stretch our legs for a quick visit of the Britannia Mine Museum! Britannia Mine Museum allows you to dive deep into a real mining tunnel by riding their underground train. At the museum you can also pan for gold, check out all the old mining equipment and historical buildings, and learn about all the different minerals. Britannia Mine was once the largest copper mine in the British Empire and was in operation from 1904 to 1974.
You can check out more about Britannia Mine Museum and plan your own visit there here.
At our next stop, we couldn’t help getting up close and personal to look at one of the huge Jade monuments that you can find along the Jade Walk in Lillooet. Along the walk you can get close and check out how amazing each of these monuments are! One is even 3 metres tall! Lillooet is now known as the Jade Capital of British Columbia and has a rich geological history including holding the title of operating the first jade mine in BC. Every corner you turn in Lillooet, you can find even more fascinating mining history. Visit Mile “0” on the Cariboo Pavillion Road which was the first wagon road to be made for the Cariboo gold fields or check out the old suspension bridge that was build in 1913 to allow travelers and workers to cross the river. Check out all the amazing sites that you can visit in Lillooet by clicking here.
We wish we could have stayed longer to check out all the history in this town, but we had more amazing stops to check out as we continued to make our way to Smithers, BC.