June 9, 2016 -- North to Alaska Day 3

First, a disclaimer!!  The internet in Canada is very, very slow.  I will not be posting again until we get back into the states!

After having breakfast at the restaurant at the motel, we took a side trip to historic Fort St James. Established in 1806 as the Stuart Lake Outpost, it formed an important part of the North West Company's expansion west of the Rockies. It was renamed Forth St. James in 1821 when the N W Co joined with the Hudson's Bay Co.  As a place of trade, the post was alive and active until 1952. Now it is a living museum for Parks Canada.

The first building we saw was the General Warehouse and Fur Store. This housed the trade goods for the fort and surrounding outposts. Furs were stored in this building where they were baled for their journey to Victoria.

The warehouse was used to store incoming supplies from back east and the states as well as the inventory of furs waiting to be shipped out.  It took a year for the furs to arrive in Europe. 

 Although many types of animals were trapped, the beaver was by far the focus of the trappers.  5 million beaver pelts came out of this area. Pelts were tanned and cured, then bundled into huge bundles and then wrapped in burlap.  They were then labeled and tagged and loaded on the sternwheeler in the lake. From there their journey took them across lakes, over portages and down rivers on the way to the ocean going ships.  Beaver was the standard of currency at the time. Prices in the General Store were in "Made Beaver" or cured beaver hide.

In the Men's House, which was a residence for company employees, pack train hands, boat crews and visitors we found this recliner!   Cindy took a quick rest!

Indoor plumbing, of a sort!! 

We also toured the Trade Store and the Murray House. At the Murray House, they are currently keeping some animals, including these cute little goats.  They loved Dave's leg. They had 2 big bunnies, and some chickens, which they still race daily!

 Chickens waiting to race above, and the race track below. At the end of the race is freedom, as the chickens are then left free in this space.

Then it was back to Highway 16 heading west.  The good news is that in all the construction we had, there was not any grooved pavement.  After the 15 miles worth of it yesterday, it was quite the relief.  We stopped in Smithers for grocieries before heading to the Glacier View RV Park. We didn't have to deal with rain while riding, but the clouds were with us, so we all tarped our sites, just in case!

The reason it's called Glacier View RV Park

Critter Count:  6 deer, 2 eagles

231 miles