Virtual Tour #1, Gold Bridge, BC

I am back. Being sick is pretty depressing, but being sick ALONE is even worse! I have been cooped up for the last couple of days with a fever while the snow was snowing and then the sun was shining. Very happy to be feeling better today. It went from bare ground to a foot of snow in less than 24-hours this Wednesday, and then the sun came out and lit up the ground. Hopefully this snow-and-sun combo happens often around here :)

I've finally taken some pictures of the town to share with you all, so you can get an idea of the kind of space my life occupies these days.

Here's a view of the General Store in the daytime. The dramatic peak is Mt. Sloan. It is the backdrop to most of the views in town, as you may notice, although this evening it was shrouded in some cloud.

This is around the block at about 5 pm.

The Gold Dust Motel, the parking lot of which doubles as one of my routes to the school. It is run by a wonderful woman named Darlene; she and I spend lots of time chatting and I get throw lots of balls around for her dog Timber during my back-and-forths. One thing about this town is that almost everyone here has a dog (or two). We all also have lots of time to stop and chat with each other.

After the motel we reach the school! There is actually two separate rooms. My class is in the front room, with an attached library, and the parent-run preschool is in the other room twice a week. Behind the building is a playground, and down the hill to the left is a grass field.

View of Sloan and Green Mountain to its left from the parking lot of the school. Lovely to watch in the morning over the first cup of green tea.

View down the street from the school, just above the motel parking lot. My other route to the building.

View of school on the left and the tourist info centre on the right as I walk towards home.

Walking down the hill from the school one finds the Post Office/Library building. Post Office is run by Mary, and is open weekdays except Wednesday. The Library is run by Jean and is open Mon., Thurs. and Sat. for a couple of hours each day. Pretty impressive for a town of this size! In the area, if one includes Gun Lake, Tyaughton Lake, Bralorne and the surrounds, there are about 200 people living spread out over the Bridge River Valley area.

The Hotel (and did you notice... there is a hotel AND a motel!), and the General Store again on the right.

Just up from the General Store we have the old bakery building. The sign says: The Model Bakery. Operated 1937-1964 by Kay Bean and her late husband, Bill. First batch bread: 50 loaves, 5 cents each, or 6 for 25 cents. Baked all types of bread, buns, donuts, and cakes. Highest output of bread 6,000 loaves per week in 1950s.

Doreen Bean still lives here for most of the year. She was born here and her parents used to run the bakery. She had me over for a lovely dinner with some local ladies one night, and all the old bakery equipment, the mixers and ovens and such, are still in the building!!! She said that the mixer used to be able to take 50 pounds of flour at a time! She also has a ton of cats which I tried to befriend over the summer as they were frequent visitors to the pond in my backyard. The attempts were unsuccessful, but while the kittens and cats were cuddling by her stove I was able to pet some. I counted 15 of them while I was there.

This cabin next to the store was built by the guy who infamously cut down the Golden Spruce on Haida Gwaii. His name was Grant Hadwin, and his story is told in The Golden Spruce by John Vaillent. I need to read this book someday soon :)

This is looking down my street towards the old bakery on the right and the Hadwin cabin on the left.

Looking down the same street in the direction towards the school.

More photos to come, much more to say. It is a beautiful life. Spent lots of time trying to get the snow off the tarp covering my wood pile today, and also went on a walk down by the river. Note for future: covered wood piles are a must when living somewhere that uses wood for heat!

There is more to be seen in town, like a graveyard and some more buildings and houses. There will be time for another tour soon. For those of you wondering where I am, I have included a map link just below this post. Click on the hypertext (blue text) that says "Squamish-Lillooet" and a map will pop up that you can use to zoom in and check the area out. Enjoy!