Stephen at the Stanley graveyard

(SISKA FLATS) It’s pitch black, which is saying something because this is one of the longest days of the year. It feels like one of the longest days in my life — in a good way. One thing you have to know about travelling with Stephen is that he rises early, hits the road in a hurry and doesn’t seem to have an off switch. That’s why we’re here, parked in the dark by Siska Flats, searching for our one remaining stamp to mark his passport. We’ve given the others (all butterfly stamps, of course) away along the route. It all started in Quesnel, where we dropped off the documents at the wonderful Visitor Centre-Museum complex and, of course, got Stephen’s passport stamped. After that, it became a bit of a blur — we stopped at Cottonwood House Historic site and were given a grand tour of this incredibly well-preserved road house and grounds. We made it to Wells and Barkerville and then we used our GPS to find Stanley, where we found ourselves standing at the head of a 21-kilometre section of virtually intact Cariboo Waggon Road.

After that, we used the GPS to find a few more of the sites where there aren’t many visible remains, like Wingdam and Beaver Pass House for instance. Then we bombed down the highway and Stephen decided that 70 Mile needed a stamp site, so we went into the 70 Mile Motel and Corral Restaurant where Joan Zelmer graciously agreed to take on the job. And we just kept going, what with Stephen bent on getting his passport stamped at every opportunity, and so down through Ashcroft, Spences Bridge and Lytton until we hit Siska Flats, where the histroic (but little-known) meeting between Chief Spintlum and Captain Snyder took place in 1858, ending the short but bloody Canyon War. By that time it was getting late and Stephen agreed we should overnight in Hope — but only if we went back up to Hell’s Gate in the morning. “I have to have a Hell’s Gate stamp in my passport,” he insisted. I was so tired that I refrained from making by usual remark that, beyond Hope is Hell’s Gate. There’s be plenty of time in the morning…