West Country - Quesnel Visitors Guide

Welcome to
Q u esn el ’ s W es t C ou n try
Tzenzaicut, Puntchesacut, Batnuni, Nazko,
Baezeko… names as mysterious as the dark
depths of the famed Blackwater River. “Dahooja”… Welcome to our West Country! Ancestral homeland of the Carrier people, a vast
expanse of wilderness that stretches west
from the mighty Fraser, across the wilds of the
Fraser Plateau to the famed Home Ranch and
over the Itcha and Ulgatchus Mountains to the
glistening waters of the Pacific.
Nazko-Blackwater Loop
This circle tour passes good fishing lakes, and
journeys through the heart of Carrier native
culture; Alexander MacKenzie was led through
this area by native guides over 200 years ago.
This route follows beautiful Nazko and Blackwater Rivers. Round trip is about 240 km,
5–6 hours, 25% paved. Good places to lunch:
Nazko Valley Lodge and Sylvia’s Cafe. Fishpot
Lake Resort offers full services.
The Telegraph Trail
This area was the southern end of an early
gamble in global communications. In the late
1800’s, construction began on a telegraph line
that would link North America and Europe by
crossing the Bering Strait. The timely laying
of a cable across the Atlantic put an end to
the project. Part of the original route is being
maintained as a trail.
Pinnacles
Provincial Park
This park is best known for its very intriguing
twelve million year old geological rock formations, locally known as “hoodoos”. This location also affords excellent views of the scenic
Baker Creek Canyon and the City of Quesnel
as a backdrop. Access to Pinnacles Park is
close and easy. Simply travel west, over the
Moffat Bridge which crosses the Fraser River,
turn right at first light onto Baker Drive and
look for park entrance sign at top of the hill,
about 6 km from City centre.
The Grease Trail
Over thousands of years, the Carrier people of
the BC interior traded with coastal people for
“oolichan” fish, which provided cooking and
lamp oil. Hence, this route, which crossed the
Nazko, Blackwater and Kluskus areas to the
Pacific Ocean, became known as the “Grease
Trail”.
39
O u r FIRST NATIONS
H e r i ta ge
-
Overlooking Xat’sull’s traditional, award
winning Heritage Village on a sunny plateau above the Fraser River. Friendly,
knowledgeable guides will escort you on
a memorable journey through the history of the Northern Secwepemc people.
www.xatsullheritagevillage.com
40
Community & Visitor Services
Quesnel
and
the
surrounding North Cariboo area offer many
quality services for visitors and residents
alike. Quesnel is widely known and envied for
its enthusiastic level of community spirit. We
are home to one of the largest volunteer fire
departments in the country. Many of Quesnel’s community facilities, such as our civic
arena, ball fields, parks and Seniors’ Community Centre were built in part by volunteer
labour, with materials donated by business
and industry. Quesnel parks and buildings
bear names of industrial donors such as West
Fraser Timber, Tolko, Canfor, Weldwood,
and Cariboo Pulp. This healthy spirit of caring for community has, over time, resulted
in more than 200 local community groups,
offering everything from highway rescue to
shelter for lost pets. Medical and health care
services are very well guarded and maintained, our growing college and university
campus is well worth the visit and our police
force is always there to help. Whether its real
estate or recycling, vitamins or a vet, or repairs or service for your vintage Winnebago,
we have it all here in Gold Pan City.
41
Community & Visitor Services
Local Government
Quesnel offers many quality services to residents and visitors alike. These three pages
give information about the main services our
community has to offer.
City of Quesnel
Mayor and 6 councillors meet most Mondays
at 7 p.m. · 250-992-2111 · 410 Kinchant Street
www.quesnel.ca
Cariboo Regional District
102- 410 Kinchant Street · 1-800-665-1636
250-992-7400 · www.cariboord.ca
District of Wells
877-451-9355 · www.wells.ca
Medical
Hospital (GR Baker, phone 250-985-5600)
31 beds; Respite/Convalescent - 4 beds; Palliative Care - 3 beds; Complex Care - 110 beds;
6 medical and 7 dental clinics; 1 community
health clinic; 1 mental health centre.
School District
250-992-8802
10 elementary schools - 1807 students;
3 secondary schools - 1278 students.
Post Secondary
College of New Caledonia
Quesnel Campus, off Northstar Road
at 100 Campus Way
250-991-7500
University of Northern BC
Quesnel Campus off Northstar Road
at 100 Campus Way
250-991-7540
Lawn Bowling at West Fraser Timber Park
Banking
The Bank of Montreal, Royal Bank, TD Canada
Trust, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce,
Scotia Bank, and the Quesnel’s Integris Credit
Union are all located within the area of the 200
& 300 blocks of Reid St. in downtown Quesnel. All offer cash machines and Interac services, which are widely available.
Enjoy our famed Riverfront Trail
42
Community & Visitor Services
Radio Stations
(non-cable broadcast only)
CKCQ
FM 100.3 Cariboo Country Radio
CFFM
FM 94.9 The GOAT
CBC
Radio One 90.9 FM
Radio Two 106.9 FM
Royal Canadian Legion
262 Kinchant 250 992 6819
Members and guests welcome
Knights of Columbus
Dan Canuel 250 992 6392
Publications
Quesnel Cariboo Observer
(Fri/Wed) 250-992-2121
www.quesnelobserver.com
Quesnel Bargain Hunter
(Wed) 250-992-3525
www.quesnelbargainhunter.ca
CJ Directory
250-747-2391
www.cjdirectory.ca
Service Clubs
Quesnel Rotary Club
Thursday noon - Royal Canadian Legion
Call Kathy 250 255 8889
www.quesnelrotary.com
Lions Club
(6 p.m.) 1st & (7 p.m.) 3rd Thursday.
Billy Barker Casino Hotel.
Mitch Vik 250 983 6784
Quesnel Toastmasters’
Wednesdays 7 p.m.—College of
New Caledonia Ruby Derksen 250 747 1180
BPO Elks
1st & 3rd Monday, 7 p.m.
Elks Lodge 202 Anderson
Larry Foreman 250 747 2734
Rodeo excitement at the Quesnel Rodeo
Rocky Mountaineer and Quesnel’s famous gold pan
43
A utomotive & RV
Thanks To Our Advertisers
The Quesnel Visitors’ Guide and Barkerville/
Wells Visitors’ Guide are proudly produced
and published by Ron Paull Communications
in Quesnel, BC. Thank you to our advertisers
for supporting this local business and allowing us to re-invest back into the community.
Ron Paull Communications is a past and/or
continuing donor to these Quesnel and area
groups over the past 21 years in business:
AUTO SERVICE
Complete Undercar Service
• Brakes • Shocks
Customer
• Alignments
Service
•
Lube
&
Oil
S
R
YEQAUESNEL • Complete Front
Award
IN
Winner
End Repairs
• Truck Accessories
50
1426 HWY. 97 North, QUESNEL • 250 992 2205
Quesnel Billy Barker Days, Quesnel SkyFest,
ArtsWells, Quesnel Art Gallery, New Arena,
Quesnel Rodeo, Rotary Projects, Quesnel Palliative Care/Hospice, New Pathways to Gold,
Northern BC and BC Winter Games in Quesnel, Quesnel Museum, Friends of Barkerville,
Antique Machinery Park, Quesnel Community
Foundation – Holger Bauer Trust, Cariboo Gold
Rush Trail Dog Sled Mail Run, Royal Canadian
Legion, Community Theatre Fund and others.
Please support our advertisers as they have
supported us.
The Quesnel and Barkerville-Wells Visitors’
Guides are published in Quesnel, BC by
1386 MOFFAT AVENUE, QUESNEL, BC, V2J 3A7
Ph (250) 992-8994
email: [email protected] · www.visitquesnel.ca
The publisher accepts no responsibility and/or liability for
the accuracy of the contents nor for any claims for damages
arising from use of any products, services or information
contained herein. Layout and design by South Hill Graphics,
Quesnel. Printed in Canada. Editorial photos by Ron Paull
and Bob Michek unless otherwise stated. In the case of an
individual or recognizable product, the person/product is
used for illustrative purposes only.
44
45
51