So often in life, events or circumstances impart a feeling of déjà vu, a sense of having come full-circle, of stepping back in time to the start-point.
Perhaps, then, it would not overly challenge the imagination of the average British Columbian were they informed that another batch of adventurers will soon be on the way, these Californians also looking north in search of lifestyle-security.
The history of cattle ranching in B.C. began in the mid-1850s as the more astute and farsighted of those on the gold-trail from California to the B.C.-goldfields quickly realized that there was pressing need for reliable food supply. That establishing pack trains, stopping houses, hotels, restaurants and the ilk to cater to those needs was an easier, more attainable road to riches than was the process of gold mining.
Many of those ranches remain, some still holdings of descendants of the original founder; surviving in spite of periods in history that severely tested endurance. The 160-plus year- B.C. cattle industry has maintained its existence by stubborn refusal to quit. The end result, a tangible asset, not a bad investment for a wandering fortune hunter.
Now, believe it or not, climate experts are forecasting a similar rush northward, predicting the flight of droves of Californians.
“The dust-bowl in reverse,” ponders Pete McMartin (Vancouver Sun), “with millions of people fleeing from California rather than to it.”
Why? Quite simply, California is running out of water; their supply of that precious liquid gold dwindles daily and is almost gone. In more than 17 rural California counties, the well will purport to be bone dry three months-hence.
So keep an eye out and batten down the well covers, for you may look out into your cow-pasture one morning in March and spot a tent-city full of squatters who have come north in the quest for liquid-gold.
Liz Twan is a rancher and freelance columnist for the Tribune/Advisor.