Expressive Pieces: Fort Vancouver

It's interesting to think that though I love visiting historical areas, I hadn't ever visited the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site before my week of summer vacation! It's a wonderful historic site that consists of nine buildings, and I would love to visit again when all of the buildings are open. Most of the buildings allow you to enter, but have inner doors with windows that keep you from entering the actual rooms. However, some of the buildings are completely open and can be thoroughly explored. These are the buildings that I enjoyed most, because I was able to touch historic artifacts and imagine the lives of those who used to live inside (though the buildings are actually reconstructed, not the original ones).

Similar to when we visited the Aurora Colony, we took a self-guided tour at Fort Vancouver. Even though I might not learn as much, I've always preferred self-guided tours to group tours, because they allow you to go at your own pace and in whatever order you like. The site also offers audio tours at no additional charge, for those who want to learn a bit more information about Fort Vancouver.
In my opinion, it's definitely a better idea to visit places like Fort Vancouver on days that are likely to be less crowded. I'd happily walk between buildings in the rain if it meant running into less people within the buildings. We happened to go on a really nice day, so the area was a bit more crowded. Unfortunately, we ran into several immature people (like children who had to touch and destroy everything, and a father who left his girl crying at the top of a steep staircase) during our visit, which spoiled some of the atmosphere. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate people, I just prefer to visit places like this on quieter days.

Some of the buildings have reenactors who tell you all about what the building would have been used for, and give you a taste of what it would have been like.

Overall, the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site is a very interesting and beautiful place to visit! The reconstructed buildings are great, and they really allow you to feel as if you've stepped into the past. I would definitely recommend this for everyone, and I can imagine that children would especially appreciate all that they have done to make the site authentic.