BRITISH COLUMBIA: A NORTHERN RECONNECTION

 While on our recent vacation north, we learned that one of Paul's friends from high school was very ill, and so we planned to take a road trip north upon our return to have a last visit with Sandy.  Sadly, she passed before we could get there, as Linda had medical tests booked that delayed the trip.  The decision was made to still make the trip, as it had been too many years since we had last been to Terrace.

While there, we read her obituary in the paper and sent it on to other friends of hers in Grand Forks who could not make the trip north.  The celebration of her life will happen after we have left Terrace.

We are glad to have a visit with her husband.  Wayne is another of Paul's friends from high school.

Wayne gives us a photo of Sandy when she was young with two of her best friends, one of whom lives in Grand Forks now and we often see.  We will pass the photo on to Robin.

It's a 14-and-a-half-hour, 1320 km trip, one way, spread over two days.

We have been texting with friends Norm and Linda in Terrace, as we will cross paths as they head south, with a planned overnight in Quesnel, but life intervenes and regrettably, that doesn't happen.

Travel day one is on the Monday of the August long weekend, but traffic is light most of the way.  Even spotting wildlife is scarce.  We see a hawk sitting quietly, intently; several deer here and there who thankfully stay put on the side of the road and, unusually, a badger.  A stop by a lake is lovely, especially when a loon appears and calls as it swims by.  

The other major stop of the day is at 108 Mile House, where a heritage site is right along the roadside.  It has 11 buildings that were relocated here at the site of the original 108 Mile Road House on the Cariboo Wagon Road.  It was a stopping place for travellers on their way through the Cariboo to the Gold Fields.

The non-profit society that did this work has done an excellent job.  Rooms in the main building are all furnished and equipped with everything from the day, and include several mannequins in period costume.

The grounds are spacious and relaxing and even include a covered bridge.

Photos of a few of the buildings and rooms:

On the second day of travel, a black bear cub is by the side of the road, on a wet, overcast and chilly day.

Our first major stop is in Smithers, home of the Hudson Bay Glacier (on the mountain of the same name), which is completely obscured by the weather, as is the rugged Seven Sisters mountain range nearby.  

We are greeted first by Alpine Al and his Alpenhorn, official guardian of the main street, mascot and logo of the City of Smithers.  With its European-style buildings in the town center and its Swiss feel, an identity is born.

In 1973, Alpine Al (a chainsaw carving) was a statue of the Eidelweiss Motel, which burned to the ground.  Alpine Al and his horn were in the middle of a fountain surrounded by water and escaped unscathed.  With this history, he has also become a symbol of the resilience of the people of Smithers and of northern BC.

After lunch it's a stop to admire two works of street art and reflect on the music of Cuban born Alexis Puentes (Alex Cuba) who settled in Smithers and has been awarded a Juno and several Grammies.

After lunch, it's to the co-located Museum and Art Gallery. The grounds are beautiful, and the building is striking with a tone-on-tone mural on the outside.   Inside, the museum has a photo of the artists responsible.  

Inside, we meet and talk with James Madam of the Wet'Sueten Nation in the nearby village of Witset (formerly known as Moricetown).

It's interesting to watch how he yields a hatchet as a carving tool. He says he hasn't yet decided if he will paint this pole of the raven and the moon, or leave it natural ... whatever moves him at the time.

The art gallery has an exhibition by Kevin Ei-ichi deForest a man of Eurasian descent who grew up in Saskatchewan, feeling different and experiencing racism, which to a degree became internalized. We are told that he avoids social media and indeed it's difficult to find anything about him or his other works on the internet.

In this exhibition we mostly see Hanko, the dog member of the family, walking through the neighbourhood and seeing, hearing and smelling from the dog's point of view. It's very interesting work, and while we can take photos, we may not post them.

On the last leg of the drive before getting to Terrace, we stop at an overlook where the Widzin Kwah Canyon bottlenecks, to see members of the Witset First Nation fishing salmon as their ancestors have done for thousands of years, with spears and dip nets. It's dangerous and difficult work.

We arrive in Terrace, at last

As we cross the new bridge into the city, we are impressed by the art installation going up at the roundabout.

This work has been in the making since the proposal in 2019.  Master carver Stan Bevan (Ts'msyen/Tlingit), with the assistance of a carver and metal worker, plus three apprentices, has skillfully and beautifully created a piece that will become known throughout British Columbia.  

It has come to represent not only the cultural and ecological meaning of salmon to people of the north but also the region's growing art reputation, and as a step to reconciliation through art.

It has been described thus: "A towering centerpiece with surrounding salmon that gives a strong sense of place and cultural identity."

Paul especially wants to spend as much time as possible with his good friend Gene, and we see him and his little dog Luna every day, as it's a short walk from our hotel.  Gene cooks us dinner nightly.

Here's Luna before and after her visit to the groomer.

The first day, we wander around Terrace with Paul pointing out where his former home was on a neighbourhood street and is now all business establishments and where other favourite hangouts are now empty lots.  The main street seems to have shrunk to only a few blocks, but we read while here that money has been set aside to do a major renovation on it next year.

What's new to him is the incredible public/street murals, many of which wrap around two or even three sides of a building, and at least one piece that encompasses several buildings.  

Some are so huge that the long shot is too hard to see, so it's photographed in segments.

The salmon in the mural below is how we see the salmon in the Okanagan River in Oliver.  They have swum thousands of kilometres from sea to their birthplace, have spawned and are becoming fertilizer to nurture other life.

Some murals have been strategically placed so that natural plants become part of the murals behind them. Genius!

In the one below, the leaves are on real trees.

Standing in front of this scene, the plantings look integral to the painting.

Some represent the First Nations people of the region.

Others are of wildlife indigenous to the area, such as otters ...

... wolves  and ravens

... bears

... birds 

... and of course, salmon

... a number represent geography, sport or plants of the area

... this mural below (photographed in pieces) illustrates some of the agriculture 

Picking mushrooms in the wild has a long history here, such as the morels below.  At the market a few days later, vendors have them for sale.

Blueberries, too are found in the wild.  While we are here, the annual Blueberry festival on Mount Shames is in full swing.  The idea is to ride the ski lift up where there are many family activities and a BBQ, then walk down, picking blueberries as you go. The day is rainy, so we skip it.

Another mural illustrates preserving of the bounty.

A brief drive out of town is Lakelse Lake Provincial Park where Paul worked as a young man.  He sees many changes.  It’s a chance to relax by the lake, enjoy the peace in the woods, and admire the grandeur of the huge cedars.

After a rainy day, we need to get outside, so walk both Ferry Island and the Terrace Community Forest.

Ferry Island

Ferry Island, a short 3.5 km from downtown Terrace is wrapped by the Skeena River.  It has 103 campsites, which are surrounded by a 150-acre park.  The beautiful walking trails are filled with surprises as a local carver has created birds that appear on stumps .     

The same artist has carved faces into the cottonwood trees of Ferry Island.

Go here to see a YouTube video.

Terrace Community Forest

This is quite a project, owned by the City of Terrace and managed by an appointed Board of Directors.  The city owns the forest, which is actively harvested sustainably.  The money from logging directly funds local community projects.  The walking trails provide opportunities for public recreation, integrated with forest education.  This one project combines job creation, environmental stewardship, community investment and public education.  Great concept.

Here is the entrance to the park:

Terrace must provide the perfect climate for Devil's Club as it grows BIG here.  This is the first time I've seen it with berries.

The local paper has a front-page story about a young artist who painted both sides of a cement barrier at the top of Kalum Road, so on the way back to town from the Community Forest, we stop to see his work:

Riverboat Days is underway, and the museum is hosting an exhibition of salmon that we can enjoy.

Here is a small sample of the work:

The work below is of original labels on cans of salmon.  From the late 1800s to the late 1900s, canneries established towns, created seasonal villages with a diverse ethnic workforce and drove the economies in both Terrace and Prince Rupert.  They were both an economic and a social hub.  Paul worked in a cannery as a young man.  Today, the North Pacific Cannery is preserved as a historic site.

The beautiful pieces below again illustrate the importance of salmon to the First Nations peoples here.

I interpret the works below as illustrating relationships that humans have with salmon.

On another day, we head to Prince Rupert, where Paul lived on and off for brief periods, as did family and extended family.  On the drive, it seems the clouds rest on the earth, and the sun is shy, hiding.

Near the sea now, so the orcas and the eagles are appreciated.

Paul remembers these iconic buildings.  The first is an art deco one on mail street and the other is city hall.

With Paul's history of volunteering to paint the antique steam engine in Grand Forks, and thus being given honourary firefighter status, we can't resist going into the little museum on the historical fires and fire equipment of Prince Rupert.

Our goal is to visit the Museum of Northwest BC, which was new on our last trip here about fifteen years ago, and we missed seeing it.

The building, both inside and out, has massive wood beams and poles, leaving an impression of timelessness and strength.  On the outside some of the beams have been clad in metal to prevent deterioration from the weather, but we can see that the wood at the base is suffering.

The grand entrance is flanked on either side by two huge longhouses.

You can see the metal cladding on the beams in the photo above.

There is little to say here as the art speaks for itself.  The curators have organized a coherent way to describe the many First Nations tribes in the Pacific Northwest and of grouping art and artifacts with those that created them.  A couple of hours pass here easily.

The open, carved mask in the grand entry is incredibly carved from a single piece of wood.

Chief's headdresses from various tribes are quite interesting.  The one on the top right below is metal with inlaid abalone shell and below it, is one made from bear claws.

This stunning piece is made from many different materials, including copper and abalone.  It's topped with sea lion whiskers.

This newer mask and the ceremonial dance cape are standouts.

Of the many lovely carved masks throughout the collection, the ones below stood out for me.  The top one is carved from argillite.

On display is an ancient petroglyph carved into a rock.  We saw ones like this in the forest of Bella Coola.  

There are coppers, bentwood boxes, totems, drums and canoes.  The stuff of everyday life and of ceremony.  We recommend seeing this museum.

As we leave, it's a noteworthy observation that many employees we see this day are Aboriginal youth.

  

A walk to the jauntily coloured buildings of Cow Bay clears our heads.  It has become a tourist destination since Paul was last here.  The history of the name is that a herd of cows had to swim ashore here when first arriving.  Before that, it was the site of a Ts'msyen village.

There are the docks of pleasure boats, commercial fish boat and a cruise ship is in harbor.

Everyone used to eat at the old Fisherman's haunt called Smiles.  Years ago, we ate halibut cheeks here, the tenderloin of fish.  Today, we can't find them anywhere.  Smiles is for sale now.  

Instead, we have wonderful halibut in a light and fluffy beer batter with crispy chips done just right at Breakers Pub and Inn, which overhangs the ocean and where you can watch seals as you wait for your food.

A walk after lunch takes us through a lovely oceanfront park.  The number of names on a memorial to those lost at sea is staggering.

A small boat comes in loaded with salmon, frozen solid.  We watch it unload, then check out two enormous bins of crabs, valiantly trying to escape their confines.

Gene has told us about the makeover of the old waterfront Kwinitsa train station, now a museum that he has enjoyed while in Rupert.  It would be a good way to pass the time simply relaxing on the grounds, but this little place is full of interesting information about how the train system worked back then.

It's been a full day, but on the way back to Terrace, we pull off the road to admire adorable otters in wall art.  Keeping the otters company is a trio of totem poles.

On another brief roadside stop, Paul sees a billboard advertising Oliver Lake.  Since we live in Oliver, BC we are curious about this.  It turns out that this too was named after John Oliver, Premier of British Columbia from 1918 to 1927.

Then it's time to clean up and head to Gene's again for dinner.

Alice, another friend from 'the old days', is a FB friend.  She sees our FB posts and contacts us as she is here for the summer.  She is staying at the old homestead (Kitselas), where she raised her children with no electricity or running water.  Her partner Doug back then (deceased) was a close friend of Paul's.

Gene also hung out with Alice and Doug, and so the three of us, plus Luna, head out there one day.  

Photo below is the main cabin.

Paul spent considerable time, long ago, in the small cabin on the left (below).  The cabin on the right shows that cabin and another one in perspective on the property.

Inside the main cabin:

Alice bundles us all into her vehicle as another old friend and his wife are home on a nearby rural property are home.  So off we go to Bill and Randie's, where we are warmly welcomed.   I sit back and listen as the stories flow.

This is an enormous property, and the first thing we see is the airplane that Bill rebuilt and the hangar that he built to house it.

It's time to head south to Oliver.  It's been a good visit.  It's been good to hear he, Paul and friends swap stories, and to hear Gene's identifiable laugh.

We missed Norm and Linda both on the road and in Terrace, but hopefully can coordinate a video call in the near future.

On the way back we book a room in a place called Lakeside Motel, which sounds promising.  It's a little, old place ... but the view is worth it:

Miscellaneous Photos

Terrace has a small collection of Spirit Bear (AKA the Kermode bear) statues.  They are a subspecies of the black bear and live only in the Central and North Coast regions of BC.  Ten to thirty per cent of Spirit Bears are while.  It's the official mammal of BC and the symbol of Terrace.

The Spirit Bear symbolizes many things to the Indigenous people of the area, from strength, protection, inner wisdom and healing.  It also represents courage, resilience, solitude, nurturing maternal instincts, and it is connected to themes of rest, renewal and introspection.

Random Photos