Advertisement
http://www.heygo.com https://www.2metours.com Revelstoke - Part 1
Tucked between the Monashee and Selkirk Mountain Ranges of southeastern British Columbia is the city of Revelstoke, Patrick’s starting point for his latest Western Canada Road Trip.
Revelstoke was founded in the 1880s when the Canadian Pacific Railway was built through the area. The name was originally Farwell, after a local land owner and surveyor but the city was later named by the Canadian Pacific Railway in appreciation of Lord Revestoke head of the UK investment bank that saved the Canadian Pacific Railway from bankruptcy.
Revelstoke is situated in prime black bear and grizzly bear habitat, represented by huge grizzly sculptures as you enter the centre.
The architecture was an interesting mix - some of the wooden built residences now have metal roofs as protection from the heavy snow that falls in the area.
Revelstoke holds the Canadian record for the highest snow fall - 2,447 centimetres (963 in) of snow which fell just outside town in the winter of 1971–72.
As we strolled further around we saw an interesting art installation of Sturgeon & Salmon as well as the Art Deco city hall and inviting restaurants.
Our tour came to an end overlooking the mighty Columbia River river, The largest river flowing into the Pacific from North America.
Whenever you are on a tour with Patrick you can be sure of stunning views and this tour was no exception.
Looking forward to what the next stage of the road brings forth trip tomorrow.
Giant Cedar Park - Part 2
Today’s tour was based in a beautiful area in the heart of the forest in Mount Revelstoke National Park with magnificent Giant Cedar, some of the trees in this old growth forest are over 500 years old.
The birds were singing, the atmosphere as Patrick took to the boardwalk was quite magical.
Eagle Pass - Craigellachie - Part 3
A parking lot seemed an unfamiliar start for Patrick’s tour this afternoon but as always what emerged was a most interesting and informative tour.
The Canadian Pacific Railway was incorporated in 1881. A few years later, the railway line from the east coast to the Pacific coast in the west was finally completed with the driving of the ‘Last Spike’ at Craigellachie in 1885.
Craigellachie
in Eagle Pass is located alongside the tracks
On the plaque showing an image of ‘Last Spike’ we learnt how Sir Sandford Fleming one of the engineers was responsible for the modern system of standard time and time zones.
Though there are no Chinese labourers in the image of the Last Spike, their contributions speak more than a thousand words !
We may not have ventured far but we certainly travelled back in time whilst listening to Patrick’s stories.
Kamloops - Part 4
Not wanting to miss any of Patrick’s road trip I set me alarm to join the next leg of his journey.
Kamloops - The Secwépemc and Nlaka’pamux peoples have lived here for close to 10,000 years, the name meaning ‘Meeting of Two Rivers’.
The fur trade arrived in Kamloops in 1811 when traders came to the area and established trade with the local Indigenous population.
The next big influx of people came with the gold rush although the gold rush did not pan out. Others started farming and a trading fort at the confluence of the North and South Thompson rivers became the city of Kamloops.
In the summer of 1862 a smallpox epidemic swept through the Kamloops area decimating the Secwepemc, Nlaka'pamux, and other indigenous peoples. They had no acquired immunity. The indigenous people went to Fort Kamloops seeking a vaccine where William Manson, clerk at the fort vaccinated many, but fatalities were extremely high. In late September he reported "smallpox still raging amongst the Indians".
At Riverside Park on a beautiful evening, the haze in the distance from the fires was quite visible, two water bomber planes overhead brought home just how close these fires were to Kamloops.
A monument entitled ‘Lend a Hand’ dedicated to the many volunteers who helped out during the 2017 wildfire evacuations was quite evocative.
Another interesting stop as Patrick continues his road trip, still a few more stops before the final destination Vancouver.
Hope - Part 5
The town of Hope is where we find ourself today with Patrick
dominated by the Cascade mountains to the east and the broad lower reaches of the Fraser River in the west.
Simon Fraser passed through Hope in search of a waterway to the coast, and
the Hudson Bay Company had a fur trading fort here. When gold was discovered, Hope, like many of the settlements in this region, suddenly became a bustling way-point for traders and prospectors, bringing pioneers from all over the globe.
There are many beautiful sculptures and carvings throughout the town. An international Chainsaw Carving Competition takes place annually.
We saw a variety carved of bears, grizzly, black and a certain little bear called Paddington.
Even Rambo got in on the act, his large carving was exactly where he shot the movie First Blood. Although he was slightly better looking than the carving of Mr. Hope 1862 !
A plaque of Hope Fort states
“When the boundary settlement of 1846 determined that the mouth of the Columbia would be American territory, that river became impractical as a supply route for the Hudson's Bay Company. Instead, goods were brought up the Fraser from Langley to the head of the navigation, where Fort Hope was built in 1848-49. From here they were sent by pack train to Kamloops and thence to Alexandria for distribution by water to the posts of New Caledonia. This complex system
was used until gold discoveries stimulated road construction after 1860.”
Flags were flying at half past in Memorial Park and people had places children’s shoes and teddy bears in memory of the indigenous children whose bodies had recently been found at a school in Kamloops.
Patrick always likes to finish his tours in a picturesque spot, today was no different with tall cedar trees, blue hydrangeas & the backdrop of the mountains.
SECOND TOUR TO HOPE - August (photos now added)
Part 6 - Cycling in Hope
Back in the town of Hope today and I am imagining when asked a question of the residents when they reply “I live in Hope”, don’t we all live in hope the world becomes a better place.
We start alongside the banks of The Fraser River & The Coquihalla River, a tributary of the Fraser that originates in the Coquihalla Lakes and empties into the Fraser River at Hope.
The difference between the clear water of the Coquihalla and the murky water of the Fraser reminded me of seeing, on a visit to Manus, the ‘Meeting of the
Waters’ where the waters of the Rio Negro and the Amazon River join.
As Patrick took to his cycle the evening light threw a completely different feel to the area from the earlier visit in the day.
It was a moving moment when along the road close to a totem pole were many small tributes to remember all the children who had sadly died at the school in Kamloops.
I missed them earlier but have now seen the red dresses hanging in the trees to honour missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.
Sad times for sure.
Totem poles created by First Nations commemorate ancestry, histories, people, or events, typically created out of red cedar and traditionally always created at the place that it would stand.
Around the town were photographic history boards and it was interesting to see thewind drying method of preserving salmon by the Indigenous people.
Over the course of the last hundred years, participation in this fishing activity has been drastically decreased and currently only a handful of Stó:lō families maintain dry racks in the Fraser canyon.
We passed by the Japanese Garden, built in honor of the late Kaoru “Kay” Murakami, former president of the Lions Club International. This garden showcases a wooden bridge symbolizing the friendships one makes in life, a waterfall to signify turbulence, and a pond of tranquility that is filled with koi and turtles that represent strength.
Several of the carved sculptures we had seen earlier looked better in the evening light except for Mr. Hope who looked even hairier!
Patrick decided to be a tourist for a change and posed for a postcard as Rambo Twomey much to everyone’s delight.
A purple building displayed a sign that stating they had moved to a new location, well I doubt they had many customer with that grizzly outside, also spot our intrepid cyclist in the window reflection.
It’s been a great few days travelling and now I look forward to discovering Vancouver with Patrick.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.056s; Tpl: 0.015s; cc: 15; qc: 22; dbt: 0.02s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb