Blogs from British Columbia, Canada, North America - page 7

A very pretty waterfront on a beautiful day in Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. Nanaimo was founded on coal mining in the early 1850s. The first permanent structure to be built in the town was the Bastion. It’s design is consistent with the initial fortifications constructed at the HBC trading posts throughout Canada. The first known recipe for Nanaimo bars was printed in the 1952 Women's Auxiliary of the Nanaimo Hospital Cookbook. Campbell River is on the east coast of Vancouver Island at the south end of Discovery Passage. Long before European explorers entered the waters surrounding Campbell River, the First Nations people had known for thousands of years that this was a special place, living in harmony with nature and the life cycles of the salmon. They occupied small villages scattered along the coast, and fished ... read more

Day 10. Another dead end. Yoghurt with raspberries and nuts, then pancakes started the day. The forecast was for hot and sunny again so I left my chaps and sweater behind as I rode away from camp toward the mining town of Elkford. It’s at the end of paved road although there does appear to be a gravel continuation for logging or perhaps another mine. There is a coal mine or maybe many in the area. Coal for making steel according to Google. Part of the route was back over the route I came to Cranbrook on on Friday but it always looks different from the saddle then the seat. Heading South East on Hwy 3/93 I was admiring a mountain range to my left but couldn’t see a place to stop for a picture. Once ... read more

Grouse Mountain Grouse Mountain is located on the unceded territories of the Coast Salish peoples: the Squamish, Musqueaum, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations. Rising 1,250 metres (4,100 feet) above Vancouver. The Mountain was named by the first recorded hikers to reach the summit in October 1894. The hardy group of hikers slogged through snow, scrambled over rock and up through the dense forest. Along the way, they hunted a Blue Grouse and honoured the plentiful game bird by calling the Peak "Grouse Mountain". In 1949 the world's first double chairlift was built, replacing a two to three hour hike from the base of the mountain. The first chairlift for The Cut was built in 1951 and, for the first time, skiers and visitors could reach the mountain in a two-stage trip. Patrick had taken the Grouse Grind ... read more

Vancouver Vancouver is the third largest city in Canada, our tour started overlooking Burrard Inlet with sea planes landing and taking off. The inlet separates the City of Vancouver and the rest of the Burrard Peninsula. Vancouver is often called The Crystal or Glass reflecting the dominant steel-and-glass architecture of the city's downtown. Canada Place was originally built as the Canadian pavilion for the Expo ’86 world’s fair & is now part of Vancouver’s main convention centre. Designed in the form of a giant sailing ship which I well remember as 20 years ago we sailed from Vancouver to Alaska. No cruise ships in the port today. During Vancouver’s Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2010 there were two Olympic torch cauldrons in the city, including the one by the Convention Centre. I guess that’s why I ... read more

31st May - 2nd June Western Canada road trip with Patrick. This virtual road trip was a great idea by Patrick Twomey, he set off with his van & bicycle from where the prairie meets the mountains. Part 1 - As the journey started everyone was listening intently about the significance of the landscape of Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump, with its historical, archaeological and scientific interest. The deep, undisturbed layers of animal bones (largely American Bison) represented nearly 6,000 years of continuous occupation with one lengthy period of unexplained interrupted hunting. Head-Smashed-In Buffalo is the best preserved example of the communal hunting techniques and of the way of life of the Plains people based on the vast herds of bison that existed in North America for more than five millennia. These people, drawing on their excellent understanding ... read more