British Columbia

Wow, that's mostly what to say about it.
We saw one bear, coyotes, a wolf, lots of elk, many, many deer and a lot of rock, sand, trees, raging water, meandering rivers, ice, everything you could imagine and very breathtaking scenery to wake up to or watch the sun set on.

Travelling through the central part of BC, it was very apparent that the railway was alive and well and holding these towns and cities together. Tourism was also a mainstay, judging by the number of souvenir shops varying in wares from local artists to the cheesy “welcome to Canada” goods that is the same everywhere you go.

Watching the countryside change daily I couldn’t help but reflect on how all this geographical change came about. In opposition to the majesty of Jasper and Banff and Glacier and Yoho National parks there was a kind of desert feel to the interior. Brown hills that have been baking in the heat all summer with still no relief in sight. Vast areas of pine forest have been destroyed by the pine beetle with signs warning throughout of taking any firewood out of the area or bringing any in. Article here describes it very well “http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/science/beetle.html”

Local vendors eke out a living with the tourist trade by selling local artists work and souvenirs welcoming you to Canada and feature some of the local sites as well. Our trip went a little faster some places than we would have liked, but, a month is hardly long enough to see all there is to see. My daughters have a greater appreciation for the size of the country we live in, and the demographics in each place. They also really, really appreciate the space they have at home now too, considering our living quarters for the month.

I think that posting some of the pictures we took will tell a much better story at this point. There will be descriptions on some that I hope will capture the feel of this fantastic journey.