pink bushes


shaman totem pole


one eagle beside and one eagle in nest


watching the bird watcher


view to the islands

day 25 VANCOUVER
june 25

we spent a delightfully unMILEful day in Vancouver going almost nowhere.

this city has fabulous trees, old and leafy and spreading or tall and coniferous. the light that comes off the water makes for a radiance reminiscent of san francisco (yes, i begin to feel my first twinges of homesickness). and it was powerful to see the Pacific Ocean again after being landlocked for three plus weeks. of course, i'm not sure landlocked is the right expression given the absolute profusion of canadian LAKES and RIVERS and STREAMS and PONDS we've reveled in during this voyage.

we had in mind to go to the University of British Columbia Anthropology museum and the Vancouver Art Gallery downtown but only got to the Anthropology museum which was MORE than enough to feed our hungry souls.

the building itself was designed to house the enormous collection of northwest first people's TOTEM POLES. mindboggling carved towers of red cedar depicting stories and events the significance of which is known only to the carver and the people who commissioned the poles. lots of iconic images of bears and frogs and whales and beavers and fish in beautiful mysterious balance piled up on top of each other. some of the poles are house poles and some are memorial poles.

i wish it weren't true because i am liking Canada SO much, but the Canadian government, like dominant cultures everywhere, treated its indiginous people TERRIBLY. robbed them of their land, their language, their ceremonial and sacred objects, their children. a typical story of horror and degradation.
BUT
there are many contemporary carvers and printmakers who are following in the traditional ways creating some sense of continuity for the communities that have all but lost their ancient heritages.

we parked slightly illegally (Andrew's tall silver van could not fit in the parking structure we were supposed to use) so we were relieved to find our vehicle just where we'd left it, unticketed. driving around the campus, out by the beach, i saw what i thought was a raven and made the CAW-CAW sound Andrew and i often use to contact each other in stores or the woods. Andrew looked up and said: THAT'S AN EAGLE! before it circled away.

we parked as soon as we could and hiked back along the beach and HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE? Andrew located not just the bird but THE NEST within minutes.
the man has an uncanny ability to spot. i may have to rent him out.

just when we thought our wildlife sightings were over (we are, afterall, in a MAJOR METROPOLIS) - some fine urban birding.

a delightful dinner with new friends Georgina and Janie.
and tomorrow, the Sunshine Coast (please oh please do not rain).

]


bald eagle through a windshield in the rain


today's moose number one and two


moose number three


rainbow over Hope, BC


power poles


bridge into civilization


day 24 Grindrod, Okanagan to Vancouver, British Columbia 325 miles
june 24

i was all confused about the time zone again today.
the shifts refuse to happen at geographical boundaries which would make things easier for strangers. like if Pacific Time kicked in when we crossed into British Columbia but,
no, that's not how the cartographers, politicians and masters of time organized things so
i stumble along doing the best i can.

i think we were in post-Rocky Mountain depression for a few hours again today, especially slogging through Kelowna which is probably a fine town but constipated by construction and strip malls and frankly unappealing, at least to the casual observer.

everyone is crazy about the Okanagan River valley which was okay but our real thrill came during a very rainy spell on a completely nondescript road known to locals as "the Connector" - 97C from Kelowna to Meritt. the land on both sides must be owned by lumber companies because there is NOTHING, no development of any kind for all those miles. in the dreariness of the rain, Andrew shouts out:
BALD EAGLE! which, of course, i miss because i'm driving.
the exits are few and far between but we turn off at the next one and head back east so i can maybe see the eagle.

moments later, i shout:
DEER! very proud of myself as i am just learning to spot wildlife - like kindergarten level compared to Andrew who has a PhD.
thirty seconds later Andrew shouts:
MOOSE! jesus.

we get back to an exit and head west and THE BALD EAGLE IS STILL THERE. enormous individual. healthy as a horse. proud. and flies off about a minute later.
we retrace the same mile of highway, get off at the same exit and head east AGAIN.
on the other side of road -
TWO MOOSE RUNNING ACROSS A FIELD. beautiful. mythic. oddly heart-rending.
then we drive a bit more and sure enough Andrew's ORIGINAL MOOSE is still there in the little patch of woods. beautiful. mystical.
this stretch of road is dubbed THE THREE MOOSE MILE.

the rest of the day, i was in a moose fog.
we stopped in the town of HOPE in the Fraser River Valley to honor my darling departed friend Hope Frazier and there we found a perfect RAINBOW.

pulled into Vancouver at 7:30 pm and were received ceremoniously by Georgina and Dawn (more Flin Flon connections) who were just moving into a brand new place. they shared their take-out chinese food before finding us a bed at house nearby.
we are warm, dry and exhausted. again.