British Columbia

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The Museum at Campbell River

I spent a couple of hours this afternoon perusing the displays of the Museum at Campbell River.

Two exhibits made the $6 admission fee worthwhile.

The first is one about the local First Nations culture, including a spectacular show featuring a storyteller and carved masks. No photographs were allowed in this exhibit, so it’s really hard to convey just how great it was. It was a feast for the eyes to view all those colourful carvings and the mask show was a breathtaking journey to a world below the ocean. This appears to be a permanent exhibit, thankfully!

The second exhibit I liked was one of the three videos viewable on demand in a theatre at the end of the tour. The video in question is a documentary about the Ripple Rock explosion, which I’ve previously discussed in my post about Seymour Narrows. The video was comprised of footage of the day, that is from the 1950’s, which added an additional level of interest. I was amazed by the engineering feat that was the destruction of these underwater peaks. Tunnels were dug under the channel and up into the mountains and then charges were laid. Three times as many explosives as would have been needed in an open air project of this size was needed to displace not only the rock but also the water.

In between the First Nations gallery and the Ripple Rock video were galleries about pioneer life in the Campbell River area, a popular hotel, and the local salmon fishing industry. There is a final, temporary, gallery about climate change that I do not feel was sufficiently tied in to the history of Campbell River. A panel showing how climate change has possibly affected the fishing industry would have sufficed.

While I found the exhibits to be over all very well done and informative, I had come expecting to learn more about Campbell River’s general history and left feeling that I’d only been giving small snippets of it. So, I wasn’t entirely satisfied with my visit but do not feel that this is the museum’s fault; I should have checked my expectations at the door and enjoyed what was offered.

Be sure to walk the grounds before or after your visit; there is a wonderful native plant garden to explore!

a striking building

a striking building

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Boat outside the museum that was owned by a Japanese fisherman. The boat was stolen from him by the Canadian government during WWII. Our treatment of the Japanese during this war is one of the most shameful moments of our history.

Boat outside the museum that was owned by a Japanese fisherman. The boat was stolen from him by the Canadian government during WWII. Our treatment of the Japanese during this war is one of the most shameful moments of our history.

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torii seen from the museum

torii seen from the museum

Lord Vancouver, after whom a city and a whole island would be named

Lord Vancouver, after whom a city and a whole island would be named

Another shameful incident in Canadian history is that of the residential schools for Native children

Another shameful incident in Canadian history is that of the residential schools for Native children

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I was amused that the museum dressed up the pioneer cabin for the holidays

I was amused that the museum dressed up the pioneer cabin for the holidays

reminds me of my student days, only substitute a radiator for the stove

reminds me of my student days, only substitute a radiator for the stove

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check out the info on the plaque; this tree was more than a thousand years old when it was chopped down!

check out the info on the plaque; this tree was more than a thousand years old when it was chopped down!

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logging truck

logging truck

water pump outside the pioneer cabin

water pump outside the pioneer cabin

façade representing the third Willows hotel, a popular spot for vacationers to Campbell River at the start of the 19th century

façade representing the third Willows hotel, a popular spot for vacationers to Campbell River at the start of the 19th century

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my impression upon entering this exhibit was awe; I really felt like I was in a Victorian hotel!

my impression upon entering this exhibit was awe; I really felt like I was in a Victorian hotel!

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Being a huge fan of my bank (CIBC), I always note historical instances of it. CIBC came to Campbell RIver to handle payroll.

Being a huge fan of my bank (CIBC), I always note historical instances of it. CIBC came to Campbell RIver to handle payroll.

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I liked this exhibit tucked away under the stairs

I liked this exhibit tucked away under the stairs

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Those are big fish! (from days before we worried about fish stocks)

Those are big fish! (from days before we worried about fish stocks)

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I was also impressed by this floating fishing cottage. I really felt like I was on a dock by the ocean.

I was also impressed by this floating fishing cottage. I really felt like I was on a dock by the ocean.

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type of salmon canned by year (see next picture)

type of salmon canned by year (see next picture)

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this is what I apparently look like when driving a huge vehicle

this is what I apparently look like when driving a huge vehicle

that was my reason for studying history in university

that was my reason for studying history in university

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more about the Japanese fishing boat

more about the Japanese fishing boat

the grounds are lovely and feature a native plant garden

the grounds are lovely and feature a native plant garden

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Seawalk-ing, Redux

The popular Campbell River tourist attraction that will the subject of my next post is about three kilometres from home, of which about two follow the Seawalk. While it was a bit nippy out, hovering between 0 and +1 with the odd flurry, there was no threat of rain, so I decided this was the perfect afternoon for a six kilometre stroll that would allow me to photograph some of the things that I’ve only glanced at while zipping by in a car.

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Daybreak Park

Daybreak Park

this is the stuff I met on my last sea walk that I thought looked like Devil's Snare from Harry Potter!

this is the stuff I met on my last sea walk that I thought looked like Devil’s Snare from Harry Potter!

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it says HELLO on that brightly painted rock

it says HELLO on that brightly painted rock

Doesn't he seem to belong there? It is almost as though a man stood in that spot, battered by the ocean wind, until he was rooted there and turned to wood.

Doesn’t he seem to belong there? It is almost as though a man stood in that spot, battered by the ocean wind, until he was rooted there and turned to wood.

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that's a heron out on the rock

that’s a heron out on the rock

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that light...

that light…

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Campbell River lies on the 50th parallel

Campbell River lies on the 50th parallel

I just liked this roof :)

I just liked this roof 🙂

First time I see a sign with Segway regulations

First time I see a sign with Segway regulations

This is the most bizarre tree I have ever seen. It looks like a parrot.

This is the most bizarre tree I have ever seen. It looks like a parrot.

leaves from the parrot tree

leaves from the parrot tree

a seaside cottage

a seaside cottage

a torii (traditional Japanese gate)

a torii (traditional Japanese gate)

tribute to Nova Scotian miners

tribute to Nova Scotian miners

This wonderful sculpture is across the highway from the gas station and I had never seen it!

This wonderful sculpture is across the highway from the gas station and I had never seen it!

Close up of the details

Close up of the details

It even has whiskers!

It even has whiskers!

this magnificent totem pole stands next to the torii

this magnificent totem pole stands next to the torii

Post edited to add onto Donna’s comment about the parrot tree. It is an arbutus tree (Arbutus menziesii), Canada’s only broad-leaf evergreen. It is also known as the ‘strawberry tree’ and ‘Pacific Madrone.’ Thanks for the heads up, Donna!

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An Employer’s Market

I just got in from part one of the interview process for a popular chain of shoe stores. I have no illusions that I will be going any further in the process, but part one was rather surreal. It involves taking a test with quite the hodgepodge of questions, from basic math to your experience in retail to hypothetical ethical conundrums. The rest of the interview process involves a one-on-one interview with the manager and then a phone interview with a district manager. All this to sell shoes at minimum wage!

The questionnaire was geared towards what I imagine is their average employee base: high school kids. It felt very silly to be answering questions about what I was or was not doing when I was in grade eight when that was half a lifetime ago!

At any rate, I’m glad that my latest round of handing out resumes resulted in an interview, even if nothing more comes of it.

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Travels Without Miranda, #10: Melrose, Scotland

My month’s journey backpacking around Scotland taught me that there is no reason why I can’t have something I really, really want. I woke up one November morning in 1997 and announced that I was going to Scotland the following summer. I spent six months saving up, and even losing a month’s income to the Ice Storm of ’98 didn’t deter me from my goal.

The most amazing month of my life was drawing to a close when I landed at the youth hostel in Melrose. It was a grand old Victorian house, but it was for the abbey I had come. My month had been one of following the steps of Scotland’s hero William Wallace and one of her kings, Robert the Bruce, and it was at Melrose Abbey that Bruce’s heart was buried.

Melrose youth hostel

Melrose youth hostel

There wasn’t much left to my trip, just a few days. I was due back at work in a week. I was heartsick to be giving up my travels, but excited that my life was about to begin. I was starting university in the fall and would move out on my own, events that made it a little easier to say goodbye to Scotland.

My last night in Melrose I sat on a bench watching the sunset behind the abbey ruins. It is one of those moments of my life that I remember with shattering clarity. It was a perfect moment in time when I knew that I was at the right place and that everything in my life was exactly as it should be. I was flooded with a feeling of peace and well-being and rose from that bench clearheaded and ready to face whatever the future had in stock for me.

Melrose Abbey. The Bench would be just offshot to the right.

Melrose Abbey. The Bench would be just offshot to the right.

It didn’t take long after that for my life to completely derail and I ended up spending the better part of a decade grasping for that perfect moment again.

While I’ve never had such a strong feeling of contentment since hitting the road with Miranda, I’ve had several glimpses of that peace I felt in Melrose. With that reference point in mind, I have been able to identify moments that are completely the opposite, when the universe is shouting at me to get out, to move on, that where I am is the wrongest place I can be. I haven’t shared the full story of what went on in Oliver, but I think that what I didn’t say in my announcement that I was leaving was pretty clear.