Beautiful British Columbia, part 2

We continued our trek south after leaving Stewart, and took a side route to see the Nisga'a Memorial Lava Beds. The Indigenous People here refer to this sacred ground as "Wil ksi-baxhl Mihl" (The Place Where the Fire ran out). This place is rich with a heart wrenching history that I knew nothing about. In the mid 1700's a volcano erupted here, killing 2000 Nisga'a ancestors and leaving a landscape like nowhere else in Canada.

A sign welcoming visitors states: "please tread lightly and leave the rocks, as they are the headstones of our ancestors." As we explored this hauntingly beautiful place, a rainbow arched over these burial grounds...a reminder that hope prevails through heartbreak.

"Whenever the rainbow can be seen in the clouds...remember my promise to you and every living thing." Genesis 9:15

So many areas of beauty and new life are juxtaposed here against the memories of death.

Lush greens, running waters, and bald eagle cries stand in stark contrast to the dull greys and blacks of the lava rocks. Both the fragility of life and the promise of new life are constantly revealed in nature, pointing us to the Creator and Sustainer of all things.

It seemed fitting at the close of this day that we stop to take a look at these heritage totems in Gitanyow. They are ancient, and a sight to behold. Every totem pole tells a story, and is used to record the history and legends of their people.

Aside: It was also here that some of us started to feel really sick. Emma was first, then Seth, then Victor. By the time we arrived in Whistler it was Ben who was really sick.

Even though Victor suspected it might be something like e.coli, we didn't know for sure until we received email notification just a few days ago, that we had purchased a potentially contaminated product (pre-washed romaine lettuce - I don't usually buy these and will never again) while in Whitehorse. Thankfully, everyone was better by this point, but it made perfect sense with the timelines and the fact that I was the only one who didn't eat caesar salad and also did not get sick.

After Gitanyow, we passed through Smithers and Prince George and were on our way to reunite with Gabriel, the 21 year old cyclist we had randomly picked up earlier in Moosejaw SK.

The drive from Lillooet to Whistler along highway 99 or Duffy Lake road is, by far, the most scenic and incredible drive we experienced in British Columbia It weaves and curves along the side of the mountains, coming dangerously close to the edge. There are switchbacks, 14% grades, and thousand meter cliffs you can see over out the passenger window. A railroad track cut through the edge of the mountain far below. It's a nail biting and exhilarating drive.

Between Lillooet and Whistler we passed through several First Nations communities. As we continue to wrestle with many of the crises facing Canada's Indigenous Peoples, we find ourselves with more questions than answers. However, there are two things we have come to conclude. First, like in any crisis, when we want to help we must first take a posture of listening. Out of this comes the second conclusion, that we must not impose our own view of what "helping" looks like (or else, as in this case, history could dangerously repeat itself). Even though we are still searching for answers we do want to confirm that the housing crisis among some First Nations Communities is real. There is no place for judgement when children are living in rotting wood homes with boarded up windows in the freezing winter.

When we passed by a school that backed on to a Log home building company and saw a group of students outside using draw knives to de-bark logs, Victor had to stop. It has long been a dream of his to build a log cabin, and to see it done by hand in this way was awesome for him. As it happens, it was a group of at-risk students in an alternative program (Three cheers for alternative education!!!) learning a disappearing trade. While Victor was trying his hand at using the draw knife, I knew what I needed to do with the remnants of our 42 full sized chocolate bars! The students faces lit up as I brought them over to encourage them in their work.

We finally made it to Whistler where the reunion with Gabriel was oh so sweet. Our kids treat him like a big brother and he really does feel like family to us. A month ago he was a complete stranger biking across our country and today he is part of our circle forever. Our time in Whistler (even though Ben and Emma were still sick) was filled with laughter, meaningful conversation, childlike joy, awesome hiking (The Chief, and the Train Wreck Hike), and wonderful sharing of meals together.

Our cups were full when we left and would be overflowing by the time we were done in the Vancouver area and lower mainland.