Day 52 – Sunday July 9/17  

Today we did a combination of touring in the morning and travelling in the afternoon (286km - see map). 

As we relax tonight it seems like we’ve had two full days in one.

This morning we left our campsite at ‘Ksan RV Campground at 9:20 and drove around the corner to ‘Ksan Historical Village and Museum. This village preserves the Gitxsan culture of the Northwest Coast aboriginal peoples. There are seven traditional long houses, totem poles and a museum. We took a tour led by Kayden, a wonderful local young man, who answered our questions thoughtfully. The tour was accompanied by a recorded voice drama and was very professionally done. As has happened so often on our travels, we had Kayden all to ourselves on this tour. The next group through had about 20 members. We do love the personal attention! 

Nancy, in particular, was interested to learn that this is a matrilineal culture where clan membership is traced through the mother and that women could be chiefs. The Gitxsan people have lived in this area for over 4,500 years and were fortunate to be able to build villages and stay in one location as they did not have to move in search of food. The salmon and other wildlife came to them every year.

The sign at the entrance to the museum spoke to us, as travellers on this "Westward Ho" odyssey. (photo)

It was noon before we left the historic village. We got back onto Hwy 16 (the same one we’ve been following since Wednesday) and headed west to Prince Rupert. The sky clouded over and we encountered light splashes of rain here and there. The darker skies seemed to highlight the verdant green of the forested hills.

Upon seeing a sign indicating a ‘Point of Interest Ahead’ we made an obligatory stop (as it is our mission never to pass by a plaque, marker, point of interest or scenic viewpoint if possible to stop) at Usk Memorial Church. This is a miniature chapel based on a real church of the area that burned. It was built as a Centennial Project in 1967 to honour the pioneers in the area. In the same pullout there was also a memorial to those who had died in the forestry industry. Besides a plaque there were hardhats nailed to a tree. Fitting given the intent of the memorial. (photos)

We had predetermined that today we would eat lunch in a restaurant as the usual rotation of sandwiches was getting a bit boring. We stopped in Terrace for gas and found a White Spot Restaurant. We shared a bowl of clam chowder and an order of fish and chips. It was very good and we enjoyed the change. While in Terrace we drove by a Dollarama and used the opportunity to buy new work gloves for trailer hitching/set-up, as ours are getting grease-stained, a new Canadian flag for the window of the truck as the previous one had ripped, and a birthday card. Three diverse items off our list in one stop. Very efficient.

As we got closer to the coast the clouds grew darker. Some clung to the face of the low mountains. This misty effect made the scenery extraordinarily beautiful. Interestingly the river we were following was the Skeena which means “River of Mists” in the local aboriginal language. It certainly proved that today for us. And it was magical.

We arrived at our campground just before 6 pm. We had reserved a site for tonight and storage for Rocinante II for the next 4 days when we will be on Haida Gwaii. All was easily organized and we set up in a crowded, not very private campground. But it does have full services plus free showers and Wi-Fi. We’ll be back to stay here Friday after we return from the islands.

The coastal, misty landscape and the sea air make us feel like we are beginning a new adventure.