British Columbia: Still Beautiful, Super, and Natural
I grew up proud of the “Beautiful British Columbia” license plate on the back of my Dad’s ‘74 Ford Gran Torino. Simple, understated, confident. And oh so true!
Then BC Tourism jumped on the 1980's hyperbole bandwagon and launched the “Super, Natural” slogan that, until an AI search 10 minutes ago, I thought was “Supernatural.” Beauty had sufficed for 34 years, but now we needed more “to attract visitors seeking more than just scenic views, focusing on experiences like hiking, skiing, and wildlife viewing.”
Well, 18 days back in my home province is enough to drive home that BC is all of that: beautiful, super, natural, bordering at times on supernatural.
Black Tusk, Whistler BC
In the good ol' days, the road to Whistler Mountain was so trecherous that they put lights on the bridge rails so you could tell by the absence of those lights if there’d been another bridge washout. For Expo ‘86 it was upgraded to one of the most beautiful 4-lane coastal routes in the world - the Sea-to-Sky Highway pictured above (now there’s some branding I can get behind! Probably not the same Californian PR company who were paid four million by the BC Government to come up with this amazing tagline: "BC Ferries: Cruising the Straights.”)
We hop a bus up to a dear friend’s cabin at the base of Black Tusk for a week of hiking, puzzles, and enjoying Whistler/Blackcomb’s world-famous beauty.
Crescent Beach, Surrey BC
While my little home town has grown up into a monster home mushroom cloud, the beaches and parks are still a treasure. As are family at celebrations of life for two beloved aunties, and old friends at a high school 40th reunion.
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Currently in...
Mayne Island, BC, then to a family wedding in Surrey
Heading to...
Paris, Albania, Milan, then Cambodia-Thailand-Vietnam for Oct-May. Please share any sites, people or ideas by email.
Beautiful indeed! My latest visit to BC was to Vancouver, for the International Convention of Alcoholics Anonymous. I arrived on Canada Day, celebrated the Fourth on the first day of the convention, had so many magical wonderful encounters throughout the entire week, enjoyed the most cosmopolitan diverse city I know of, and learned all k8nds of things. Stayed with 600 or 700 others from around the world at Simon Fraser University, where the mattresses were approximately 2” thick. On Saturday at the Big Meeting in the BC Cemter, I sat with other old timers. Altogether there were 204 of us with a least 50 years’ sobriety, and together we had more than 10,750 years. To open that evening’s program, they chose 12 names at random and each was escorted to the stage, then one by one came to the podium and spoke to almost 50,000 people for five minutes. I wasn’t chosen, and I’m glad I wasn’t, for I would not have heard someone’s story, and they all something I wouldn’t want to miss. There is so much more to say but space is short. This was a wonderful experience in a beautiful city. Thank you Beautiful BC, than you, Rick. Great pictures!
Rick you all do look great. Thank you , so refreshing to see such beauty
Beautiful 🌝 l was t H w Re e years ago stunning area💜😘