Top of the World

No story to go along with this picture. It speaks for itself. This photo is taken from the lookout point at the end of the M. Gurr Lake trail. I'm looking down at the ocean inlet. -L

Those Pesky Petroglyphs...

Fun Fact: The Bella Coola valley contains one-fifth of Canada’s petroglyphs.

After our trip to see the petroglyphs (i.e. rock carvings) last week I was hoping to tell you about their history, origin and the stories the Nuxalk people have passed on for generations about these sacred symbols. Instead, I just have a funny story about our strange afternoon spent visiting the petroglyphs.

We first set out down a trail with a sign saying “rock carvings”, thinking, naively as it turns out, that there would be signage along the way pointing us in the right direction (considering the historic and spiritual importance of these carvings.) Instead, after many a fork in the path, we were lost and had not located the carvings on our own. Feeling a little embarrassed we headed back toward Four Mile Reserve. Immediately upon emerging from the trail, a group of young people standing around a porch started laughing at us when we told them we couldn’t find the rock carvings. So much for our first attempt.

Egos deflated, we headed down the road to visit the Petroglyph Gallery, a gallery featuring impressive artwork from local Nuxalk artists. When we mentioned to the shopkeeper that we were unable to locate the rock carvings, he called down his nephew, who offered to take us to the rock carvings and give us a guided tour. We agreed to the tour. But we didn’t agree to the teenage boy with ADHD version of the tour. That is exactly what we got. We learned as much about where you would crack your head open if you fell down a given riverbank as we did about the petroglyphs. I have no doubt that some of the information we received was accurate and passed down to our guide by the elders. However, it was difficult to separate the oral history from the teenage fantasies about aliens and giant snakes. So much for our second attempt.

Until I return with a different guide, I can leave you with what little knowledge I have gained. Ethnographers have dated the petroglyphs to be somewhere around 7,500 years old. Although the Nuxalk attribute some of the carvings to their ancestors, there are others carvings that the Nuxalk will not talk about because they do not know the stories. These ones, strangely enough, look more Maori or Samoan than North American, and their origin is a mystery.

The ones in the photo above represent a shaman at various stages throughout the day. Or aliens. Depends who you ask. - L

M Blogga, y'all. Check it!

We made it. 964 BC kilometres from Kelowna to our sunny little house (though it feels like a cabin) in Bella Coola. L was insufferable as usual in the car, but we're still married and possibly happier than ever! Really, you would not believe this place...as our new French-Canadian friend would say, "dis place is nature on steroid." But not the nasty kind of steroids where you get all hairy and way too macho. A nice steroids. The kind that Sammy Sosa took, not Mike Tyson . We've found Bella Coola to be an extremely hospitable place with the dream mix of rugged geography, kind country-folk, and a latte and high speed internet when the urge becomes too great to let pass. Add in the ocean at your doorstep and you can imagine the possibilities. There is just so much opportunity here for letting your jaw drop.
But most of that will have to wait as we settle into valley life and our work. My first week was one of the more stressful of late as I strained to adjust to a new way of doing medicine. There is fierce protection of the laboratory and x-ray technicians as they are the only ones in town, on call every hour of every day. You can't use them willy nilly, you have to really justify calling them in after they go home at night. As I am on-call one night out of every three, they make me look like the ungrateful, caked-up princess that I can morph into at times when stressing about my lack of a civilized life. The docs here, as in other small places I've worked, know everyone, their preferred inseam, and the amount of milk in their morning creamed wheat. They remember the who who did what, and what for. It's quite a thing to behold. I am in awe of their ability to fit their patients into the huge family trees that cast long and leafy shadows on generations of valley life.
Anyway, what are you up to these days? I've heard work is busy. I'm sure the weather will improve, isn't that what they said?
M

Intro to Bella Blogga

To sum it up in a word: awe-struck. The stunning scenery in this valley is unlike anything I have ever experienced. Walking around this quaint First Nations town set within a lush rainforest enclosed by imposing, snow-capped mountains on three sides and the ocean on the fourth, you feel as if you have entered another world. Perhaps the isolated nature of this valley is the reason why it has remained so charming; to get here you have to drive 12 hours from Vancouver, take a 13 hour ferry ride from Port Hardy, or take an expensive plane ride on a small airplane with Pacific Coastal Airlines. Otherwise this place would have become overdeveloped long ago. Since our arrival we've heard warnings from locals that we may never want to leave, or if we do, that we will leave with a dog. I've got to admit that I've already felt the temptation on both fronts.

We thought this blog would be a good way to share some of our experiences and pictures of our time in Bella Coola. We have no doubt that it will be mostly, if not entirely, our friends and family viewing the blog, but this is as easy a way as any to show you our pictures. Also, it gives us a chance to let some of our creative juices flow. Please don't expect greatness, or even mediocrity; sometimes we will just feel like throwing some pictures up and we won't have anything meaningful or interesting to contribute. When I say "we" I am referring to me and my husband, M, who will also be blogging from time to time. Why the anonymity you ask? Why the pretense, since we know who you are and no one else will care? Well, I guess the answer to that is you never know who might be checking up on you later in life. Who knows, one of us could be running for office someday and our chances will be ruined because we inadvertenly said something scandalous on this blog.

Anyway, back to Bella Coola. We are privileged to call this valley home for the next three and a half months. We intend to take advantage of all the area has to offer both in terms of outdoor activities and cultural experiences. Of course our pictures will never do the valley justice, so you will have to come visit and see for yourself. Don't forget: you might end up going home with a dog. Or you might just end up staying forever. -L