Totem Poles & Dog Sledding - Day One

16 March, 2006

(Click on the images to view larger versions)

SAT 11th MARCH

There were a couple of things up in Canada that we'd not managed to do yet, so we decided to do a weekend trip to tidy up the lose ends.

We left early Sat morning as it takes over three hours to get up to Vancouver.

And atmospheric view from the I5 as we were driving up.

The mist had lifted by the time we spotted Mount Baker in the backgound.
And then we were at the Peace Arch at the border.

 

One side is in Canada, the other in America - on the longest undefended border in the world.
Fergus (on the phone) at one of the huge carved figures at the UBC Museum of Anthropology.  This Welcome Figure is carved out of red cedar by a Nuu-chah-nulth artist Joe David.  It was actually created to protest logging taking place on tribal lands.

The museum specializes in the study of the First Nations people (Native Americans of the North West - mainly in BC and around the coast).
Once at the museum, we got a tour of the totem poles.

 

This was our Scottish guide (I don't know how the others understood her as her accent was still very strong) telling us about this totem pole from inside a house.  It was originally painted and they painted it in the '50s for an exhibition.  Most totem poles in the museum no longer have paint as its has been worn off over the years, and it's not policy to re-paint them any more.
These are two parts of a totem pole that was split into four (they used to do this for transportation to museums!). 

The first one, on the left, is the base of the totem pole and depicts a bear (his square ears are on the bottom of the second pole).  The second picture is sideways to show the human/cormorant transformation taking place (the arms are getting wings).  This totem pole depicted the Cormorant family.  All First Nations people believe they are descendants of some animal e.g. Eagles, Cravens, Bears, Wolves.

 
Luckily, there was plenty of room outside for whole totem poles.

 

You can see the Canadian mountains in the background.
It was another beautiful day, though very cold up here.
This was a funeral pole. 

They used to place the body at the top of the pole and let it "return to nature" over time.  Of course, that wasn't acceptable to the missionaries and the government, who forced a stop to the practice in the early 1900s. 

 
 

Next, the First Nations people created a box at the top of the funeral poles - and the coffin fitted neatly into the box.  That's a box totem pole to the right of the picture.

 

Of course, the box would eventually rot too, so that was also banned, and eventually they took to building funeral houses (which is in the background to the left of the picture).
Potlatches (a chinook word meaning "to give") were also banned (in 1884).

 These were feasts hosted to mark a memorable event (e.g. birth, marriage, death).  Stories were told, food was served and gifts were given.  The better the gifts, the more it raised your status.

The wooden carved serving dishes (yes they are so big they gave them wheels) were surrendered to the Indian agent after the illegal potlatch as it was better to lose the traditional carvings than get your son sent to prison for a year.  The Indian Agents would then sell these artifacts to us tourists.
This is "The Raven and The First Men" carved out of a huge block of yellow cedar by Bill Reid (a renowned First Peoples artist).  It was commissioned by Walter Koerner.

It depicts the wise though mischievous Raven finding the first people in a clam shell on the beach, and coaxing them out.
This is a stove from the 1500s.  Walter Koerner collected antique European ceramics, and when he didn't have enough room in his house any more, he built a wing in this museum to house his collection.
Next, it was on to Granville Island.

 

Connected to the mainland by this bridge, it is actually situated under the Granville Bridge which is one of the main bridges into Vancouver.
We had lunch and pint of local brew.
And called in at the famous Farmer's Market. 

(It's not as good as Pike Place of course.)

Next, we went to the area where Vancouver started in 1867- Gastown.  This is Fergus with the world's first steam clock over his shoulder and the Vancouver Lookout tower in the background. 

 

 

 

We visited Storyeum - the underground tour takes you through the history of the area.  It was a great show, but we weren't allowed photographs!
Currently, Storeyeum also have a dinosaur exhibition.

This poor child was absolutely terrified by the huge dinosaur that had escaped and appeared from behind the tour guide.  They had to leave!
I was brave and went in to the compound behind to see the animated T-Rex up close.  It was huge.  I was terrified, but smiled for the photo. 
This is a Chrichtonsaurus Bohlini.   80% of the skeleton is real, incluidng the skull (it's rare to get an intact skull).  Can you guess how it got it's name?

 

This type of dinosaur was only discovered in 2002 in China.  It has been named after the Jurassic Park author (Michael Crichton).  Way to go!
They had some HUGE skeletons - a huge Mamenchisaurus on the left (it's 25m long and it's neck is half of that) and a Yangchuanosaurus (it's 10m long and 6m high and was the largest carnivor in China).
And some TINY fossils - three tiny turtles (very like modern day ones) and an ancestor of the chicken.
 

That evening we traveled up to Squamish - halfway between Vancouver and Whistler.
The view over Britannia Bay.
That night, we went out for dinner and drinks at The Shady Tree.
The next morning, this was the view from the window of our hotel, the Mountain Retreat Hotel & Suites.  Isn't it gorgeous?  I think the snow-covered mountain is Mt Drew. 

 

Luke Perry and Michael-Jamal Warner stayed in our hotel while they were filming for Jeremiah (what can I say? - I was a fan from Beverly Hills 90210 days).
  On the second day of our trip, we were hoping the tour bus would be able to get us to our destination.

 

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