TRAVEL THE WORLD - PORT ALBERNI, B.C., CANADA

Whenever I go to the West Coast of Canada, I am amazed at the beauty of the forests and size of the trees. 2003 at Cathedral Grove near Port Alberni on Vancouver Island was no exception.

TRAVEL THE WORLD - KAMLOOPS, CANADA

During the 2003 trip in our rented motor home in Alberta and British Columbia, there were the worst forest fires they had ever had. While we were camping at Radium, we were worried because the fires seemed to be very close, and we could smell smoke. Next day, when we left, one highway was actually closed. Smoke can be seen in this photo taken near the town of Chase near Kamloops. The town was threatened by a fire described by the Globe and Mail as covering 22 square kilometers on August 18, 2003. More than 140 firefighters and 5 helicopters were fighting that fire which was only one of several that were burning in southern B.C. I remember a radio report that blamed at least one of the fires on the carelessness of people handling matches.

TRAVEL THE WORLD - PORT ALBERNI, CANADA

One of my favourite things is to walk in deep woods as we did on this day in 2003 near Port Alberni. The photo captures exactly the way the light came in towards us through the trees. If you live in Alberta, as I did for many years, you must go all the way to the west coast of British Columbia to see trees as big a these. Many in this forest were even bigger!