Special Places

Had I been asked thirty years ago whether North America was high on my list of places to visit, the answer would have been, "No." Events out of our control meant we had to go to Canada and, almost from the moment we arrived there, we fell in love with it. In part, it was the vastness of the place, its wildness, and the number of times one came round a corner and encountered scenery which took one's breath away; and the warmth of its people.

One of the advantages of being retired is I can use my time to sit quietly and look back on some of the nine times we've visited Canada, and the two occasions when we travelled on to the USA, simply by scrolling through the photos I took; but I can also shut my eyes and conjour up some of the sights, sounds and smells of a whole list of special places.

Some places particularly stick in my mind. This is one, a ranch about which I have written before. It's in British Columbia and runs a small herd of North American buffalo. The visit started well, for our arrival at what turned out to be a slightly run-down log cabin where we were to spend a few nights, was greeted by....

....this beautiful little humming bird. Our walks in the deserted lands around the ranch were constantly interrupted by the discovery of new species, like....

....a clearing filled with slipper orchids, near which we came upon a small pond which was alive with....

....dragon- and damselflies; and the visit was made even more special by....

....a coyote who trotted past, completely ignoring us.

We did at one time seriously consider moving to Canada to join our son and his family but, sad as it is to say, I think our decision not to was wise. One of the things which weighs against Canada is its very long and very cold winters. However, I would like to go back for another visit, if only to sit in the sun and look out at what must be some of Earth's few remaining vastnesses of natural wilderness.