Prince Rupert, BC

We left the Alaska Marine Ferry for the last time on this journey and drove a short distance to downtown Prince Rupert, which is located on an island in British Columbia. The latter is larger than California, Oregon and Washington State together. It is a beautiful land of mountains, valleys, sparking lakes, scenic railways, and deeply carved river canyons. Its highways are excellent, and its climate is ideal for outdoor recreation. Prince Rupert is a cosmopolitan city of 15,000 people representing several different cultures. First Nation people have been here for 10000 years. We liked the Northern British Columbia Museum, where many fine native artifacts may be found. This city deserves more time than the two and a half days we could stay.

On Sunday we attended an inspirational church service at Fellowship Baptist Church. How often do you see the pastor serve as contemporary music drummer? We could feel the presence of the Holy Spirit the moment we entered the door. The church was small, but there were many youth in the service. When it came time for a young layman to put on a hokie hat and address the children, 14 kids sat down upfront and appeared spellbound during his short, humorous message. We would add that there was no shortage of friendly seniors, who seemed as enthusiastic as the young people. In the afternoon, we took a cruise around Kaien Island, where we could observe PR Port from every side. The Captain of our small vessel was Trent, a young man who cheerfully shared the history of the city and really knew how to navigate the rapids in narrow passes. We saw eagles, seals, and porpoises plus examples of the various industries to include fishing, shrimping, logging, shipping, and canning.

We tried something different in the way of lodging in PR. Gloria had always wanted to experience a hostel, so we finally took the risk. The historic three story Pioneer Hostel (no elevator) had been recently remodeled and was neat and clean with old fashioned décor. Its location near Sunken Gardens in historic Old Town was ideal. We had a small, private room with no TV or phone and shared a modern bath. The Wi-Fi signal throughout the facility was strong. We greatly enjoyed meeting people of all ages from different countries in the common dining room and sitting area. The competent youthful manager, Christy, delighted us the first night with homemade cookies. Pioneer Hostel was a bargain at $50 Cdn. per night.