Smithers
From Quesnel we headed north to Prince George, then northwest from there to Smithers. It was about a six hour drive in a direction that was taking us away from all the forest fires. In Smithers, we stayed at the Riverside Municipal Campground, which is right on the shores of the Bulkley River.There were walking trails from the campground that took you along the river and into town.
We took many walks along the river and had a quick (chilly) “swim” in it one evening (I say that in quotes because it really just involved getting out deep enough to fall back into the water and then stand up again before getting pushed too far down the river by the current).
On our first walk around the town we were greeted by Alpine Al (or Alpenhorn Man) at the corner of main street and Highway 16.
Apparently, in its early days, Smithers was known for being a railroad town, and was mainly a swamp before the town was developed. In 1972 an Alderman suggested that a theme be selected for the town for people to work with to give it a more memorable appearance. An “Alpine” theme was selected, in part because of the mountainous background in the town. Alpine Al was originally the centrepiece of the Edelweiss Motel in Rock Creek, the same Rock Creek where we started our float on the Kettle River. In 1973 the motel burned down, but Alphenhorn Man, being in the middle of a pool of water, had survived. The Alderman contacted the motel owner, the Smithers Lions Club got involved, and the Alpenhorn Man was purchased for Smithers. The Alderman and his son took their station wagon, loaded the 7ft statue in the back, strapped the 10ft horn to the roof rack, and drove him back to Smithers, where he stands to this day.
On our walk downtown in search of coffee, we turned a corner and were pleasantly surprised to see a mural of the musician Alex Cuba.
Alex is a multiple grammy winning musician, who was born in Cuba, but has lived in Smithers for over 20 years. He played many times at Adam’s original music venue, and we had arranged to meet him the next day for lunch. He gave us a copy of his newest album “Voces De Mi Familia” and told us a lovely story about the album’s genesis, which involved his cousin sending him a recording of his Aunt (who was suffering from dementia) singing a song. It was lovely to catch-up with him.
Quite close to the Campground was a disc golf course in Ranger Park.
On our first time playing it, we ended up joining the two people that were playing ahead of us. It turned out one of them helped design and install the course. By day he manages the local radio station, which we had noticed downtown because it’s in an old train car.
They were having a “Lounge Car Session” (their version of the NPR “Tiny Desk Concerts”) the next day, but that’s when we were meeting Alex for lunch so we couldn’t make it.
Across from the radio station is the small museum. Close to the entrance is a small display case where they rotate through various “Found in Collection” items.
I love that they do this. Displaying items for which they have no record of who donated it, when, or why. They also had this beautiful wooden loom for making tumplines.
Smithers was a beautiful, quaint, small town. I was quite taken with the purple hue of the stones along the Bulkley River, and the mountains that framed most of the views in the town.
Some of the places we frequented in the town included: Bugwood Coffee (an outdoor coffee stand); Two Sisters Cafe (for coffee and breakfast sandwiches and had a lovely patio); Mountain Eagle Books (which also had a coffee bar in it); Local Supply Co (if you have worn out your walking shoes and need to replace them); and Aspen Riverhouse (definitely a place to go for a weekend breakfast).
From Smithers, we headed even further west, to our turn-around point in Prince Rupert.