Smithers with Jen and Ren

The next few days of our trip were in Smithers visiting my childhood best friend, Jennifer O’Hara (a.k.a. “JenMaheu”). The drive to Smithers was about five hours. We moved slowly that morning and spent some time in Prince Rupert. We had breakfast at a cool café, called Cowpuccino’s Coffee House, found in the Cow Bay area of the town. We shopped at a gift shop, called Homework, filled with a cornucopia of unique house items. We browsed through an art gallery along a pier. We even saw a rainbow pathway that I later learned was painted by local high school students in support of the LGBTQ community (thanks Google!). Such a quaint town! It was a lovely, peaceful morning and a great start to another day of driving.

Incredibly, the mountains on this stretch of highway were larger and more beautiful than those further south. Most were capped with white glaciers, and we saw many crystal blue rivers at their feet.

This is so hard to describe, and the pictures really don’t do justice to the beauty of the scenery. It really is something you need to see with your own eyes.

We stopped by the side of the road for a quick pee break for Chip and found a gorgeous hidden cove, where we skipped rocks for a while, before getting back in the car. I could have sat there all day enjoying the beauty and peace of this rocky river. Funny, what looked like a wide gravel shoulder, perfect for a quick puppy stop, turned into the discovery of a little corner of heaven.

Before we reached Smithers, we passed through the remote town of Terrace. Here we ate the most delicious chicken Caesar wraps for lunch. We got them at a gas station deli where we accidentally locked the keys in the bathroom, oops! Terrace apparently has the

Walmart that is to closest Smithers – only two hours and fifteen minutes down the road. According to Wikipedia, Terrace is “the regional retail and service hub for the northwestern portion of British Columbia”. Wow, that gives one a new appreciation for urban living…but I can see easily how one could give up the conveniences of a local Walmart to live in the most beautiful region of the country.

We arrived in Smithers just in time to watch Ren, Jen and Lee’s little boy, blow out the candle on his birthday cake. He turned one that week, and his dad Lee wanted to share his cake with him before he went for his two week stretch of work in the mines, further north, the next day. This was the first time we were meeting Ren since Jen and Lee adopted him from Japan the summer before. It was impossible to resist falling in love with such a sweet little boy and fall head-over-heels is what we did.

The next couple days were spent “chillaxing” with Jen and Ren. Ren entertained us with constant joyful smiles and giggles. He was so much fun to play with. We were challenged with keeping him from playing with Chip’s dog toys, but quickly learned the easiest solution was to trade for any shakeable container – Sadie’s half empty water

bottle and my old medicine container of hair clips were a couple of favourites. He also seemed to like the ocean themed baby mat and toys I crocheted for him and his soon-to-arrive baby twin sisters!!

Carrying twins did not seem to slow down Jen at all. She happily showed us a few pretty sights of Smithers. Our first day included a trip to the park where Ren preferred the stone gravel to the swings. Chip loved chasing the squirrels, and the girls played on the see-saw.

Our biggest venture was climbing up the trail in Bulkley Valley to see Twin Falls – two waterfalls side by side, cascading over rock bluffs of Hudson Bay Mountain, flowing from the Kathlyn Glacier. It was a short hike along a one-kilometre trail that went uphill. I was grateful for the railings to help pull myself up the last few metres. The platform at the top of the trail brought us to the base of the waterfalls.

Here we rested on the little bench under a small trellis that gave us some shelter from the drizzly rain. After a few kodak moments, we headed back down the trail. The trek down was a little trickier than up due to the wet, slippery rocks and muddy spots, but we succeeded with no mishaps. Kuddos to Jen for doing the hike while carrying three babies – two in her belly and one in her carrier!

Jen, Ren, and I enjoyed another hike that week along the Smithers Perimeter Trail, through the forest, back up the road, and through the park to Main Street. We stopped for lunch at Two Sisters Café where I enjoyed the scrumptious Deconstructed Chicken-Avocado Spring Roll. Ren was content to drop most of his lunch in his lap and on the floor – I’m sure some of it landed in his mouth.

We visited Main Street another day, with the girls, in search of ice cream. We had tried to find it after we played at the park, but it had moved. Frozen North was a cool, wooden ice cream truck that parked in various locations around town. We found it this time behind the sidewalk espresso bar called Bugwood Bean. How perfect! We could enjoy an iced coffee and an ice cream at the same time! This

was my favourite snack spot of the trip. I loved these two tiny wooden huts, with tree stump tables and stools on the patio, in friendly downtown Smithers, with the sun shining and mountains in the background – sigh… too bad I didn't take more pictures!

The rest of our visit in Smithers was highlighted with hanging out, playing with Ren, reading, watching movies, and girl talk. These were some of our favourite days of our trip. Completely relaxing, with no expectations, and Ren’s smile to bring us joy.