Day 7: Oh Canada! Road Trip

I tell you it was nice to leisurely wake up.  Oh and that elevator drove me crazy all night long!  The fan did not really help but at this point I am not asking to move rooms.  I guess I will be super tired tonight and maybe sleep better?  When we entered Banff wee bought the Parks Canada Discovery Pass which entitles our group to free entry to all national parks and historic sites in Canada so we are off to explore two historic sites.  First up is Fort Langley National Historic Site: 

Rising from the mist of the Fraser River, the palisades of Fort Langley stand tall. Inside the walls, rough-hewn timber buildings recreate the rugged 1800s. See where Hudson’s Bay Company fur traders mingled with California gold prospectors and hear First Nations interpreters tell century-old tales. Feel the blast of the musket fire, pan for gold dust dreams and dress up to play a historic trading boss.

 

This is where we lost Colin . . .

 The Storehouse is the only original building and was built in the 1840s.

This is what you find inside today . . .

Okay now this is what I find very fascinating.  None of the furs were secured.  You could just pick them up and do whatever with them.  Now can you imagine this in the U.S.?  I sure can't because there are a lot of dishonest people in our world today.  Anyway, it was cool that you could pick up things and look at them and place them back for others to enjoy too.  I loved the barrels and the smell of fresh wood chips too . . .

We were able to lure Colin away from the gold panning to go feed these guys . . .

For a donation, you picked a bag of food to feed the sheep and goats.  Who isn't a sucker for a mama sheep and her babies?  Let me say she was a greedy mama and wasn't open to sharing with her babies so we had to tag team feed.  We were all a bit hungry so time to move along.  If you spend any time around Canada you probably notice a lot of Tim Hortons.  All week we said we were going to stop to check it out and all week we did not.  So today was the day.  We needed a snack since we did not eat breakfast and the teen was starving!  It was a nice stop for a coffee and donuts.  Colin loved the Timbits (donut holes) and ordered a big box but not for sharing.  It was back on the road for our next stop.  We took the back roads and it was a beautiful drive. 

Next up is Gulf of Georgia Cannery National Historic Site:

 Explore the rise of the West Coast fishing industry at the Gulf of Georgia Cannery in colourful Steveston village.  Learn about fishing methods from net to can.  Amid the smell of salmon and machine oil, workers toiled through history at the Gulf of Georgia Cannery.  Hear their stories and experience the West Coast industrial legacy of "Fishy Business." 

What did I learn?  The smell of machine oil was still very overpowering as we walked around.  Just kidding I did learn something . . .  I found it interesting that the salmon was packed in the can raw, cooked for 90 minutes in the can, and then cooled down for 24 hours.  I always assumed it was packed cooked.  Who knew?  After our visit we headed outside for a late lunch at Pajo’s Fish and Chips.  The place was packed so it had to be good, right?

It was yummy!  The weather was just beautiful and who doesn't enjoy eating outside with these views?

It was back to the hotel to repack for the  next part of adventure . . . we go from land to sea!