British Columbia! What a beautiful place it is. We left Alaska and the rain behind and had two glorious days of sunshine in good old BC. Of course, we didn't even begin to do the province justice, with all the natural beauty we could have enjoyed. We stayed in two different provincial parks and both were on tranquil lakes where we enjoyed sunsets and mostly had the place to ourselves. We also found that most places were closing down by the end of September, a sure sign that winter is on the way soon to Canada. You know, even the most southern part of Canada is north of the US! But not north of Alaska, of course.

The most interesting economic feature of both BC and the Cascade Mountain region of the US is the dependency on logging for economic health. We had never seen so many logging trucks and lumber yards, and trains filled with lumber on their way south. I guess you don't really think about where all the wood in your house comes from, but this is big business here. We saw cleanly logged hillsides, trees in all different stages of growth, and saw the enormous difference between old growth forests and the neatly managed logging forests we drove through. There is definitely a tension between the desire to have natural lands where all species can thrive and the need for wood and jobs to fuel our economy.