Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, CanadaChetwynd
Breakfast near the wood carvings
As soon as we drive into town we can’t
miss the wood carvings, and Paul had to put his foot down that we have
breakfast first – he said otherwise we will never have it – and so we did it,
afterwards we picked up a brochure in town to see where all the wood carvings
are: they have a lot – so many we are unable to look at them all:
The town carved by success – Chetwynd:
- The first fur traders came here around 1778 and in 1919 a log cabin got built, the great eastern Railway arrived here in 1958
- It was formerly known as little prairie, it was then renamed after Ralph Chetwynd the minister of Railway
- Every year in June they have a wood carving contest with around 12 new sculptures, there are already over 150
- The chainsaw carvings started in 1992 in celebration of the 50th year of the Alaska Highway: they began to commission three bear sculptures.
- In 2005 they held the first annual Chetwynd international chainsaw Carving Championship with 7 carvers from BC and the US – now they draw international attention with carvers from Japan, Australia and Wales
- The carvers get the wood and it starts on Thrusday morning at 8 am they have then 4 days and carve for a total of 32 hours – on Sunday at 1 pm is the final horn blown which marks the end of the competition
- They get judged using a point system by the difficulty of the carving, testure, originality, and use of material – then there is also a people’s choice and carvers choice
- The wood used is Red Cedar and the trees are specially chosen for the competion and shipped to Chetwynd for the even: it is the easiest to carve and some say it cuts like butter
- The carvings are maintained by the town: first they get 3 coats of Helmsman by Minwax and then get stored for 5-7 days until they are ready to withstand the elements of the seasons – if they require repair.they get another three coats os stain – they use cedar wedges and cedar sawdust to fill cracks
- The newest chain carvings from the current here are always on the Carvers Row
- One of them is the little giant which came to Chetwynd in 1966 is 9 ft tall and is the mascot of the town: he stands for the spirit or the residents and the hardworking pioneers (the current one is from 2009 and is carved out of a pine which had been affected by the mountain pine beetle)
We check out only a small part of the
wood carvings
Ok – so what to say – they are super
unique, different, some are more our style then others. You can only look and admire
and wouldn’t it be nice to have one of those at home in our yard???? We walked
around a few different areas and then drove along one road to see some more –
they are so cool!!! By the way, they have a map with a list of all carvings and
a picture attached to it (and the year they were made and by whom)– really
cool. As well we got another paper with the this years carvings
Sunshine at Gwillin Lake PP
- John Gwillin came to Canada from England when he was 13 years old, he lived and graduated in Winnipeg and became a member of the Geological Survey of Canada in 1899. He became a professor of mining at the University in Kingston and spend his summers exploring coal lands and later oil fields in Alberta. He created the most acurate area of what is today known as Tumbler Ridge area and he called it the “Tumbler Range”. His route took him along “Rocky Mountain Lake” which was later renamed in his memory in 1921
- This area is rich in gas and coal – the ancient seabad with it’s organic matter and the seams of coal are 3 km below the surface
Today it is still windy, but it is
also getting hot – so Gine said let’s go to the day use area and hopefully we
can relax a few hours in the sunshine – because we really don’t ask for a lot
all what we want is a few hours to relax in the sun!!! Once we arrive it is
windy, but we find a nice protected spot right at the lake – bring out the
towels and finally at the end of august we feel like the summer arrives. On the
way out we stopped at the viewpoint to enjoy an amazing view on the lake. After
coffee we continue on towards the next Destination:
Tumbler Ridge
When driving into the town the town is
super clean it looks like a brand new town – we stop at the Visitor info to get
some info about some hikes and then we head towards the Kinuseo road: what is
really amazing is, that we came by a coal plant – wow that thing is huge, as
well we are on a gravel forestry road and we pass through tunnels!!!
We only drive in for 15 km, and then
find a spot along the river banks and decide we make a stop for the day as it
is already 5 pm. Yes, we can sit down and relax in the sun with a slight breeze
perfect so that we are not too hot and not to cold.
The Global Geo Park in Tumbler Ridge:
Now someone could wonder why do we
drive this extra loop to come here – Gine discovered that here is a super cool
waterfall and that is when she discovered the Geopark:
- A global geopark is a place with exceptional geology and fascinating wildlife, history and culture and tumbler ridge is one of them the 2nd in North America: they get designated by the UNESCO
- Here you walk through millions of years of geological history and you can see how our phusical landscape shapes every aspect of our daily lives
- Here are 34 geo-sites including waterfalls, rock formations, meadows, mountain lakes, summits caves and dinosaur discoveries
- Stories from the first nations tell of the giant footsteps that left pothole lakes and the glacial boulders that move when no-one is around
- In 1953 coal was discovered here, and modern mining started in 1983, as they needed an infrastructure a town got built – at its peak the Quintette mine had 1600 employees and the Bullmoose employed 500
- At the Monkman PP is the oldest rock from 700 Mill years ago – the youngest rock here is 70 Mill years old
Too much gravel road – we turn around
We get up early and then after a
coffee and the morning walk of Paul & Mandy, we headed towards the famous
Kinuseo falls – Paul was not very impressed with this super crappy gravel road
– and then says we won’t drive 80 km of gravel to see one waterfall!!! – Gine
said how about we check the other closer one, he said ok, but when we turned
off, the road gets narrow and crappy with potholes and then it got even
narrower with the trees hanging in on both sites – which would result in a lot
of scratches – ok the visitor info people said the road is not so bad – we
think it is worse and as per Paul we don’t have to see everything!!! And so we
turned around – and on the way out the engine light comes on – now is that from
the bumps???
Breakfast in Tumbler Ridge with Check
Engine light
Paul didn’t want to turn off the truck
outside of town, as we didn’t know what our problem is, so we drove back to
Tumbler ridge and stopped there to first turn off and on the truck – didn’t
work, then he unhooked the engine and we had breakfast – but the light was
still on, after the disconnect. Time to head to a car shop.
Flatbad falls and dinosaur tracks
As it is on the road we decided to
stop, after Paul read it is nearly a 2 hr walk to the dinosaur tracks he said
no, but we did start out to go to the pools, one time we were not so sure on
which way – so Gine ventured ahead and checked it out: all down hill and then
you come to the little pools with the rock – this would be perfect if you want
to spend the day but not if you want to get your truck fixed – so back up
again. Paul said I wait with Mandy you check our the Dinosaur tracks and so
Gine headed out on the walk along the ridge and down to the river, where the
dinosaur tracks are there were 2 easy to spot, then there is the viewpoint from
where you can see where the boys found them, but then it would have been a walk
through the water to get to the next set… and then all the way up
So what is it about the Dinosaurs???
- Two local boys fell off their inner tube while going down the rapids in Flatbed Creek walking back upstream, they thought they saw dinosaur tracks and contacted a paleontologist who confirmed their find.
- Since then, they discovered lots of them in other canyons
- The Tumbler Ridge area boasts the majority of the world’s known tyrannosaurid tracks
- In 2001 they found another dinosaur bone near the trackway, they found a dinosaur skull on the banks of Flat creek in 2017
- The Theropods: are meat-eating dinosaurs and built for speed their trackways are narrow and show three-logged prints often with claws at the end of the toes
- Today the footprints the boys found, are nearly eroded by floods
2025-05-22