The two RV Gypsies in
Smithers, British Columbia, Canada
July 21-24, 2015

Smithers is located in the fertile Bulkley Valley, midway between Prince Rupert and Prince George on the Yellowhead Highway 16. Smithers is a town that embraces its natural alpine theme. It is also a community with a large artistic seam. Many artists and musicians call Smithers home and there are many statues within the town that tell stories of pioneer settlement and more.

Below: The bear signifies that it is not uncommon to see a bear fishing at a creek in Smithers or scratching his back on a tree. However, the two RV Gypsies did not see any bears in Smithers.

Below: Woman Holding Railroad Tie: The mother-like woman holding the railroad tie symbolizes all the pioneer women who worked building the Grand Trunk Railroad, a 4,800 km system whose main line ran from Winnipeg, Manitoba to Prince Rupert, British Columbia. Women played an important role in the blossoming of Smithers. Their husbands and sons labored on the railroad, prospecting, surveying and laying down track.

Below: Fisherman: Every year fishermen from around the world come to Smithers to indulge in the rivers and lakes. The rivers turn red as wave after wave of salmon return to their place of birth to spawn and spark a new generation.

Below: Outside of the Smithers Visitor Center, there was a statue of a cougar and a plant holder with a red ant riding a bicycle.

Alpenhorn Man - Alpine Man: The statue's original home was a small BC town called Rock Creek. Here the statue served as a center piece for the Edelweiss Motel which was destroyed in a fire in 1973. The Alpine man statue was in a pool in front of the motel, so it remained untouched. The Smithers Lions Club purchased the Alpine man for the town of Smithers and it became a fixture on Smithers main intersection - Main Street & Highway 16.

Below: The photo of the Pack Horse was taken by Karen Duquette in 2009. The two RV Gypsies could not find this statue in 2015, although Karen was sure of the exact spot where it was located in 2009. Lee didn't remember seeing it in 2009 and thought Karen was thinking about the small bear statue shown above. Later, Karen found the photos shown below on her computer and posted it here. Her memory was correct.

Then Karen found a description of The Pack Horse statue listed in a brochure at the Visitor Center in 2015. "Prospecting and mining are an important part of Smithers' past and present economy and packhorses were essential to the many surveyors and prospectors who opened this beautiful valley. The horses carried large loads of supplies and tools and were the only companion for many lonely prospectors."

The two RV Gypsies stopped at the KFC in Smithers. They asked if they had pot pies and the working dude said, "No, you must be from The States." Lee ordered the two piece chicken and it was not very good. They forgot to give him the fries that came with it, and Lee did not go back up and complain. Luckily, all they wanted was a quick snack anyway.

There is more Smithers in the British Columbia menu linked below.

This is not a linear site so viewers have a choice of where they want to visit next, so there are several choices below:

Visit sites in the order they happened and continue on to Driftwood Canyon Provincial Park.

OR

Return to the 2015 BC Canada main menu

OR

AFTER you have seen all of the sites in British Columbia, please continue on to The two RV Gypsies in Hyder, Alaska where they saw bears, and glaciers.