Fraser River Heritage Park

Some of today's group at Fraser River Heritage Park

On a day between rain, 25 Happy Wanderers went all the way into British Columbia to visit the Fraser River Heritage Park, a beautiful place about an hour's drive from Bellingham. There is the problem of getting across the border, but we had no problem and no wait passing through the Sumas crossing. You can see that there were quite a few dark clouds overhead, but we had little rain until we got back to outr cars. I think we are quite lucky on the rain front. 

It had rained quite a lot recently, and you could see lots of standing water and wet leaves on the trails. We decided to take a leisurely trip around the grounds, and then most of us went up the Heritage Mountain Loop, although once we got to the top, we turned around and returned the way we had come. All in all, we covered more than five miles, maybe closer to six. 

Bill, today's leader mapping our route

We did enjoy a quick lunch at the summit, but the views were limited and since we returned the same way we ascended the mountain, we saw a few great vistas, but mostly it was traversing the wet trail as we climbed around 700 feet of elevation.

Great view of the Fraser River

I knew that there was quite a bit of controversy over the Mission school that was located on the property, so I looked up a little of the history, which is available at this link. I knew a small amount of information about what happened at these schools before, but I found this quite interesting and informative.

Interpretive signs were installed in the park prior to the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The original interpretive signs were removed by the District of Mission as they did not adequately reflect the story of St. Mary’s or our deeper understanding of the long-term impacts of the residential school system enacted by the Government of Canada. A small group of First Nations representatives are engaging with the City of Mission and have commenced discussions to develop new signs or interpretive elements to further educate the community and reflect on the devastating impact of the residential school systems and the long-term harm caused to so many.

Frasier River and me

I had a great time and got a good workout as well, and I learned about a new place I had never been before. We climbed down from the mountain and made our way back to our cars, and then home in the United States. It was very restorative to be in another country, even if only for a day. I'm feeling quite happy right now, knowing how fortunate I am to have such good friends in such a great place to live. 

:-)