Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Who Painted on all the Buildings?
Time to head to Victoria and the start of our last week on the Island. The literature indicated that the town of Ladysmith was named “One of the ten prettiest towns in Canada” by Harrowsmith magazine, so we decided to drive through it and look for a place to park. Well, the section we drove through wasn’t all that pretty and there was no RV friendly parking so we continued on our way. When we got to the town of Chemainus, things were a little different. For starters there were signs for RV parking, making parking of the rig quick and easy. This town is famous for its outdoor wall murals. Starting in 1982, the people of Chemainus invited internationally known artists to use the town as a canvas, so they painted murals on the buildings depicting the town’s history, people and its future. The murals are beautiful as is the town with some some cute houses with beautiful gardens. Zaph was impressed as there were a lot of water bowls put out for touring dogs. Chemainus was definitely worth the stop.
We also stopped in Duncan in hopes to see some totem poles. Unfortunately, we arrived just after 5pm. The visitor center was closed, we didn’t see any signs and we were hungry. We phoned and found a place to stay in Victoria, ate dinner then headed to Victoria. So much for totem poles. Duncan is only 60km from Victoria so we can always go back.
a wall mural on the post office of Chemainus
a house in Chemainus
a store in Chemainus
We also stopped in Duncan in hopes to see some totem poles. Unfortunately, we arrived just after 5pm. The visitor center was closed, we didn’t see any signs and we were hungry. We phoned and found a place to stay in Victoria, ate dinner then headed to Victoria. So much for totem poles. Duncan is only 60km from Victoria so we can always go back.
a wall mural on the post office of Chemainus
a house in Chemainus
a store in Chemainus
If you wish you can sign our guest book
We have added a web page with a map of our current location and route to date