ODDS’N’SODS — Canada, the sublime

From the Pacific to the Atlantic, from the 49th Parallel to the frozen Arctic — every inch of this vast country is precious, if only we took the time to contemplate its sublime and majestic terrain.

Let us begin at the coastal inlets of British Columbia where the rugged Coast Mountains rise imperiously from the waters edge, clothed in magnificent stands of pine, fir, spruce, cedar and hemlock. Thence across the interior plateau incised by the swirling muddy waters of the Fraser, Thompson, Columbia, Kootenay, Bulkley, Skeena and Peace Rivers. Then launch into the mighty Rockies, a ragged ridge of upthrust rock formations extending along the entire border of British Columbia and Alberta and up into the Yukon.

Next, we enter the wild rose country of our inland Prairies, bisected by the easterly flowing waters of the Bow and Saskatchewan Rivers. Here is a huge patchwork quilt of farms, ranches, cattle, wheat and asphalt. And moving eastward, huge bumper crops of wheat, oats, barley, rye, corn and rape-seed can be seen flooding the grain elevators, hopper cars and railway cars.

Within neighboring Manitoba, fertile valleys of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers form a paradise for hardy pioneers in a land richly blessed with lakes, rivers and a wondrous soil cover. Pass your hands through the black soil of the Red River Valley of Manitoba or cast a line into a northern lake for a pike or a pickeral and feel the firm pulse of Canada responding.

Onwards to the east, into the playground of lakes, rivers, valleys and parks of mighty Ontario. The great lakes of Superior, Huron, Erie and Ontario form a sprawling empire of water for commerce, travel or scenic wonder. Pass through the outlying mining-farming districts of Sudbury, Kirkland Lake or Timmins and into the industrial heartland of Hamilton and Toronto where factories and commuter cars blanket the landscape.

Follow the mighty St. Lawrence River as it journeys through the pristine setting of farms and factories nestled between the Gatineau and Gaspe Hills. View the land where fearless Jacques Cartier and Samuel de Champlain first set the flag and writ of Europe’s sturdy sons and daughters –where red neighbors welcomed white immigrants to form our first frontier families. Then on into central and northern Quebec where the proud Fleurs-de-Lis flies over top the rustic farm communities enclosed in tall stands of red maple and yellow birch groves. Smell the smoke of old pioneer wood fires, still proudly burning. Witness the thunderous roar of Churchill Falls in the Labrador Trench.

Still in the swirl of the St. Lawrence, pass into the picturesque estuary where the proud farms of Anne of Green Gables cover an island of staunch sons and daughters who pioneered the Union of Canada. Then across the open waters of a coastline rich in harvests of cod, herring, salmon, crab and lobster and onwards over green forest cover and farmlands to New Brunswick. A short crossing of mighty Fundy Bay takes us to Nova Scotia, where fishing villages and coal fields intermingle with the commerce of mine and forest.

Thence journey out into the fierce North Atlantic buffeted by storms and gales, passing over lonely fishing trawlers to the safety of harbors in St. John’s and Harbour Grace.

Onwards still, to our northern frontier to a magnificent land of lakes, streams and unmeasured shore-line, to an outer fan of islands locked in the Arctic Sea and home to ancient tribes of Innuit, Cree, Eskimo and countless wanderers, who have shared this domain since the dawn of time.

Here then is our country — ours to share; ours to cultivate; ours to travel, admire and honor. And, most humbly, here are our people — joined in one love, one prayer and one communal stewardship and commitment.

— S.J. Hunter, a retired mining engineer and regular contributor, resides in Vancouver, B.C.