the Yellowhead
Posted by Theresa Kishkan
How to describe the changing beauty of the Yellowhead Highway? The dense forests from Terrace to Smithers, river below rimed with snow? And Smithers itself, a gem of a community…We had lunch at Java’s—delicious wild grain pies, bright salad, casual and funky ambience. Our presentations in Smithers went very well. The class I met with, a History 11 class, was a delight. An eager and erudite teacher, good kids who asked interesting questions, a librarian who was keenly interested in books and writing. The eastward journey—now, doesn’t that sound like a travel book by Basho?—was long and a few of us slept but Bryan kept the tunes playing, the gas tank filled (courtesy of one of our sponsors, PetroCanada), and brought us safely into Prince George, through the chilly grassy fields fringed with birch near Vanderhoof, with an hour to spare! This evening’s reading was a highlight. Books and Company is a lovely store and the audience was enthusiastic.
I want to say that this is a nifty group of women—Nan, Kari-Lynn and Mary. There is such camaraderie among us. We laugh, tell stories, jokes, share apples, sandwiches, oranges, chocolate, licorice toffee. And Bryan is a perfect Honourary Boyfriend, opening doors for us, keeping us on time, on schedule in a gentle thoughtful way.
And the more I encounter teachers, librarians, and book-sellers on this Northern Tour, the more I am grateful that such people exist. They make us welcome, make us at home in their classrooms, libraries, bookstores, feed us, celebrate us, share their students and friends with us.
