What do cows, totem poles, salmon, the Titanic, ancient petroglyphs and goose tongues have in common? They are all part of Prince Rupert’s fascinating heritage. The city of 12,200 people surprised us as soon as we opened a Tourism Prince Rupert map during our Air Canada flight from Vancouver. We knew that it was on the northwest coast of British Columbia, but we didn’t know that it was situated offshore on Kaien Island. As our plane descended towards the pine-covered islands hugging the fjord-indented coastline, we discovered that the airport was also on an island (named Digby). Our next surprise was Prince Rupert’s 22-kilometre-long harbour. One of the deepest and most protected natural harbours in the world, it remains ice-free year-round. The harbour was one reason why city founder Charles Hays decided to make Prince Rupert the western terminus for his transcontinental Grand Trunk Pacific (GTP) Railway. He lured eminent architects to design B.C.’s first planned city, along with magnificent hotels along the GTP route. Story and photos © Barb & Ron Kroll Photo: iStock.com/Christa Boaz Prince Rupert, B.C. 16 | www.snowbirds.org Travel
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