Canada Day 2013

Just in time for Canada Day, here are photos I've taken in every province*. Each photo is matched with passages written by notable Canadians to commemmorate the visit of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth to Canada in 1939. You'll see the occasional train, and more importantly for Canada Day, the scenic majesty of our great nation!

You never know what peace is until you walk on the shores or in the fields or along the winding read roads on Abegweit on a summer twilight when the dew is falling and the old, old stars are peeping out and realize the sea keeps its nightly tryst with the little land it loves. 

...Lucy Maud Montgomery. (Above) Fishing boat and harbour at North Rustico PEI 

A peerless sea with multitudes of islands and countless arms forming beautiful bays. It rushes through a funnel-shaped entrance into the Bay of Fundy and rises in the highest tides of the world. But not only has the sea given to Nova Scotia beauty, it has furnished many of her sons with a means of livelihood. In numberless little villages along the shore, men are at work mending their nets, making ready their boats to set forth to the briny deep. 

...Clara Dennis, Low tide in Advocate Harbour NS

From a scenic point of view New Brunswick is a land of picturesque and startling contrasts. It has every kind of beauty, wild or tranquil - the thunderous plunge and savage gorge of Grand Falls; crowding, darkly-wooded heights; rolling green upland farmsteads; sleepy red-and-white villages; a chain of luxuriant meadow-islands studded with orange field-lilies, elm trees and willows. 

...Charles G.D. Roberts. Grand Falls NB

Winter and spring and snow and heat alternated, yet left my wondering purpose undisturbed. And Quebec was born. It was not in the forest alone that I found myself; it was as an enterprise. I was a settler, peasant, soldier, workman, merchant and navigator, trapper and missionary all in one. And then, one morning, as I wiped my forehead and drew my eyes away from the daily task, suddenly, around me, I perceived New France.

...Robert Choquette, Quebec City QC

From every perspective Ottawa is dominated by Parliament Hill and its Houses, whose central point is the Peace Tower in which is enshrined a small and precious memorial chapel - the nation's tribute to those who died in the war of 1914-18. Ontario's flavour is not to be found in landscape, architecture or industries. It lies in the character of its people, in their sense of freedom, their sense of the possibilities for social and economic progress.

...Katherine Hale. Parliament Hill, Ottawa ON

Manitoba had been admitted into Confederation and was so small that it was called 'the postage stamp province'. But Lord Dufferin was sure of its future. In a speech, he made this prophecy, "Manitoba is destined to be the keystone of a mighty arch of sister provinces stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific." 

...W. T. Allison. 'Coke can' grain cars at Symington Yard, Winnipeg MB

Wheat Country, men call Saskatchewan, for it is wheat that girds her; wheat that rivets to her golden heart the young, as well as the old and proud, provinces of Canada. Men fear her hardness when she wakes the heavens to imperial rages; and her affection, too, when for a royal mantle, she catches and holds the sunlight of the world beneath her skies of blue - unending. 

...Mary Weekes. Pioneer grain elevator at Rosetown SK.

The long billows of waving grain-fields as Alberta became an agricultural province, the bustling towns and cities of a sudden prosperity, the consecration of war and the burdens of readjustment, with always the steadfast mountains standing guard, has been distilled a spirit which is particularly the spirit of Alberta. It is an adventurous spirit, broad in vision, intense in energy, generous in motive, courageous in accomplishment and undismayed in defeat. 

...Robert J.C. Stead. Elk and river from the dome car, near Banff, AB

Adventurous ones want to invade the silent places, where no foot falls but the feet of wild animals - the long beaches of white sand packed hard by the pounding surf, fertile meadow lands where no plow has turned the sod, rich waiting valleys where seasons come and go, but no one knows but the birds and bears, for those treasures are guarded by impenetrable forests, steep and rugged coast lines, menacing mountain ranges. 

...Nellie L. McClung. Mountains from VIA's Skeena, Smithers BC

Running extra...

Still feeling especially patriotic? Check out previous posts of Canada Day by Train from 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012.

*Newfoundland became a province in 1949, and it was not included in the original 1939 writings. Good thing, because I haven't made it to The Rock yet!

Now, since you've read this far, it's clear you're an avid Trackside Treasure reader and proud of Canada.  Let's see if you're as observant as you are patriotic. You can win a Trackside Treasure Patriotic Prize Pack by counting the number of photos in this post that feature a Canadian flag or maple leaf. No tricks here, they're fairly obvious, usually on a building or form of transportation. Simply list which provinces' photos in an email to me (email address in the blog header) or as a comment after this post. Two Packs to be won...good luck et bonne chance, eh?

July 1 - Canada Day update:
Loyal Trackside Treasure readers Elijah Hall of Saskatoon and Jakob Mueller of Ottawa are the first to have correctly answered that five of the photos contain Canadian flags: PEI, NS, ON and MB.  The CCGS at Quebec City was a bonus, as it sports a maple leaf logo.  The Pioneer elevator was certainly red-and-white, but there's no flag to be seen.  Patriotic Prize packs are on their way to the two winners. Thanks to all for your participation!

Happy Canada Day to one and all!

Eric