by a Friday drive
Yesterday, on a spur-of-the-moment decision we decided to go for a ‘Sunday drive’ along the stunning Sea-to-Sky Highway from Vancouver to Whistler. As many know, I love rocks and this highway has numerous massive walls of cut rock with fascinating sculptural faces and colour variations, often where one cannot not stop for photos. The ones above were taken from the parking lot near Brandywine Falls.
Below is a view of the Stawamus Chief rock near Squamish, a very popular spot for rock face climbers. Though we’ve seen this many times, for the first time I noticed the face of it had an image that looked to me like a samurai, with a fierce expression, arms outstretched in battle form and robe waving behind.
May 17, 2014 in Canada and BC, Rocks by Marja-Leena
Geology is a never-ending fascination. So often on trips I wish that we had a pocket-sized geologist on hand to answer our questions. Books are never flexible enough.
Olga, I know what you mean! I am made to think of the series of films called Geologic Journey – about how the continents and the mountains were formed. Here we see how man is changing those land forms when cutting through for highways and exposing those layers of geologic history.
And I see a turtle coming out from under it’s shell and a big-nosed Manitou face bottom left. And you took me back 58 years to when we landed with baby girl on our arms in Montreal and rented a room in a rooming house where our next door neighbour on the floor was an immigrant from Austria, I am still in touch with Alois who eventually settled down in Squamish.
Ellena, it is so interesting what others see! And how just the mention of a place name has brought back such memories from long ago. Thanks for sharing. Have you been for a visit to her on this west coast? You would love it.
Fascinating image! I also see the ‘Ellena’ turtle image, although I thought it reminded me of Yoda from Star Wars.
Tom, Yoda seems not too far different from a samurai!
You’re right! Do you suppose some avid sculptor plied his chisels late one night?
Susan, I did wonder how the surface broke off like that, as if with a sculptor’s chisel. One of those rock climbers? Or was some rock splitting dynamite used beside the highway somewhere nearby and cause fractures that later made the surface break away here? I like to think it was Nature’s sculpture.
Hah, like your samurai! My first look said there was a fox-nosed person in a hood… And I like the subtle colors in that first photograph…
Marly, how very amusing this is turning out with everyone offering their own guesses! I like the fox-nose on my samurai!
I loved all the colours in the dynamited rock faces and often wished we could have stopped to capture photos of more of them.
I just wanted to say how much I like the name ‘Squamish’, an amalgam of ‘squeamish’ and ‘squamous’!
Lucy, I imagine the earliest narrow highway left many feeling squeamish.
The name Squamish refers to the First Nations people of that valley and is derived from their word Sḵwx̱wú7mesh.
Yes, I see it too. Is that granite, or marble?
Hattie, I’m not very good at identifying rocks, but I think it’s granite like most of our Coast Mountains.
I too love rocks. Here in Ontario we have the Canadian Shield and it’s wonderful to drive through them. Sunday drives any day of the week are welcome.
Dolores, someone once told me that a love of rocks is part of the Finnish nature! I know the Canadian Shield well, it extends to eastern Manitoba where my parents had a summer cottage. I also remember many car trips to Thunder Bay and as far as Toronto in my youth.