We stopped at Duncan, which is home to one of the world’s most unique outdoor museums. Totem poles stand proudly beside the roads, businesses, and parks in celebration of an ancient art, and as testament to today’s thriving First Nations culture. There are over 80 totem poles within the city and surrounding area. Yellow footprints are painted on the sidewalks so you can discover the totems.
We visited the town of Chemainus, known as ‘the little town that did’. This community managed to turn a serious economic downturn into success. In the early 1980s this small seaside town was a single-industry mill town, and when the mill closed, it had to fight for its very survival. The combination of some provincial seed money, visionary community leaders, and many supportive residents, enabled the town to re-invent itself as the thriving artistic and cultural destination it is. They have outdoor murals to showcase local history, and in the process attract free-spending tourists. We walked on main street and strolled through Old Chemainus viewing many of the murals. This was made easier since they had yellow painted footsteps on the sidewalks, a really clever idea. We really liked this friendly little town.
Our next destination was Ladysmith which in the early 1900s was born out of the coal boom. Later it became a logging center, but today tourism plays a very large role in paying the bills. The streets here are steep which present wonderful vistas over the bays and islands. We wandered their main street by foot and also took a trolley ride to see the waterfront. Some of the buildings were brightly painted. When we returned from the waterfront we took a small hike on the Holland Creek Trail.
We have found in most of these small towns are many gift shops, clothing boutiques, restaurants and also many thrift/consignment stores. The reason for the latter we do not know!
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