Oh my, where do I start?
I am not the only one who came to visit here and then decided to stay forever...

Its unbelievably beautiful here, just considering the wild places, the animals and birds and plants... Mountains and forests and smaller islands and ocean all wrapped up in a temperate climate that rarely dips below freezing. There is so much wild beauty here that I could soak all that in and be content...but there is more...

There is a rich native culture here, the Haida People, who are justifiably proud of their insights, traditions...and of course their art. I feel totally at home here watching the skilled carvers create beautiful totem poles, or weavers or mask makers, or jewelry artisans...and I have been made most welcome...smiles
I think my Pictish, Celtic ancestors would be quite at home with the stories the Haida tell, as well as their symbology...just as I am.

Then there is a rich tradition of Art being produced here by such famous art adventurers as Emily Carr.... I must say that I didn't really bond with the Group of Seven Artists till I came to Haida Gwaii and then I was walking through the Anvil Trail at Tlell and I suddenly knew...I understood what they were trying to say. It was like I was initiated into a community of artists that had walked this trail before I was even born, Taking their paints and their sketchbooks to capture the spirit of the place the mood, the feeling like the whole forest is aware...

And this brings me to another revelation about Haida Gwaii...everyone knows its magic. There is a spring, like the old traditional springs in Scotland, a place where if you drink you are destined to come back again and again. I don't know if there is a truth spring here...but I wouldn't be surprised. There is sleeping beauty mountain...

and places that I have only heard tales of so far...can't wait to explore, but you can feel the tingle of the magic all around you everywhere...