I watched Rick Mercer’s report on swimming with the salmon and I tell ya, I’m moving to that Campbell River place.
Okay, I know, I already live here. Rick was preaching to the converted when I watched his segment of floating down the river. It’s always interesting to see how television portrays things. The Campbell certainly looked longer than it is as frequent cutaways and edits made it look like his run took longer than you might think.
But the beautiful, clear water, verdant forested banks and the spectacular Elk Falls Canyon translated well to television sets across the nation. Certainly a great postcard from Campbell River – wish you were here.
Mercer is always a hoot and he looked like he was having fun. It was great publicity for the community and definitely for Jim DeHart’s Destiny River Adventures.
In terms of laughs though, I got more chuckles out of the first segment in which Mercer and pop singer Jann Arden went up the CN Tower to hang out at the top – literally.
I guess the thing to do on Canada’s highest structure is to strap a cable to a safety wire and walk around the perimeter. You’re encouraged to lean out from the edge with your butt hanging over the city of Toronto.
Now there’s a worthwhile tourist attraction – moon the residents of Canada’s biggest city.
That’s almost worth leaving the winsome shores of Vancouver Island to travel to our biggest of Big Smokes to indulge in.
Arden is a funny woman (I like her music too) and complements Mercer’s zany behaviour with her own. She was the one who pointed out that all of Toronto could see her butt when she was suspended over the edge.
Mercer has conquered Toronto many a time and now he’s conquered Campbell River. Residents lined the bank of the Campbell with signs saying Hi Rick and welcome.
It cracked me up when he pulled up to a riverside dock and was invited to have a beer. He politely declined but did wryly note it was Lucky Lager being offered – how Campbell River.
I wonder if a Guinness or something a little more high-brew would have enticed him?
Meanwhile, swimming with the salmon continues to be the quintessential thing to do in Campbell River. You wonder if it is ever going to lose its lustre but it certainly doesn’t appear to be. Have to remember to keep the river full of salmon.
Speaking of salmon...I was happy to see the progress being made on the former Ocean Blue Cedar sawmill site.
Another chunk of the Campbell River estuary is being converted back to a natural state under the magical touch of Jim Van Tine. Native plants and a daylighted stream bed provides more natural nursery for returning salmon.
It’s all good work and will go a long way to ensuring there are salmon to swim with in the Campbell River.