Chilliwack

We were on the road by 9.00am and with the help of the GPS reached Chilliwack Army Museum without any problems. An interesting drive through the Fraser Valley which is surrounded by mountains and appears to be the fruit bowl of the area. Vegies, berries, sweet corn and plants all seem to be grown in this area.

The museum is housed in part of the old quarter masters store. Chilliwack was a large military base as it was far enough from the coast not to be subjected to shell fire from ships but close enough to the coast to be able to defend Vancouver. There is not much left of the base now and a lot of the grounds have been turned into public open space and a trades training centre. Most of the land has been redeveloped for private housing and some of the old buildings retain their facade but behind are new buildings. The museum is right beside the river which has an enormous amount of water flowing down it at the moment as there were large snowfalls last winter followed by heavy rains.

On the fridge in the kitchen is a sticker "Merredin Military Museum Western Australia" so it is a reminder of how small this world is.

Jim was presented with a Canadian flag which he was very happy to receive.

Our thanks to the museum volunteers for their Canadian hospitality and allowing us to use their facilities.  They have a great museum.