Episode 46: Where in the WORLD is Powell River?
Summary
Join me in this "other" Salisbury adventure, where I get to introduce you to our Canadian home named Powell River. This cultural gem is geographically unique, on the ocean but with fresh water lakes, trails and all kinds of worldwide musical events. This episode is Powell River 101, just an intro to why we love the Canadian northwest!
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Full Episode Transcription
Welcome to my life as a landlord where we untangle all things housing and educate the curious. If you're
looking for some entertainment with some honest, awkward conversations, you've come to the right
show. I'm your host, Dr. Jennifer Salisbury. This is my life as a landlord. Welcome to it.
Welcome to my life as a landlord. Thank you so much for joining me. Am Dr. Jen your podcast
guru. This podcast is a predictable rotating topic. Of landlord and tenant issues for both US and
Canadian landlords and tenants. And then you might get an other Salisbury adventure story in there,
which is what you're getting today. Whenever possible, invite experts to join me on a variety of topics
while also pulling from my own experience with rentals on both sides of the border. After all, my goal is
to educate both US and Canadian landlords and tenants who seek calm success. Thank you so much for
joining me today. For all my YouTubers out there who are watching me at my life as a landlord, you will
notice that my background has changed and that's because my location has changed. This is the first
episode that I am recording on Maui. Up until now, I've done all of my YouTube recordings in Powell River,
British Columbia, which is what we're talking about today, but I'm not there anymore. Actually, as we
were leaving, I said, you know, it might be something to talk about. Powell River, British Columbia. So
where in the world is that? Well, I am pretty excited to tell you about it, because that is where our
Canadian life is, our rentals and our Canadian business is based. And it's such an incredible city, an
incredible area that's got natural resources and natural beauty. It's actually amazing. And I'm hoping that
as you're listening to this podcast or you're watching on YouTube, that you will. You'll find something
that intrigues you. And you go, oh, I wonder where that is. And yeah, chances are you may be intrigued.
Or very likely you may have already been to Powell River. Isn't that cool? That's all right. This is merely
an introduction. By the way, I'm not going to be telling you super in-depth about Pearl River, because
they're an incredible historians about Powell River who are going to be guests on the show moving
forward. I am simply just going to introduce you. So this is Powell River 101. Yay. And I'm going to talk to
you about three things. Where is Powell River located? Because it's kind of tucked away unless you know
where it is. I'll tell you a little bit about Powell River story, a little bit about the story. Not a whole lot, but
I'm going to give you enough background so you kind of know what's going on. And then why is Powell
River so special? Powell River has got some pretty neat things going on. It's it's amazing actually. Okay.
So let's get get to it. Where is Powell River located? Okay. So for my American friends who've never been
to Canada and I bet that's many of you. Canada, of course, is north of the border, north of Montana and
North Dakota. And let's see Washington state and Minnesota. So can Canada's up above most of
the time for Michigan and New York that can Canada's up there as well. It dips a lot further south as you
go east. But on the West coast it sits just proud right on the 1s border, just, you know, bordering the north
part of Washington state primarily, and that's British Columbia. So think of it as the California in the US.
But move California up and make it a lot bigger. And that's British Columbia. Now, British Columbia
does have a large island to the west of it called Vancouver Island. And on the south part of that,
Vancouver Island is the capital of British Columbia, known as Victoria. You may have heard of Victoria,
British Columbia. On the mainland, though most people are familiar with Vancouver. Vancouver was
the site of the 2010 Winter Olympics, which is pretty neat and it was shared. The site was shared with
Whistler, which is about two hours north of Vancouver. Pretty interesting how that all happened in 2010.
You may have seen it. So Powell River is on the mainland and it's about 100 miles north of Vancouver as
the crow flies. But it's a bit tricky to get there. You can't just drive there. You have to take two ferries or
you have to fly there. That's your only options. There's no road to drive in or out at any time of day. You
have to take either a ferry from Vancouver to the adjoining peninsula, and then drive to the top of that
peninsula and take a second ferry. So you've got to do that, or you've got to take a ferry from Vancouver
to Vancouver Island, which is longer, drive up to about halfway between. If you cut Vancouver Island
halfway between top and bottom, there's a little town called Comox. There's lots going on in Comox, but
they have a airport and they've got a ferry terminal, and they've got actually a large military base. 1s
That's where the snowbirds typically practice. It's pretty neat. Snowbirds is like the Thunderbirds or the
Blue Angels for the US. So the snowbirds are over there. You can see them flying around, but in Comox
there is a ferry. So you can take a ferry from Comox to Powell River, which is on the mainland. So that's
how you can get there, either by walking or by taking your car, or if you were going to take a bus either
way, or you can fly. You can fly from Vancouver, Victoria, and you can fly from Calgary to Comox and
then walk on the ferry, which is typically what Mike and I do. But you can also fly direct from
Vancouver up to Powell River. Actually, now they've got seaplanes. Harbour air operates seaplanes from
downtown Vancouver up to Powell Lake. Not to be confused with Lake Powell, which is in Utah. This is
a different Powell Lake is not in the States. Powell Lake is by Powell River. But again, it's it's only accessible
by ferry or by plane or, you know, by air. Okay. So the flights can be a little bit pricey, but it gets you
there. Otherwise the ferries can take a minimum of six hours if you're going to go from Vancouver up to
Powell River. So you got to want to be there, you're going to want to get there and want to be there. But
Powell River is very interesting. It's on the westernmost of the mainland, and it looks out at Vancouver
Island, and as a result, you have some amazing sunsets. We have great sunsets on Maui. I would argue
that Powell River sunsets are better. Okay. What else? Um, Paul River, because it's on the mainland, you've
got this incredible access to the ocean and water and all kinds of things going on with the water. And
then you've also got the backcountry because it opens up into the mountains, which is really incredible.
We're going to talk a little bit more about that here in just a bit, but let's talk about the story, Paul River
story. I'm just going to just briefly glance on it because the story is quite involved. Um, but I can tell you
that the First Nations were happily settled. There was lots of generations of First Nations that were settled
where Powell River is. And when the European traders came and wanted to move there, they relocated
the First Nation people. Now I'm going to say the name and I'm not doing it justice, but forgive me. So
I've heard it pronounced Tla'amin or Sliammon. But the people are amazing and resilient
and were completely self-sufficient because they were on the mouth of a river with salmon, the salmon
were running and the blackberries in that area. Are really wild. It's pretty incredible. And so when the
Europeans showed up in the late 1700s into the early 1800s, the First Nations folks were moved north
into the northern part of what is now the Powell River area and where the Sliammon folks were. The
traders put up a dam to power a mill, a paper mill, and a very famous paper mill. At one time it was the
biggest one in the world. And as I mentioned, you know, it's not just difficult to get to Powell River today.
It was difficult when the Europeans were there. So typically there there was very infrequent boats. The
region was pretty much self-sufficient completely. They had dairies and farms and had their own
sustainable food, which is a very foreign concept now. Right? We're very dependent on food to be
brought in. But back then there was not you know, hourly ferries, daily ferries and daily flights. It didn't
happen. So as as things progressed and the mill became bigger and had more paper machines and did
more things and opened a craft mill, which was different paper and some pretty incredible things
happened. There was more money and more amenities were built. And so you had hockey arenas, the
Powell River complex, recreational complex, which has got pools. It's got two ice rinks. The music and arts
and culture in Powell River continue to this day, and it was set throughout the 1900s. It was pretty
incredible. Now I'm talking about a little town in Canada. Let me give you some stats on that. So let's
see. Here we go. In 2016, the city of Powell River had a population of just over 13,000, which was almost
identical from five years previous. So Canada does the census 2011 and then 2016 and then 2021. I think
it grew a little bit, but it remains to be one of the older. The average age in Powell River is 50 something.
And 1s as a result, about ten years ago, there was a big push to get a Cat scan machine in Powell River,
because so many people needed Cat scans and they were having to either go to Vancouver or go to
Vancouver Island to get their Cat scans, and they're quite pricey. It was about $3 million, and the people
of Powell River raised it because they wanted a Cat scan machine in Powell River. And so they there's a cat
scan machine in Powell River now. And so you've got people who've got medical security in Powell River,
which is important when you've got aging folks and health issues. That's pretty incredible. So if you
wondered a little bit more about the the area itself, now I'm going in between kilometers and miles. So I
apologize because I'm talking both for us and Canadians. But Powell River, the city itself is 29km2. And
with comparing with the British Columbia, the the British Columbia is 92, nine, sorry, 922,000km2. So
you've got 29 versus 922. I mean, it's pretty incredible. So population density is about five people per
square kilometer in British Columbia. That's pretty interesting. So you've got a lot of boating in Powell River.
You've got a lot of backcountry hiking. Deep inlet separates the area from the rest of the British
Columbia mainland, which is really incredible because you've got these majestic mountains climbing.
And as a result, there are many groups in Powell River and the Powell River area that are trail builders. They
go out and they build trails and bridges and they they make it accessible for all kinds of ages. I mean, and
you could do biking and it's really incredible. A couple other things to note in Powell River is the highway
runs, this is highway 101, runs from the southern port, so runs from the southern point of Chile. And runs
north or runs all the way up the side of California, Oregon, Washington. And then it goes up through
British Columbia and ends in Lund, British Columbia, which is in the Paul River area, Powell River
Regional District, or now it's known as that Regional District. They've renamed it after the Slam and
name, which is pretty incredible. So but you've got mile zero at Lund, British Columbia. So any of you
who've ever seen this, the road doesn't go any further north. That's it. Um. Let's see. So I mentioned that
when the mill was was going, you had a lot of money, you had a lot of industry, you had a lot of very
well employed people. And as a result, you had a lot of development of cultural items, cultural and a lot
of music. Where do I tell you all about the music that goes on in Powell River? A music academy was built
and it's basically a school with classrooms. But guess what? All they teach is music. It's pretty incredible
and performances really neat. And oh, the other thing. Powell River boasts the nation's oldest continuously
operating movie house, the Patricia Theatre. Now, this is a single screen house and it's really neat
because it's quite old. It's quite it's painted. They just updated it to digital. There was a couple questions
whether or not the Patricia Theatre was actually going to be able to convert to digital, which was a
requirement about ten years ago. And so the once again, the community rallied and said, we don't want
the Patricia Theatre sold or closed down. And so the donations came in. The conversion was made and
has since been taken over by the friends of the Patricia Theatre, which is a non-profit that still operates
the theatre. So we do have a single screen movie theatre. So if you like, if there's a movie that you're
wanting to watch, you kind of have to wait your turn. But but we do get them. Okay, back to music. One
of the most amazing things I've ever seen is a every other year. An international choir festival called
Kathaumixw. And you have to check the spelling on this Kathaumixw, which is a choral festival. And
what it has, what it is, is choirs from all over the world are invited to come to Powell River to compete and
perform and sing. And this was pre-COVID. pre-COVID, they had 2500 performers from five continents.
And when last night went, when I attended, there were 21 choirs. And these are international choirs and
some of them are quite small. Some of them are maybe 10 or 15 people, and some of them are like 80. I
mean, it's incredible. And sometimes they fundraise not just to get to Canada, not just to get to Powell River,
but they fundraise for hotel and food and things like that. But if the choirs can't afford that, then
the community opens their homes and people stay in people's houses with them, which is really
incredible when you think of it, that you've got people staying in the community. Also, there's the
community. Um, the most recent thing that has started, which is also amazing, it's called the Pacific
Region International Summer Music Academy, Pacific Regional, International Summit Music Academy,
it's called Prisma. Prisma is the acronym. And what it is is it is the symphonic musicians and faculty.
They come from around the world and they hold classes and performances and just some of the most
amazing musicians in general. And again, we have Paul writes, who are internationally acclaimed
singers, conductors. I mean, these people are incredible and they live in little town of Powell River. It's
just amazing. Wow. Okay, let's see. What else can I tell you about. Oh, water. The water off that mill is a
deep seaport. And it was really interesting learning a little bit more about how that seaport worked in the
mill, because I did my doctorate in Powell River. Right. I studied the folks at Powell River, and that's where I,
I did all of my interviews and focus groups. Learning about intergenerational communication was all
in Powell River, British Columbia. And along the way, I learned about the mill, and I learned about how
the mill operated. And with this deep seaport, you have quite a bit of access. Big ships can come in, big
barges can come in, but there's no breakwater, right? There's no way to protect it. And along those straits,
if you've ever been in and around Vancouver Island, the wind and the waves can get nasty. And so they
always they were trying to figure out a way to make a, a break so that you could protect the ships that
were either transiting or the ones that were at the, at the mill. And what they ended up doing was they
ended up putting in Ship hulks. They filled ship hulks with concrete and floated them out there, which
is sort of counterintuitive. And they strung them together. And there's quite a few of them, 8 or 9 or
maybe, maybe more. Forgive me. I don't remember how many hulks there are, but the Hulks and Powell River
are quite famous. And you can you can go right up to them because they're just abandoned ships
that are designed to be a breakwater. And the whole idea here is that it protected the deep sea port
because it was so deep, there was no way to dump material and build it up from the bottom to create a
breakwater. And so they anchored the hulks. So if it's a chain of hulks and they're anchored on both sides,
that is what is outside the Powell River mill. Now, speaking of hulks, I learned something new. Now, Powell River
is also known for its scuba diving, which I've never scuba dive in. Powell River. That's kind of fun to
say. Scuba dive. But apparently, unbeknownst to me, I knew about the statue, but didn't know that it was
this famous. So Powell River is a destination for scuba divers worldwide as they come to see Canada's first
underwater statue called the Emerald Princess, located 20m about 60ft below the surface. And I've seen
pictures of the Emerald Princess. She looks a lot like The Little Mermaid when she's up on the rock. Very
similar, but the divers apparently go nuts over diving on this, but because of the diving. Uh, enthusiasts
that come to Powell River. Apparently another military ship, another hulk, was sunk. So they had added
concrete to a former military ship and was sunk near Willington Beach Recreation Area as an artificial
reef. Now, that's not very deep. That's that's not a super deep area. But again, you can tell that the people
of Powell River and Powell River area, they think really hard about providing value to the folks that are
coming to Powell River, which and to the residents, which is really neat. Let's talk more about the
backcountry. If you've got a dog or a canoe or maybe both, you like the backcountry and Powell River.
Um, because Powell River is on the ocean and it opens up into these mountains, you've got the trails. I
mentioned that you've got trail builders and trail maintainers along the way. There are many huts, like
overnight huts that you can camp in. There is one lake that's called Inland Lake and Inland Lake is pretty
neat because it has a almost perfectly level trail that has been maintained with all kinds of bridges and
boardwalks and stuff that is almost wheelchair accessible. And it's 13km long. Like, it's pretty neat that
this has happened. Now, for those of you who are in Powell River now, yes, there was some damage in the
bridges and things like that, but I know that that's being taken care of. And hopefully by the time this, this
airs, that's not an issue. Um, also what is very famous is the canoes, the canoe portages, which. Who
knew? Oh, here we go. Um. 1s Yeah. The Powell River Forest Canoe Route is a 57 kilometer, eight lake,
five portage journey that takes roughly five days. Now, for those of you who don't speak canoe. What a
portage is is it's an overland trail designed for you to carry your canoe. And it's incredible because
they've added places where you can actually stop and put the canoe down as a rest and then keep going.
And so it's designed for you to be able to carry your canoe from lake to lake to lake. And that's it's just
amazing to me that people have created this. Now, further in the backcountry, you will find that there's
been all kinds of history of logging. Logging industry is very, very big in Powell River, including the
recently brought back Logger Sports, which Mike Salsbury, my husband, was a part of the logger sports
ages ago and was logger of the day. And when we were in Powell River this past summer, logger sports
was just going on, including chainsaw carvings and pole climbs and all kinds of things. But in the
backcountry is evidence of old trains, old camps with evidence of Chinese workers because they found
rice bowls and all kinds of China and all kinds of things. And even in the back part of Powell Lake,
which not to be confused with Powell River, but Powell Lake is a big freshwater lake in the back of
Powell Lake. Um, there is evidence of an old homestead. Post office, school, all kinds of incredible
things that have since, you know, collapse. The nature is take over and but you can see where they're the
foundations are, which again, this all goes back into the to the story of Powell River. There's all kinds of
stories about lost locomotives that have either burned up or got lost in lakes or got taken over by the
forest. Pretty interesting stuff. And that's just a bit a bit of Powell River. Okay. Wow, am so excited to
bring you just a snip of Powell River. Um, actually, let me finish one more thing, Powell River. So I
mentioned Powell Lake. Powell River is actually the world's smallest river because it runs only about a
mile kilometer and a half. And that's between Powell Lake and the ocean. And remember, there's a dam
in there. And so Powell River is only a very, very small body of water. It's pretty incredible. Anyway,
that is Powell River. Okay. So here's your call to action. I encourage you, I challenge you, go to your
favorite website, your favorite internet provider, and go to Powell River, Powell River and take a bigger
look at this incredible gem that was named in 2004, the cultural Capital of Canada. Pretty cool 2004.
Powell River. Okay, that's got lots more info on what's going on. I am super excited to have guests in the
future that have way more history of the First Nations and the development of Powell River and
hopefully Powell River business as well. I'm looking forward to having you learn more about the little
gem that we live in in Canada. And that's it for today's episode. Let me know your comments and
questions by emailing me at learn at my life as a landlord. Just remember that questions and comments.
Create the next podcasts and resources. And just a reminder, if you have not checked out the Blackout
Bingo cards on the website. My life as a landlord. These are free and they are designed to help set you
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there to help you and it's free. So please check out those Blackout Bingo cards. Join me for next week's
podcast, which is landlord based. That will be episode number 47. And we're going to be talking with
fellow “Powell River-ite “ Scott Cameron. And we're going to be talking about landlord and tenant
insurance in Canada. We're going to be talking about Canadian insurance and stuff. Thanks for joining
me this week. I will see you there.
Thank you for joining us this week. To view the complete show notes
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Thank you again for joining me, Dr. Jennifer Salisbury in this episode of My Life as a Landlord. I'll see you next time.