A New Normal?

Have you seen one of those glamorous ads promoting a rail trip through the Canadian Rockies? We’ve been talking about planning such a rail vacation for several years and it came together for us this summer.

We had a wonderful time making stops to visit friends and relatives who lived in Canada. It also ended up being the subject for a documentary on climate change!

Have you seen one of those glamorous ads promoting a rail trip through the Canadian Rockies?

We made reservations on VIA Rail, the Canadian Rail service, to travel from Winnipeg to Vancouver, with a side trip to Smithers, British Columbia.

Our friends in Winnipeg told us that farmers in Manitoba have been growing growing corn there for the last three years due to the longer growing season. Prior to this the growing season was too short for corn.

In the winter in Manitoba it has been customary to drive semis on roads across frozen lakes. But some of the lakes can't be driven on any more due to thinner ice.

Halfway across Saskatchewan we began to notice a smoky haze partly blocking a sun that had turned blood red.

Incidentally, two years ago we had a wonderful bike and barge vacation in the Netherlands. Our guide told us then that there is not much skating on the canals anymore either...again, thin ice!

Halfway across Saskatchewan we began to notice a smoky haze partly blocking a sun that had turned blood red, due to smoke from fires in British Columbia. When we reached Edmonton we were told by our Uber driver that the smoke was the worst they had seen during fire season. We were experiencing significant respiratory symptoms with coughs, itchy eyes, and scratchy throats. We learned it was the worst fire season ever in British Columbia. There were over 150 large wildfires and many smaller ones. We wondered if the smoke had something to do with the scarcity of wildlife along our route.

A nice rain the day we left Edmonton gave us one day with a clear view of the Canadian Rockies on our way to Jasper National Park. Dying fir trees were everywhere. We learned the blame was ascribed to bark beetles, whose numbers haven't been reduced seasonally as much as they used to be due to shorter, warmer winters!

We hiked to the glacier-fed "Twin Falls" near Smithers BC which now only had one falls.

We had one clear day in the park before the oppressive smoke returned blocking our view of the Rockies all the way from Jasper to Smithers, where wef finally had 3 clear days. But the fires were nearby and it hadn’t rained in Smithers for 2 months. Most of the lawns were scorched because ordinarily no sprinkler systems are needed.

We hiked to the glacier-fed "Twin Falls" near Smithers BC which now only had one falls...the other had stopped flowing due to shrinking of the glacier.

One of our relatives in Smithers is a firefighter in charge of fire suppression strategy, directing water bombers to sites that most needed suppression. He gave a discouraging report that they were making little progress in containing the fires.

I felt the same desperation I feel when our dry season in Gallup gets longer and longer.

We ended up canceling the last leg of the rail trip (kudos to VIA Rail for a full refund for the remaining journey!) due to the respiratory symptoms and no views. We flew to Vancouver, where the smoke and scorched lawns persisted. Our Airbnb was swelteringly hot…they don’t usually have air conditioning due to the ordinarily cool climate.

The 2017 fire season in British Columbia was almost as bad. The air quality was no better in Seattle our departure port for our flight home to Gallup, New Mexico...still smoky. Upon our return we learned that they had several smoky days in Gallup as well from the Los Angeles fires.

Overall, other than wonderful times spent with friends, our vacation was mostly a dispiriting and disappointing experience. I felt the same desperation I feel when our dry season in Gallup gets longer and longer.

God is still revealing how he will continue to work through his people to renew his creation.

I hate to admit that sometimes I only think of praying when I feel a situation is hopeless, but I surely am at the point of pleading with our Creator and fellow earthlings for actions to alleviate the circumstances we are facing.

God is still revealing how he will continue to work through his people to renew his creation. Sometimes we feel that we are already doing as much as we can. Fortunately it is not all up to us. 

Please pray with me that what we experienced is not the “new normal”.