The calendar I sued to pick the 12 Months of Christmas Trips was a picture of the Peace Arch... so that's where we were of to. It was a bit damp, but the weather held out just enough for us to have fun anyway... we ended up having a lot of fun -- and our worries of huge crowds (it was the same weekend as the opening of the 2010 Olympics) didn't pan out at all.

Light Traffic
The traffic heading there was very light... we kept expecting to run into the flood of folks heading up to Canada for the Games, but we never did.

The Peace Arch State Park
The Peace Arch state park sits right on the border between the US and Canada

Easy parking
There was a HUGE Parking lot... but no one was there but us... and a large number of Border Patrol agents.

The Park
The park is fairly well kept, with art scattered around. It seemed to be a great place to stop for a stretch if you were travelling on into Canada.

Weird Artwork
The artwork is, well, a bit different.

A Chicken?
Its called 'Midnight Stomp', and its supposedly a gaggle of birds having a 'private party in the moonlight'.

'Overture'
The boy represents Canada, and the girl the USA 'stretch out twoard each other to be strengthened by togetherness.

Nearing 200
The Arch was started in 1914, to commemorate the border which turned 100 that year. 470 lights are 'artistically set' in the walls of the arch, and, with 50 tons of steel encased in the concrete (Donated by RP Butchart - of Victoria's Butchart Gardens), the Arch is the first structure in the US built with the intent to survive an earthquake in mind.

The border
Various stones and plaques mark out the line of the border across the park. BC Parks runs the Canadian side of the park.

Open Border
The Arch commemorates the decision made in 1814 to not 'militarize' the border between the two countries.

The Gate
The gates disn't seem like they could be closed, anyway.

The Beaver
The Beaver is the Canadian version of the Mayflower, which is on the plaque on the other side of the arch. Small models, supposedly cut from the original ships, were sealed behind the plaques when the Arch was dedicated.

The Arch
The arch itself is pretty impressive. We'll have to come back in 2014 for the Bicentennial

Friends
The Canadian side reads 'Bretheren Dwelling Together in Unity'

US side
The border marker. I've seen these markers in Alaska, here, in Eastern Washington, back in Maine, in New Hampshire, and someplace in the Midwest where I crossed (Minnesota or Wisconsin)..

Canadian side
In 1925, an International Boundary Treaty was signed between the US and Canada which set up a Commission to manage the 'boundary' between the two countries. Its responsible for surveying and marking the border, and these stones are the result of that effort.

Plaque
'This unfortified boundary line between the Dominion of Canada and the United States of America should quicken the rememberance of the more than a century old friendship between these countries A lessn of peace to all nations.'

The new Canadian Pavillion
In preparation for the expected flood, the Canadians improved their border Pavillion, which on this day was largely unused.

My two favorite people
We had a good time walking around the park...

On the Canadian Side
This section of the park was the little guy's favorite. We threw pennies into the 'river', which he enjoyed a lot!

Heather
This was a very large carpet of Heather! Pretty impressive stuff!

US Border Check
While we were heading back to the parking lot, the US Border Patrol set up a road block to check people heading into Canada... I guess to make sure folks had the documents they needed to get back into the US.

Good Food!
After rambling around, we were hungry, so we stopped at a 'greasy spoon' we'd been to before. The food there is quite good, actually! It was a good end to a fun day. The next trip? Skagit County... we're already looking forward to it!

 

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