THE BIG TREES OF VANCOUVER ISLAND

Viewing these West Coast giants for the first time was awe-inspiring

- Johanna Cardinal

One pool length at a time. Formerly afraid of deep water, I was now a woman on a mission. Was I training for a swimming competition? No, I was getting ready to see the big trees of Vancouver Island. On the occasion of our wedding anniversary last July, my husband Rob and I opted out of seeing man-made creations in the cities of our other possible destination choices— Denmark and Belgium—and chose instead to appreciate God-made wonders in our own Canada.

As a somewhat out-of-shape college teacher, my dream, as well as Rob’s, was seeing the “big trees,” the kind it would take several people to encircle if their arms were outstretched. Swimming was building my cardio so I would no longer be out of breath climbing three flights of stairs to my college office—or hiking a trail.