On the day that we were there I just happened to
spy a young girl with her eyes tightly closed, obviously wishing
very hard for something she wanted before throwing her coin into
the fountain. Seeing the intense hope on that young face made me
believe that maybe with youngsters like that our insane human
race might have a chance after all. Maybe being inside the Chapel
in the International Peace Park made me hope that this Peace Park
might only be a stepping stone to not only Peace Parks but Peace
all over the world.
I found out later that the young lady was there with her father,
grandparents, and 4 year old sister . I got their permission to
put her picture in our story. I found out that her name was
McKenzie Darline and that she was 7 years old. She was every bit
as charming as she appears in the picture..
The entrance to the park has an arch over it, but if you look
closely you can see that the arch is actually broken in the
middle to comply with the rule about no structure covering both
sides of the border.
We've often spoken of Bob as being a "truly international
traveler". Well, this picture should prove it. If you look
at the ground you will notice two sets of bricks with a path
between. He is actually standing in Canada and the U.S. at the
same time. Awesome, eh?
We took lots of time walking around and looking at the gorgeous
flowers on display. Although it had been an extremely dry summer,
the flowers were in bloom everywhere. Unfortunately I don't know
enough about botany to name all of the flowers, I do not that
they were lovely and we enjoyed the colors and fragrances that
floated on the breeze.
Bulova Watch
Co. donated the living clock that was towards the entrance.
Although I have seen flower clocks before this one was one of the
prettiest. We also took some time walking some of the hiking
trails. Although they don't have the profusion of flowers
featured in the gardens, they are very peaceful and allow you to
get closer to some of the wildlife in the park.
Later we spent several hours wandering the various roads of the
Gardens before turning again to the north where we had left our
trailer. If you ever get anywhere near the Peace Gardens be sure
and stop by and have a look for yourself. Even with the miracles
of photography today it is difficult to really experience the
beauty unless you are surrounded by it yourself. You can check
out their website at: http://www.peacegarden.com.
Laura