Skywatch Friday: The Peace Arch

Happy Olympics Opening Day!

In honor of the Vancouver Games, I'm posting one last shot of our Peace Arch in Blaine, Washington. This picture, like the last two I posted, was taken at the Olympic torch run. It was difficult to take the shot without getting masses of people in it! That's why the bottom is cut off, but I decided it turned out nice enough anyway.

We 'Hamsters have been expecting to be inundated with travellers for the Olympics, as we are only an hour south of Vancouver. However, as far as I can tell there hasn't been a discernible difference. Maybe that will change, but either way it's fun to be close.

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Olympic Torch Run at the Peace Arch

Here's a shot of the Peace Arch just as we were arriving in the pre-dawn hours to wait for the torch run. It was, naturally, one of the coldest mornings all winter (which won't mean much to you midwesterners and New Englanders... and perhaps even the Floridians this year!) and it was quite misty and atmospheric.

The Peace Arch was built in 1921 to celebrate over 100 years of peace between Canada and the United States. It stands astride the Canada-US border, so if you pass underneath you go from one country to the other. On the US side is inscribed "Children of a Common Mother" and on the Canada side it says "Brethren Dwelling Together in Unity."

On a wistful note, I wish our southern border was as open, friendly, and peaceful as this one.

The Olympic Torch...

...is right behind that guy. Well, anyone could get a picture of the Olympic torch, but how many people have a picture of that face?

That's okay, he was just doing his job-- and taking it very seriously, I might add. Anyway, everyone else was in very high spirits for the Olympic torch's only visit to US soil for the 2010 games. The torch-bearer for this run was Washington state's Philip Mahre, a skier medalist from the 1980 and 1984 winter games. He picked up the torch at the US-Canada border at the Peace Arch in Blaine, WA, and carried it south and then back north into Canada in a loop that lasted about two minutes. And there you have it, the torch's somewhat anticlimactic visit to US soil.

I have such a good picture to show for it.