What's with the Princes up in BC?

Whats up with the princes in British Columbia? Well, in case you wanted to know, here's what I found out.

 Rupert was an actual guy, a cousin of the king that got his head chopped off by Oliver Cromwell which is a hopelessly oversimplified version of what happened. The King was the chopee, not Prince Rupert, who was young and good looking and a bit of a dandy nobody knew least of all him that he was a gifted military mind and an inspiring leader who not only led the king's army in its losing battle with the roundheads , survived that whole mess, came back with the monarchy when it was restored ten years later but he then became a well respected admiral and practically the only consistently victorious commander in the whole sorry series of wars with the Dutch and the French and Spanish virtually everybody else on the mainland except the Germans and only because they didn't exist yet. A talented guy indeed. Lived to what passed for a ripe old age in those days, the 1600s...

Prince Rupert is only one of 50 cities in Canada named after present or past royalty. Social climbing snobbery at its worst. Having said that, I liked the town. But then I am a sucker for anyplace with salt water and boats and trees, and even some with no trees if the boats are there. I didn't do the place justice

 This guy, Lyle Campbell, is an amazingly talented sculptor.Taking a break from the monumental group of bears below, Lyle is making the first cuts on a commissioned leaping Orca. Commissions pay the bills

But shit like this group of anthropomorphized spirit bears is how I know Lyle Campbell is a genius.

This is a cedar bark hat under construction in a corner of Lyle's studio. There are very methodical coils of prepared cedar bark in racks on the wall above this bench.

This big kid is making the cedar hat. In another of an endless series of faux pas, I didn't even ask his name.

Prince Rupert has boats, trees, salt water, cool people, and a laid back attitude. I hope some day I have the good fortune to visit there again.