Exploring the BC Coast by Car

Patricia Morley is professor emerita of English and Canadian Studies at
Concordia University and an avid outdoor recreationist. She is also the
author of The Mountain Is Moving: Japanese Women’s Lives, Kurlek, and
Margaret Laurence: The Long Journey Hom

There are numerous travel guides to B.C.’s spectacular coastal
scenery, each seeking its own market niche. Exploring the B.C. Coast by
Car is built around B.C.’s roads and coastal ferries. It tells readers
how to reach their goal, and what to see en route and on arrival. It
includes useful historical background and nature notes.

The guide is bigger, thicker, and longer than most. A substantial index
is a welcome feature. There are many well-chosen, small black-and-white
photos and a fair number of maps, all inset into the text. The authors
divide their territory into nine numbered areas shown on an initial map.
A chapter is devoted to each—namely, Vancouver and area, the Sunshine
Coast, Victoria and area, the Southern Gulf Islands, Vancouver Island
South, Vancouver Island from Nanaimo to the West Coast, Central
Vancouver Island, the North Island, and the North Coast. For each area,
there is a substantial and detailed text that reads pleasantly. The
authors write well and have done their homework. Numerous maps accompany
the text to orient the reader. Local legends and personal anecdotes keep
us onside.

Both authors are residents of British Columbia and inveterate explorers
of the terrain. Diane Eaton is the author of Paul Kane’s Great
Nor’west and other books. Allison Eaton, a keen kayaker, is an
international investment banker. Exploring the B.C. Coast by Car is a
superior guide for B.C. drivers.