While the pandemic had so many people hunkering down at home, Royal Heights author Diana Mohrsen, 76, ventured out on a 4,000-kilometre, eight-day road trip through B.C. and Alberta and then wrote a book about it.
Mohrsen was 74 when she took her trip. Her resulting self-published book, Secret Destinations: A journey only you can take, is a 157-page trade paperback containing 116 colour photos.
“Well I don’t mind driving by myself period, so that’s not a big issue,” Mohrsen says from her home, where she enjoys a commanding view of New Westminster across the Fraser River. “But the reason I did it was two-fold – one was COVID was driving me crazy, and the other one was that for at least 10 years I’ve been thinking of the idea, so it wasn’t new, I sort of thought of the idea I know so many people that don’t know places in B.C.”
Starting in Surrey, she headed northeast, visiting places like Valemount, Hudson Hope, Peace River and many other points in between, basking in the flora, fauna and spectacular scenery along the way.
“I’d talk about, show them a picture and say, ‘That’s in Valemount,’ and they’d say ‘Valemount – now where would that be?’ and I’d say, ‘Well you just go here and you go there,’ and they’d say, ‘Oh, yeah, I’ve never been there,’ and I’m thinking do you not know how beautiful it is? No, obviously you don’t.
“I thought people are just missing out on so much, that’s one thing,” Mohrsen explains. “The other thing is I discovered how many animals you can actually see from the side of the road. I don’t go hiking off on any trails or anything like that and I’ve taken so many pictures of bears, longhorn sheep, once in a while I’ll get a moose and I find it incredibly exciting. I find it just makes my day, my year, I think this is so incredible and people can just do this beside the road.”
Mohrsen shares her philosophy about driving.
“I avoid traffic as much as I can and traffic does stick in little clumps and so if a bunch of traffic catches up to me or I catch up to them I just pull off to the side of the road for a while until it’s all clear so mostly I’m just driving through the countryside able to look at the mountains and the streams and the sky and, you know, look for wildlife without feeling the stress of being in traffic. Take my time.”
Equipped with a camera and tape recorder, she transcribed her notes into her computer at night, at motels she lodged in along her way.
Mohrsen retired last year, having worked as a self-employed bookkeeper. This is her second book – roughly 20 years ago she published her first, Introspect – A working journal.
She says she is available for presentations on her books and adventures and can be reached at dmohrsen@gmail.com
Secret Destinations: A journey only you can take, can be purchased at Chapters stores for $30.40 and can also be found on Amazon, Ebook and Friesen Press.
The book is dedicated to her grandchildren Ashlynn, Hannah, Jessica and Zach, with the message, “Adventures shared and cherished.”
Mohrsen gets choked up talking about them. Before the pandemic, she says, she took them on trips to Jasper and elsewhere.
“It’s really special to have that time.”
Presently enjoying her “beautiful view” of New Westminster, she also sees more book projects on her horizon.
tom.zytaruk@surreynowleader.com
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