Almost thirty years since I last visited the Hazeltons – New, Old, South, and Hazelton. Visiting this time reminded me of the Appalachian communities I saw when driving through West Virginia, the arrangement of houses, roads and bridges. In the Hazeltons, it is difficult to tell what is reserve land and what is municipal, the weave is that tight.

Two readings yesterday, one at Hazelton High, the other at The Learning Shop, a centre for storytelling. Once again, the students were bright and inquiring, a couple of whom have made writing not their life’s ambition but, like the layout of their community, part of a larger weave.

Today we set out for Prince Rupert, a town mourning the death of a second young woman -- both of whom have died under mysterious circumstances. Of all the stops on the tour, Prince Rupert is the town I am most familiar with. I was last there during the 1983 salmon season, when I worked at Caspaco on the Inverness Slough. Hopefully we’ll have time to visit there too.