I was born in Assiniboia, Saskatchewan in 1952, the third and last son. Both sets of my grandparents had homesteaded in southern Saskatchewan. The original Perrier arrived in Canada in 1665 making me a tenth-generation Canadian (eleventh on the maternal side and 13th through my great-grandmother). I once believed that all Perriers in North America are descended from that one immigrant (but there is a reference to a second Perrier who came in 1694). My eldest brother has done a huge amount of work on the genealogy of the family. Refer to the section at the end of this post for information on my family tree and the French brands with Perrier names (although none are known to be relatives).
At six months of age, we moved to Glentworth, Saskatchewan, a town of 100 people on the east end of Grasslands National Park. My father was an elevator agent and my mother was a teacher. After finishing grade 2 there, we moved to Medicine Hat, Alberta where I graduated from grade twelve in 1970. I then attended the University of Alberta in Edmonton, graduating with a B.Sc/MD degree in 1976, and did a one-year rotating internship at the Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria, BC.
With my wife and 2 children, we moved to Castlegar, BC where I joined a six-man general practice. The West Kootenay in south-central British Columbia is one of the best places to live because of its great climate and mountains. It was the ideal town to be a GP. With no specialists and several other GPs with “special interests”, I developed my own interests and ended up having a dream general practice. The practice did almost everything – obstetrics, inpatient care, basic general surgery, and emergency. We eventually had a third child and I now have 2 grandchildren. I was divorced in 1994. I have had the opportunity to live in several towns in the West Kootenay – along Arrow Lakes, Rossland, Warfield (part of Trail), and New Denver. I moved to Courtenay on Vancouver Island in 2010.
By the time I retired, most of my practice was devoted to things that few GPs like and nobody else wanted to do: dermatology, abortions, and methadone. The West Kootenay, with only 82,000 people in a huge geographic area, did not have a board-certified dermatologist and after some formal training and a lot of reading, I developed a referral practice in dermatology. It probably comprised about 40% of my eventual practice. It allowed me to work in the Canadian Arctic doing general practice and dermatology on five occasions. I eventually worked in every town west of Hudson’s Bay at least once, an incredible cultural experience (read about that experience and the Inuit on the IDEAS page). I also did all sorts of skin surgery removing every kind of “lump and bump”.
I did most of the surgical assisting in our six-man practice and started doing therapeutic abortions. By the time I retired, I was the only physician doing TA’s in southeastern British Columbia (read about my experience doing abortions on the IDEAS page). With that, I also did laparoscopic tubal ligations, often a necessary procedure in women having terminations. I performed vasectomies, circumcisions, and all sorts of minor outpatient procedures. When one of my GP surgeon partners retired, as our hospital had an active obstetric practice, I did one month of training doing caesarian sections and then did those.
Another opportunity arose to become a methadone prescriber, and after the necessary training, I obtained a license. I was the only methadone prescriber in the West Kootenay. This exposed me to another element of our society that was always interesting. I also developed a strong interest in addiction medicine.
With no specialists and predicated on the patients in my practice, I also developed an interest in several medical subjects – diabetes, AIDs, and patients with liver transplants. This was in addition to all other aspects of family medicine. It was a very fulfilling career. Our practice had a rule that we all had to take nine weeks of holidays each year and a day off each week, great for lifestyle and family. Since retiring, I have never thought of medicine again and have forgotten more than I ever knew. I could not return without retraining.
Since starting hiking in Waterton Lakes National Park, I backpacked the West Coast Trail and Della Falls (the highest waterfall in Canada) on Vancouver Island when interning. I was hooked. After moving to the West Kootenay, I joined the Kootenay Mountaineering Club, a wonderful organization. I hiked and climbed at every opportunity and have attended 20 club hiking camps. I also belonged to the Alpine Club of Canada and went on several guided mountaineering trips in the Rockies. Over the years, I have hiked extensively in Olympic National Park, Hawaii, the West Kootenay, the Rocky Mountains of Canada, the desert SW of the US, and everywhere I travel (refer to the HIKING page).
In 1999, I bought my first sea kayak which I still use. I have kayaked all the lakes in the West Kootenay, Baja Mexico, the Green River, and Lake Powell in Utah and now extensively in the Queen Charlottes and around Vancouver Island. I have a second kayak and all the gear that is available for friends and partners. Sea kayaking is a dream way to camp. Weight is not an issue and with a backpacking oven, anything is possible.
Starting in 1994, I travelled to the desert SW of the United States usually twice a year. To the end of 2024, I have made 38 trips mostly to the Colorado Plateau and the Four Corners Area, but also to many parts of the western US. I think the Colorado Plateau is the most beautiful place in the world and this area has become another passion. In 2016, I did the best adventure trip in the world by rafting 220 miles of the Grand Canyon: many rapids every day, some great hiking, and a daily view of incredible geology (see all my posts on the trip).
I took the PADI Open Water dive certificate in Utila, the Bay Islands of Honduras and the Advanced in the Andaman Islands of India and since diving has formed an active part of my travel. Some of the great places I have been to include Apo Island in the Philippines, Mergui Archipelago (5-day liveaboard) in Myanmar, Sipadan in Sabah Malaysia, Palau (7-day live aboard – the Blue Corner and German Channel are two of the best dive sites in the world), Komodo National Park and the Raja Ampats (7-day live aboard) in Indonesia.
In 2022, I repeated my Advanced in Dehab, the Red Sea, Egypt.
I have had a few other passions. I was an active duplicate bridge player and travelled to tournaments all over the northwest. I have about 1350 ACBL masterpoints and am a life master but have rarely played duplicate bridge for the last 30 years, but regularly play online. At age 30, I started playing golf and was a member at a great golf course in Castlegar. I played to a four handicap most of my playing years and was in many BC Amateurs and a Canadian Amateur once. I played golf courses all over the place but have rarely played since 1999. I also became an avid photographer and competed actively with my pictures. Upon retiring, I had plans to write a book on photography but abandoned that idea. When digital photography came along, I lost interest and have rarely taken a picture since. I do not carry a camera on my travels and find it very freeing. I look at things now for visual memory.
Since retiring in 2006, I have travelled every winter to warmer climates. I wrote extensive travelogues emailing them to friends and family and they form a big part of the section on travel. Refer to my Travelogue for an up-to-date list of countries visited. My goal was to wear flip-flops for twelve months of the year. I have developed a certain style of travel that is best described as vagabonding. I leave home with a rough plan and have the freedom to spend as much time anywhere with no constraints.
My time in Canada is spent hiking, kayaking and occasionally hanging out at home, playing tennis, and often playing bridge on the internet. I love to cook. I read extensively, mostly on digital subscriptions to The Economist, Atlantic, Time, and National Geographic. However, I still manage to read some books – see my Booklist on the About Page. I also travel a lot in Canada and the United States in my Big Foot camper. It has a well-honed solar system and it is my second home.
I initially did not want to blog but reconsidered. I love to write and am a political junkie. Many of the posts on the Ideas Page come from the magazines I read. This website has become another passion. I have dreams of making it the premier travel website in the world.
In October 2024, I visited my 193rd United Nations country, Tuvalu. This was the culmination of 18 long years of extensive travel. I am the most travelled Canadian of all time.
One is always asked what is your favourite country – Canada, the US (SW around the Colorado Plateau) and Mexico would all be high. My best travel memories involved hiking (28 days Nepal, Inca Trail, Santa Cruz Trail, Roraima, all 9 Great Walks in New Zealand, 38 trips to the SW USA, walking 2000 km of the Camino Santiago) and walking extensively in all the big cities of the world. Seeing World Heritage Sites has always been a priority of my travel.
High Functioning Asperger’s Syndrome
