Journey to the Center of the Universe at Vidette Lake and Deadman Falls
In 1980, a man dressed in white robes arrived at Vidette Lake in Deadman Valley claiming to have found the Center of the Universe. The apprentice monk from San Francisco had been sent there by his master teacher who had pointed to a location on a map claiming it to be the spot. The apprentice conducted a series of tests which produced positive results thus clearing the way for his Master Teacher’s visit.
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Along with his entourage of followers, the Master completed his tests proclaiming the top of a grassy knoll overlooking Vidette Lake to be the real deal. Monks believe that the Center of the Universe is an area where power lines intersect and one can find peace, or get centered, hence the name. A number of markers were used to identify the area: it needed to be shaped like the prow of a ship and sloping to the South and supernatural occurrences like hearing the sound of singing and seeing fire with no source of ignition must also take place.
The site is part of the Vidette Lake Resort, a small wilderness camp. How Ray Stad came to be the keeper of this mystical property is a magical story. Years prior to purchasing the property, his partner at the time, Ruth Edwards clipped out images of the life she wanted to create and pasted them to a dream board. At the bottom corner of the board she pasted a picture of the view of Vidette Lake from the Center of the Universe. She had no idea where the picture had been taken, she just liked it. A few years later she received a phone call from a friend telling her to check out a resort that was for sale. Her and Ray purchased the resort but it wasn’t until a year later that Ruth realized it was the same place from her dream board.
When visiting the site it is best to call ahead and request a private tour from Ray. Having been the keeper of this sacred place for a number of years he regales his guests with tales of healers from around the world who have made the pilgrimage to the site. He also introduces guests to the rituals involved with visiting the site.
On the way from the road to the site, be sure to stop and hug Larry the Healing Tree. A healer named Larry pointed the tree out to Ray during a visit advising Ray that hugging the tree for 20 minutes a day could cure any ailments one might have.
The site is part of the Vidette Lake Resort, a small wilderness camp. How Ray Stad came to be the keeper of this mystical property is a magical story. Years prior to purchasing the property, his partner at the time, Ruth Edwards clipped out images of the life she wanted to create and pasted them to a dream board. At the bottom corner of the board she pasted a picture of the view of Vidette Lake from the Center of the Universe. She had no idea where the picture had been taken, she just liked it. A few years later she received a phone call from a friend telling her to check out a resort that was for sale. Her and Ray purchased the resort but it wasn’t until a year later that Ruth realized it was the same place from her dream board.
When visiting the site it is best to call ahead and request a private tour from Ray. Having been the keeper of this sacred place for a number of years he regales his guests with tales of healers from around the world who have made the pilgrimage to the site. He also introduces guests to the rituals involved with visiting the site.
On the way from the road to the site, be sure to stop and hug Larry the Healing Tree. A healer named Larry pointed the tree out to Ray during a visit advising Ray that hugging the tree for 20 minutes a day could cure any ailments one might have.
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From there you reach the portal stone whereupon it is best to remove your shoes in order to better connect with the earth’s energy. After walking around the stone five times in a clockwise direction, one enters the site where they first come across some Tibetan prayer flags hung by Buddhists. It is believed that as the wind blows the flags, the prayers said unto them make their way into the Universe to be answered.
Next one can walk to Turtle Rock and place their feet in the footholds and meditate allowing the sites energy to heal them. The site is also a native holy site and Turtle rock was named by the native people of the area. Before leaving the site, be sure to visit the altar and leave an offering. Previous guests have
left such offerings as a card blessed by the Dalai Lama, a cufflink with a red cross left by a Swiss doctor and a bracelet from a Canadian soldier who had served in Afghanistan.
The electromagnetic energy of the area is most likely a result of the mineral content. Gold, silver and copper veins were known to prospectors as early as 1898. However, active development did not take place until 1931, and following 335 meters of underground exploration and development, the Vidette Lake Gold Mine was put into production in 1933. Between 1933 and May 1939, the mine produced a total of 1449 kilograms of silver, 929 kilograms of gold, and 43,825 kilograms of copper and 161 kilograms of lead. It was this mine that provided jobs to many Kamloops men during the Great Depression.
After visiting the Center of the Universe, you can continue up the road to Deadman Falls and if you keep going you will find an abandoned farm complete with an outhouse and a leaning building. On your way back to Kamloops, be sure to check out the Indian Grave yard, the Hoodoos and the abandoned homesteads.
left such offerings as a card blessed by the Dalai Lama, a cufflink with a red cross left by a Swiss doctor and a bracelet from a Canadian soldier who had served in Afghanistan.
The electromagnetic energy of the area is most likely a result of the mineral content. Gold, silver and copper veins were known to prospectors as early as 1898. However, active development did not take place until 1931, and following 335 meters of underground exploration and development, the Vidette Lake Gold Mine was put into production in 1933. Between 1933 and May 1939, the mine produced a total of 1449 kilograms of silver, 929 kilograms of gold, and 43,825 kilograms of copper and 161 kilograms of lead. It was this mine that provided jobs to many Kamloops men during the Great Depression.
After visiting the Center of the Universe, you can continue up the road to Deadman Falls and if you keep going you will find an abandoned farm complete with an outhouse and a leaning building. On your way back to Kamloops, be sure to check out the Indian Grave yard, the Hoodoos and the abandoned homesteads.
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Centre of the universe found in a meadow
by Brian Hutchinson, The National Post, Aug 1, 2007
Vidette Lake, British Columbia (Canada) -- CENTRE OF THE UNIVERSE- Some might find it hard to swallow, but a journey to the Centre of the Universe does not involve stepping off an airplane at Pearson International.
Stad is the owner of Vidette Lake Gold Mine Resort. Brian Hutchinson/National Post
The trip, as I discovered, is more arduous, the location more remote than YYZ or Bay and King. One doesn't fly to the real Centre of the Universe. One drives along a narrow road that starts west of Kamloops, in the B.C. Interior.
The road twists through a rocky gorge called Deadman Valley,which comes by its name honestly. Ancient log cabins, sagging and long abandoned, appear at almost every corner.
I'm drawn to this eerie place by stories of a secret sanctuary, identified years ago as universe central by Buddhist monks. Apparently, it's alive with spirits. When the wind blows, voices rise and swirl. An invisible choir sings.
Broken asphalt gives way to gravel, and then to hardened earth. After an hour or so of careful driving I reach road's end, at something called Vidette Lake Gold Mine Resort.
It's a rustic place that, true to its name, sits on a former mining camp, beside a small, sparkling lake. Before the miners arrived, early in the last century, it was a Hudson's Bay Company outpost, established in 1846.
I push open the heavy iron gate and proceed inside. No sign of anyone. Then a dog barks and I hear an engine's drone. A man approaches on an all-terrain vehicle. He leaps off the ma-chine and I see that he's a giant tall, with a long, bushy beard and rat's nest hair. He wears suspenders and heavy boots. The epitome of a rugged mountain man. His name is Roy Stad and he owns the resort. He knows why I have come.
"You want to see the Centre of the Universe," he says. Mr. Stad often receives visitors searching for the spirits and ethereal sounds; some are Buddhist monks. Most, like him, like me, are not. "We get some healers, deep meditators and such," says Mr. Stad. "People from all over. I'll take you there."
"There" is practically straight up, at the top of a steep path. Heaving on a rope that's tied to the base of an ancient fir, we slowly climb to an alpine meadow that's dotted with wildflowers. Two metal chairs sit in the middle of the meadow, near some pieces of firewood assembled on the ground to form an "X." This is it: the Centre of the Universe.
A Buddhist monk from San Francisco identified the spot as such some 30 years ago, or so the story goes. Lew Woolman, the resort's original owner, woke up one cold November day to see a man in a long white robe standing at the iron gate.
"I walked up to him and the first thing he said was, 'This is the Centre of the Universe,' " Mr. Woolman told me the other day, from his home on Vancouver Island. "I said, 'Oh yeah? Well, welcome, brother'. "
The monk's name was David Wilson Lewis, dispatched from San Francisco by well-known Tibetan lama Tarthang Tulku."[Lewis] was assigned to find the Centre of the Universe," explained Mr. Woolman. "Tarthang pointed to a map and told him that it was up around Vidette [Lake]." Somehow, the apprentice determined the precise spot to be about 600 metres above the resort.
It is a dramatic position, overlooking three valleys, the lake, and evergreen forests. Delegations of monks from California began trekking here once every few years, holding ceremonies in the meadow. Mr. Woolman was invited to give them the land, but he declined. The visits stopped, but monks from a local monastery still drop by sometimes.
The wind whips around us, charging from all directions. The effect is stirring. Stereophonic, almost symphonic. But I don't hear choirs.
Ray Stad does not hear voices, either. He's never heard them, but since buying the property seven years ago he's been startled by sounds he compares to pipe organ music.
He sprinkles some loose tea on the ground, beside the "X." He's no wild-eyed mystic, but Mr. Stad believes in spirits, and in the energy of this place. He likes to come and sit up here. Nearby, he built a tiny cabin, where he spends some days each winter with his wife and daughter. "By December, it gets dark down below," he explains. "We come up for the sun. It's refreshing." If not enlightened, they leave feeling closer to nature and its creator. And so, today, do I.
Mr. Stad tells me about an unmarked back road. He says it should take me to a logging route, and then, eventually, to another highway. There are no signposts indicating the way out; it's a leap of faith. I take it.
by Brian Hutchinson, The National Post, Aug 1, 2007
Vidette Lake, British Columbia (Canada) -- CENTRE OF THE UNIVERSE- Some might find it hard to swallow, but a journey to the Centre of the Universe does not involve stepping off an airplane at Pearson International.
Stad is the owner of Vidette Lake Gold Mine Resort. Brian Hutchinson/National Post
The trip, as I discovered, is more arduous, the location more remote than YYZ or Bay and King. One doesn't fly to the real Centre of the Universe. One drives along a narrow road that starts west of Kamloops, in the B.C. Interior.
The road twists through a rocky gorge called Deadman Valley,which comes by its name honestly. Ancient log cabins, sagging and long abandoned, appear at almost every corner.
I'm drawn to this eerie place by stories of a secret sanctuary, identified years ago as universe central by Buddhist monks. Apparently, it's alive with spirits. When the wind blows, voices rise and swirl. An invisible choir sings.
Broken asphalt gives way to gravel, and then to hardened earth. After an hour or so of careful driving I reach road's end, at something called Vidette Lake Gold Mine Resort.
It's a rustic place that, true to its name, sits on a former mining camp, beside a small, sparkling lake. Before the miners arrived, early in the last century, it was a Hudson's Bay Company outpost, established in 1846.
I push open the heavy iron gate and proceed inside. No sign of anyone. Then a dog barks and I hear an engine's drone. A man approaches on an all-terrain vehicle. He leaps off the ma-chine and I see that he's a giant tall, with a long, bushy beard and rat's nest hair. He wears suspenders and heavy boots. The epitome of a rugged mountain man. His name is Roy Stad and he owns the resort. He knows why I have come.
"You want to see the Centre of the Universe," he says. Mr. Stad often receives visitors searching for the spirits and ethereal sounds; some are Buddhist monks. Most, like him, like me, are not. "We get some healers, deep meditators and such," says Mr. Stad. "People from all over. I'll take you there."
"There" is practically straight up, at the top of a steep path. Heaving on a rope that's tied to the base of an ancient fir, we slowly climb to an alpine meadow that's dotted with wildflowers. Two metal chairs sit in the middle of the meadow, near some pieces of firewood assembled on the ground to form an "X." This is it: the Centre of the Universe.
A Buddhist monk from San Francisco identified the spot as such some 30 years ago, or so the story goes. Lew Woolman, the resort's original owner, woke up one cold November day to see a man in a long white robe standing at the iron gate.
"I walked up to him and the first thing he said was, 'This is the Centre of the Universe,' " Mr. Woolman told me the other day, from his home on Vancouver Island. "I said, 'Oh yeah? Well, welcome, brother'. "
The monk's name was David Wilson Lewis, dispatched from San Francisco by well-known Tibetan lama Tarthang Tulku."[Lewis] was assigned to find the Centre of the Universe," explained Mr. Woolman. "Tarthang pointed to a map and told him that it was up around Vidette [Lake]." Somehow, the apprentice determined the precise spot to be about 600 metres above the resort.
It is a dramatic position, overlooking three valleys, the lake, and evergreen forests. Delegations of monks from California began trekking here once every few years, holding ceremonies in the meadow. Mr. Woolman was invited to give them the land, but he declined. The visits stopped, but monks from a local monastery still drop by sometimes.
The wind whips around us, charging from all directions. The effect is stirring. Stereophonic, almost symphonic. But I don't hear choirs.
Ray Stad does not hear voices, either. He's never heard them, but since buying the property seven years ago he's been startled by sounds he compares to pipe organ music.
He sprinkles some loose tea on the ground, beside the "X." He's no wild-eyed mystic, but Mr. Stad believes in spirits, and in the energy of this place. He likes to come and sit up here. Nearby, he built a tiny cabin, where he spends some days each winter with his wife and daughter. "By December, it gets dark down below," he explains. "We come up for the sun. It's refreshing." If not enlightened, they leave feeling closer to nature and its creator. And so, today, do I.
Mr. Stad tells me about an unmarked back road. He says it should take me to a logging route, and then, eventually, to another highway. There are no signposts indicating the way out; it's a leap of faith. I take it.
HOW TO GET THERE...
From Kamloops travel west on Hwy 97. After 50 Km turn right on Deadman Creek Road. Follow this road for 50km and you are at Vidette Lake Gold Mine Resort. For more information visit www.videttelake.com or call 1-866-Vidette |