Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Archive for canada
Canada’s Polar Bear Haven
By Linda Tancs
Autumn brings large numbers of polar bears to Cape Churchill within Wapusk National Park in Manitoba, Canada. The park is located within the range of the Western Hudson Bay population of polar bears, numbering approximately 1,000 bears. Wapusk protects one of the largest polar bear maternity denning areas in the world, mothers and cubs emerging from their earth dens in early spring. Access to Wapusk is via authorized commercial tour operators in Churchill. There are upcoming opportunities to view polar bears from tundra vehicles and a lodge at Cape Churchill.
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On the Edge in Toronto
By Linda Tancs
The tallest free-standing structure in the Western Hemisphere, Toronto’s CN Tower is a signature icon of the city’s skyline, jutting over 1,800 feet into the air. If you think the lookout at 1,136 feet is dizzying, then the tower’s latest attraction will put you over the edge—literally. Appropriately called the EdgeWalk, the hair-raising attraction gives visitors the opportunity to take a harnessed stride outside along the circumference of the tower’s restaurant roof, a mere 1,168 feet above the ground. The thrill is yours seasonally from April through October.
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An Old Wooden Lighthouse
By Linda Tancs
A Canadian province, Prince Edward Island’s oldest wooden lighthouse is located on Panmure Island. Open seasonally from June to October, Panmure Island Lighthouse offers enviable views of the white sand beach, one of PEI’s most popular. Later this month the area also hosts an annual powwow, featuring drum bands, native crafts and a sweat lodge. Panmure Island is part of the Points East Coastal Drive touring region.
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Rendezvous in Canada
By Linda Tancs
On July 1, 1867, Canada was born when the British North America Act of 1867 put into effect a union of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and the Province of Canada (comprising Québec and Ontario). This year marks the 150th anniversary of the Confederation, prompting a yearlong, countrywide celebration. For instance, more than 40 tall ships will be sailing Canadian waters to mark the occasion during Rendez-vous 2017, which began on June 30 and ends on August 20, 2017. They’re scheduled to stop at host ports in Ontario, Québec and the Maritimes, including a grand celebration at the Port of Québec from July 18 to July 23.
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A Glacial Feast
By Linda Tancs
The largest national park in the Canadian Rockies, Jasper National Park in Alberta, Canada, protects 4,200 square miles of glaciers, geothermal springs and lakes representing mostly untouched alpine wilderness. The park’s tiny hamlet of Jasper is connected to Lake Louise in nearby Banff National Park by the Icefields Parkway, a 140-mile-long stretch that parallels the Continental Divide. Considered one of the most scenic roads in the world, the parkway includes along its route the Athabasca Glacier (part of the Columbia Icefield), the most visited glacier on the North American continent. Its ice is in continuous motion, spilling from the icefield (a surviving remnant of the thick ice mass that once covered most of western Canada’s mountains) over three giant bedrock steps. The Discovery Centre (a visitor’s center opposite the icefield) is open seasonally between May and October.
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From the Bowels of the Earth
By Linda Tancs
Earth’s mantle is a layer between the crust and the outer core. Not the kind of thing one would have an opportunity to experience—unless, of course, you find yourself at Tablelands in Canada’s Gros Morne National Park. Situated in western Newfoundland, the exposed mantle represents a 450-million-year process of continental drift. Explore it on your own or with a guided hike available from mid-June to mid-September. Visit the Gros Morne Interpretation Centre to learn more about the area’s geology or to find out the timetable for guided tours along the Tablelands Trail.
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Iceberg Alley
By Linda Tancs
Iceberg Alley is an area stretching from the coast of Labrador to the northeast coast of the island of Newfoundland. From spring to September, the locale presents the most unusual of tourist attractions as icebergs break off in the Arctic and float down past the coast. The goliaths are most plentiful in April and May (in fact, over 600 have already appeared, with a seasonal average just under 700) but they may be locked up in sea ice, so late May and early June are best for viewing. Some of the more popular viewing locations (by land, kayak or boat tour) are St. Lewis, Battle Harbour, Red Bay, Point Amour, St. Anthony, La Scie, Twillingate, Fogo Island, Change Islands, Bonavista, St. John’s/Cape Spear, Bay Bulls/Witless Bay, Cape St. Mary’s and St. Vincent’s.
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The Super Natural in British Columbia
By Linda Tancs
Nature reigns supreme along the central and north coast of British Columbia, Canada. That’s where you’ll find Great Bear Rainforest, home to the world’s largest intact temperate rainforest. It’s also the only place in the world where you can see the Kermode (spirit) bear, a sub-species of black bear noted for its white fur. Stretching for 250 miles, the diverse ecosystem teems with marine life, endless fjords and towering granite cliffs. Wildlife tours are plentiful along with hiking, kayaking, boating and fishing opportunities. The visitor center is located in the Copper Sun Art Gallery in downtown Bella Coola.
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Island of the Arts
By Linda Tancs
In the Gulf Islands of British Columbia on Canada’s west coast you’ll find Canada’s best loved outdoor market on Salt Spring Island. Internationally known, Saturday’s Market in the Park features over 100 artists, writers, musicians and farmers, showcasing their handiwork under the market rule of “make it, bake it or grow it.” The world-class artistry exhibited at this seasonal event has garnered the island the moniker “island of the arts.” The market takes place weekly on Saturdays from April through October in Centennial Park and in the adjacent parking area in downtown Ganges.
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To the Moon and Back
By Linda Tancs
The shorebird Rufa red knot pursues an annual migration that, over the course of an average 13-year lifespan, represents a journey to the moon and back. Well, almost. The average distance to the moon is 237,000 miles; the average red knot will have traveled over 194,000 miles over a lifetime–breeding in the central Canadian Arctic and wintering in Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, an exodus of roughly 14,950 miles each year. But of course there are outliers. Like the so-called Moonbird, calculated to be at least 21 years young and to have traveled a whopping 400,000 miles. And that’s no April Fool’s joke. Undoubtedly, Moonbird is the king of long-range fliers in the avian world.
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