Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Archive for canada
A Distinctive Voice in the Gulf
By Linda Tancs
One thing you’ll notice among Canada’s Magdalen Islands is the array of distinctive voices peppering the locals’ speech. It’s part of the charm of this archipelago in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. So, too, are the harp seals. Now is the time to observe them in their natural habitat on the ice floes around the islands. Year-round service to the region is available by plane or bus. Ferry service is available off-season by reservation.
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The Highest Tides
By Linda Tancs
Atlantic Canada’s Bay of Fundy captures the world’s highest tides. Stretching between the provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, this ocean bay bests the combined flow of the world’s freshwater rivers in every tide cycle with 160 billion tons of seawater. It takes six hours and 13 minutes for the tide to go from low to high (or vice versa). Needless to say, a tidal coastline like this offers plenty of hiking and kayaking opportunities. And don’t miss the rare northern right whale at the bay’s mouth. Previously in January the tides were exceptionally high, but great viewing is yours year-round. The best airport for arrivals is Halifax Robert L. Stanfield Airport.
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Polar Bear Capital of the World
By Linda Tancs
Churchill, Manitoba, is one place in the world where you can feel emboldened to get up close and personal with a polar bear. It is, after all, one of the few developed areas where the bears can be observed in their natural habitat, some calling this Canadian province the polar bear capital of the world. October and November mark the prime viewing season, when polar bears migrate from the tundra to icy Hudson Bay to snack on seals. Viewing options include a tundra vehicle tour, a stay at a wilderness lodge along the migration route, or a guided nature walk. Don’t worry–bad actors are detained in polar bear “jail” or trapped.
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Rocky Mountaineer
By Linda Tancs
It’s a three-hour drive between Seattle, Washington and Vancouver, B.C., but why deal with the traffic? If you believe that life is about the journey rather than the destination, then take the meandering route via rail on the Rocky Mountaineer’s Coastal Passage itinerary. The tour begins at Seattle’s King Street station and features over two days of daytime train travel, taking in a hotel night in Seattle, two nights in Vancouver and a night in Alberta. While munching on delectable entrees and complimentary drinks, you’ll take in amazing vistas (through oversized windows or glass-domed cars, depending on the class of service) of the Canadian Rockies. Keep an eye out for sightings of its wildlife inhabitants like sheep, elk, goats, bears and moose. They’re in no hurry–are you?
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Canada’s Big Day
By Linda Tancs
Today is Canada Day, a statutory holiday commemorating the nation’s creation. Prior to nationhood, a historic meeting took place in 1864 at Charlottetown port in Prince Edward Island that led to the Canadian Confederation. This year marks the 150th anniversary of that event, and PEI is celebrating yearlong with lots of festivals. Today’s free music festival at the Charlottetown Event Grounds features Barenaked Ladies, Tegan and Sara, Classified, David Miles, Roch Voisine, George Canyon and DRUM! Gates open at 12:00 p.m. Performers are on stage from 2:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
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New Brunswick’s Colonial Past
By Linda Tancs
One of Canada’s 50 Places of a Lifetime is the scenic St. John River Valley in New Brunswick. Eastern Canada’s longest river, it boasts the world’s longest covered bridge. Chief among the area’s charms, though, is the entertaining outdoor living history museum known as Kings Landing. Created in the 1960s above the high-water mark arising from the river dam project, the settlement commemorates the colonial life and times of the first settlers in this region, a regiment of loyalists in the American Revolution known as the King’s American Dragoons. Sure, there’s plenty of the butter making, candle dipping and wool spinning that typifies villages of this sort, but Kings Landing is also a monument to the industrial and agricultural traditions of colonial America’s refugees. A horse-powered drag saw is just one spectacle greeting you on your visit. The settlement is also a back-breeding program for livestock, vegetables, fruit and flowers, sporting 19th century varieties less common or almost extinct today. This year’s season begins on 14 June.
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North America’s Only Viking Settlement
By Linda Tancs
Five centuries before Columbus, the Vikings’ trek westward toward North America is recounted in their ancient sagas. Settling in what is now known as L’Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland, their colony was excavated in the 1960s by an international team of archaeologists from Norway, Iceland, Sweden, and the United States. A National Historic Site of Canada, this 11th century Norse settlement is the first and only known site established by the Norse in North America.
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Where the Stars Are
By Linda Tancs
Light management is critical to preserving the beauty of the night sky. Just ask the folks at the International Dark-Sky Association, a non-profit organization fighting to preserve the night. They’ve certified five places in the world as an International Dark Sky Reserve–in other words, that’s where the stars are. The honorees are Mont Mégantic in Canada, Exmoor National Park in England, Aoraki Mackenzie in New Zealand, NamibRand Nature Reserve in Namibia and Brecon Beacons National Park in Wales.
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Niagara’s Best Kept Secret
By Linda Tancs
The historic lighthouse and pier at Port Dalhousie, Ontario, Canada are just part of this waterfront community’s charms, one of Niagara’s best kept secrets. Named for the ninth Earl of Dalhousie, the tony village is also home to the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta and an antique carousel charging a very nostalgic five cents a ride. Situated in the Niagara Peninsula, it’s right in the heart of one of Canada’s biggest wine-producing regions.
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Saguenay Celebrates 175 Years
By Linda Tancs
Just 131 miles from Québec City (the only fortified city north of Mexico), Saguenay is celebrating its 175th anniversary in 2013. The year-long fête features lots of music as well as science and agricultural exhibitions. Of course, you don’t need a special occasion to visit this region, blessed as it is by a colossal fjord, temperate weather and magnificent whales. View the fjord from the heights of L’Anse-de-Tabatière, the only viewpoint that’s accessible by car, and let your spirit soar.
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