Where the Wild Things are: Rafting the Tatshenshini and Alsek Rivers in Canada’s North

The grizzly bear emerges from the bush on the banks of Melt Creek, its low-slung head swinging side to side as it lumbers toward the swift-moving water. Two cubs follow, as oblivious as their mother to the fact that 15 slightly freaked out river rafters are watching from the opposite shore. Moments earlier Brad, lead … Continue reading →

Wine, Dine and Dash in Wintery Kelowna

Tucked between bottles of wine, candles and jelly jars in The View Winery gift shop is a wooden sign that captures the optimism many Kelowna winemakers are embracing this winter: “If you pour it, they will come.” This snowy season over half of Kelowna’s 40-plus wineries are open for wine tasting, offering a more intimate, … Continue reading →

The Bear that Disappears

Of all the very good reasons to take a trip down the Tatshenshini and Alsek rivers, which run from Yukon through British Columbia and Alaska to the Pacific Coast, surely the most compelling is the chance to see one of the rarest animals on Earth. It’s a bear so uncommon, and about which so little … Continue reading →

P is for Pangea Pod Hotel

With its effortlessly stylish vibe and small-scale sleep compartments, the Pangea Pod Hotel is the first of its kind in Canada, deliverying an affordable stay in the heart of British Columbia’s Whistler Village… Continue reading in January 2019 issue of WestJet Magazine.

Living it Up in Death Valley

“I’m allowed to eat dirt?” my son asks, an incredulous look on his face. I nod and explain that the white ground we’re standing on is not dirt but, rather, salt, and the friendly park ranger said a wee taste was fine. With that my son pops a pinch in his mouth and the rest … Continue reading →

Big Love in Death Valley

There will come a moment on your getaway in Death Valley National Park–while hiking between walls of polished marble or standing on a blinding-white salt flat or floating in a spring-fed pool under an ink-black skies awash with stars–when you realize you are falling in love. Because despite its morbid name, arid landscapes, and well … Continue reading →

Pender Island Surprises

There is a disco on Pender Island. At least I think that’s what islander Curtis Redel just told me. “Heart Trail is a great morning walk,” says Redel when I ask about hiking on the island. “And if you keep following it, you’ll reach the disco.” I imagine flashing lights, disco balls and Donna Summer … Continue reading →

10 Ways Canada’s Yukon Territory is Beyond Your Wildest Dreams

The call of the wild emanates from just about everywhere in Canada’s Yukon Territory. Some locations are expected (evergreen forests, rugged mountain peaks, remote lakes) while others might surprise (a former brothel-now-bar, a wild-west-esque can-can show, a divey saloon). Looming large over this vast frontier north of the 60th parallel and east of Alaska are … Continue reading →

Happy in Halifax: That’s an order

Halifax has long known how to have a good time. In 1606, explorer Samuel de Champlain kicked off centuries of Nova Scotia merrymaking when he established L’Ordre de Bon Temps, the Order of the Good Time, to raise the spirits of his men wintering 200 km north of Halifax. The Order is still in existence … Continue reading →

Colonnade Hotel for baseball fans in Boston

On game days, bell staff sport Red Sox caps at this friendly 285-room hotel located a 15-minute walk from Fenway Park and adjacent to some of Boston’s best shopping. Stylish guest rooms feature earth-tone furnishings, floor-to-ceiling windows and, beside every bathtub, a souvenir rubber ducky. Take in a ball game or entertaining ballpark tour, or … Continue reading →