Stories

#OkanaganExploring The morning coffee crowd was descending upon True Grain Bread when I arrived to start my day in Summerland. The giant ovens were chirping out a pleasant tune to let the bakers know that the first batches of multigrain were ready to go.

#OkanaganExploring Hike and explore the spirit of Ogopogo, Kelowna and discover the region’s Indigenous heritage

#OkanaganExploring Love biking? Check out Vernon and get ready for the ride of your life.

#ExplorePortAlberni Want to get out and explore the beautiful Alberni Valley? Follow this one-day itinerary and be prepared to be amazed.

The game of golf is either an art form - or a gong show. Those that have mastered the swing and can smack that orb on the perfect arc are amazing. For the rest of us, we need to practice. But that’s the best part. Alberta and British Columbia are covered with fantastic golf courses that are either looking at oceans, trees, mountains or big beautiful prairie skies.

#OkanaganExploring Sipping his morning pick-me-up out of a coffee mug featuring a photo of his family, Sun Country Cycles owner Ricardo Smith was gracious enough to meet me as I began my Vernon cycling journey. I arrived first thing in the morning and the Sun Country parking lot was already full of customers - either dropping off their bikes to get serviced or picking up rentals like me.

#OkanaganExploring Ogopogo is B.C.’s very own Loch Ness Monster, turned friendly water creature, the legend hunters have been trying to capture on film for the past half century. It’s seemingly a part of our heritage, until you find out the true meaning behind the serpent-turned-cartoon-statue and you become, as the kids say, woke - with a sudden understanding of the spirit of Ogopogo truly means.

#ExplorePortAlberni Instead of counting highway lines – because there were none – I looked out the window as narrow rows of timber whisked by like larger-than-life barcodes. The forest services road from Port Alberni to Bamfield follows the ocean inlet from the Pacific flowing in from the west, which many people often forget since Port Alberni is so close to the east coast of Vancouver Island.

#ExplorePortAlberni “That’s a MacGillivray's warbler,” said our intrepid guide Sandy McRuer, pausing mid-sentence, looking up into the trees.

Spring is a time for renewal, growth and getting back out in the garden.

Taking up a new hobby, like arts and crafts, cooking or creating a fairy garden might also be on your spring inspiration list.

From icing a cake to walking on ice, Sheri Landry of Edmonton is up to the challenge. As the creator of the popular This Bird’s Day web page featuring advice, antidotes and recipes Sheri keeps pretty busy. 

“I’m not sure how it happened,” said the man sitting next to me with a flight of beer in front of him. “We started out in Port Moddy, sipping an IPA called “Sit and Stay” at some crazy little brewery called Yellow Dog and suddenly here we are, in Golden B.C. drinking…” he looks down at the cheat cards, “Thread the Needle Witbier.”

Our objective is to bring our readers and followers stories about people and places that will enlighten and inspire. 

Somebody, or probably a lot of them at the front of the pack are probably grinding their gears as hard as they can to take the lead. Me? I’m MAYBE near the middle of a long line of brightly dressed cyclists. I’m happily keeping a pace that allows me to look around and enjoy the view. While they dash for the destination, I’m happy on the journey. Participating in a Gran Fondo cycling event, is a great way for cyclists of every ability to enjoy the freedom of the highway where friendly volunteers fuel you and cheer you on.

Somewhere between being shot out of the waterslide like a cannon ball and jumping off the top deck into shimmering Shuswap Lake, we declare houseboating our new favourite way to vacation.

“This whole area is one fantastic, giant archeological site,” Candace Campo told me as we convened near the picnic area of Porpoise Bay Provincial Park on the Sunshine Coast.

Candace, who was wearing a beautifully woven cedar headband, explained the entire park area is a traditional Sechelt First Nation village site, filled with resources, history, and even her own childhood memories.

Roxanne Jerema’s journey from working as a taxidermist in land-locked Saskatchewan to running a fishing charter on B.C.’s Sunshine Coast are worlds apart.

The project’s premise was simple: one tree equals one sea-worthy canoe built by many hands, some more experienced than others.

As dusk descends, an explosion of violence shatters the tranquility of the world’s largest remaining tract of unspoiled ancient temperate rainforest. The chase is on.

The wind is strong from the east. Our jackets flap, our hair tangles and our invisible scent carries with the wind. If it was our day for driving the buffalo over the edge of the cliff, we’d go hungry. The massive mammals would have smelled us long ago and thundered away. At Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump World Heritage Site near Fort McLeod, you find out just how much that buffalo meant for survival for the Blackfoot Nation.