Canada Travel

Bison in Banff?

November 10, 2009 by admin Leave a Comment

Parks Canada is considering reintroducing bison to Banff National Park.

Michelle Macullo of Parks Canada says several people have said they’d like to see the bison back in the park.

For thousands of years, plains bison grazed along the eastern slopes of Rocky Mountains, with the last dying just over 100 years ago. For several decades, a small herd of domestic bison did call Banff National Park home but they were moved out in the 1990s.

The idea of reintroducing the animal is getting lots of support from the public, but there are concerns, too. Parks Canada says it wants to allow the animals to roam freely, but some conservation groups say the big animals cover a lot of territory.

“There is some concern about bison wandering off outside the boundary onto provincial land but I think that can be mitigated through education,” says Anne-Marie Sysoak from the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society.

Edmonton to Hawaii

October 2, 2009 by admin Leave a Comment

WestJet Airlines today announced it will launch new, non-stop service between Edmonton and Maui, Hawaii, beginning next year. WestJet is the only airline to offer this service from Edmonton.

WestJet will fly between Edmonton and Maui once per week from March 5 to April 30, 2010. Introductory one-way fares start at $369 plus applicable fees and taxes, and are available immediately.

“Edmontonians love Hawaii, but they love non-stop flights even more,” said Bob Cummings, WestJet Vice-President, Guest Experience and Marketing. “We wish we could offer this opportunity sooner, but with 11 new destinations in our 2009-2010 winter schedule — our biggest winter schedule ever — we had to wait until we took delivery of more aircraft before we could make this happen.” [Read more…] about Edmonton to Hawaii

Calgary to Hawaii

October 2, 2009 by admin Leave a Comment

WestJet Airlines today announced it will launch new, non-stop service between Calgary and Honolulu and Maui, Hawaii, beginning next year.

WestJet will fly between Calgary and Honolulu once per week from March 7 to April 25, 2010, and between Calgary and Maui from March 6 to May 1, 2010. Introductory one-way fares to Honolulu start as low as $329, and to Maui from $369, plus applicable fees and taxes. Fares are available immediately. [Read more…] about Calgary to Hawaii

Calaway Park

July 10, 2009 by admin Leave a Comment

A couple of weeks back my family went to Calaway Park and had a great day in the sun having fun.

Calaway Park is an amusement park just west of Calgary on Highway 1 (Tans Canada Highway) actually probably about 10 or 15 minutes west of town. If you want to see the way Calaway Park looks, I recorded the quick two minute video below.

The park has about 22 different rides and just like any theme park it seems that Calaway has it’s own theme which is something like the Flintstones without the characters. There is plenty of food to buy and it is of course a little pricey so we tend to pack a lunch to bring and then buy the kids a treat while we are there. [Read more…] about Calaway Park

Saunas in Thunder Bay

March 12, 2009 by admin Leave a Comment

I found the following story from Coastal Living Magazine about the small town of Thunder Bay and the influence of all the people from Finland that have settled there. Thunder Bay is in next to the Great Lakes in Ontario Canada.

As the temperature nears 200 degrees Fahrenheit, I peer through the steam at 75-year-old Pentti Hirvonen. “It’s time,” he says.

Finland’s love of saunas has taken root along the shores of Lake Superior.

He opens the sauna door and steps outside, where it’s several degrees below zero. I follow him, barefoot through snow, to a hole in a lake, my feet too hot to even register the temperature. He breaks the thin sheet of ice that has formed in the few minutes we have been inside. Without ceremony, he jumps in, deliberately splashing his face and shoulders. My turn will come next.

Thousands of miles separate Thunder Bay, Ontario, from Finland, but the country’s love of saunas has taken root along the shores of Lake Superior. The Canadian outpost is a miniature Helsinki, with one of the largest populations of Finns outside Europe. [Read more…] about Saunas in Thunder Bay