The Yukon Territory covers almost 500,000 square kilometres, which sounds really big, and yet has only about 48,000 people living there, which is definitely really small.  As a useless comparison, there are estimated to be over 300,000 caribou living there.  The territory is blanketed with a literally endless forest of spruce and other trees, zig-zagged by countless rivers and topped with stunning snow-capped mountains, including Canada’s highest peak.  The territory’s … Continue reading →

The Northwest Territories has a population of about 40,000 people spread out across an area larger than some European countries.  The Capital of the Northwest Territories is Yellowknife, itself home to about half the people who call the territory home.  So up in these parts, Yellowknife is definitely the big smoke.  Which is lucky because we had quite a long list of administration, repair and shopping tasks to address while … Continue reading →

The Northwest Territories covers a vast area of northern Canada, most of it the wildest wilderness anyone could imagine, and the few towns or communities that do exist are usually small and quite remote.  There is a large First Nations population in these northern parts too but whoever lives up here is just about as tough as it gets.  And one of the main centre points for human activity in … Continue reading →

British Colombia is a massive province hosting some of the most wild and beautiful land on this continent.  It features huge mountain ranges, including part of the Rocky Mountains, temperate rainforests and 25,000 kilometres of coastline.  The weather in BC is the best in all of Canada, which admittedly is falling over a low bar.  Never mind, we’re up for it and our plan was to head ever northward to … Continue reading →

The leafy trees are turning yellow, the temperature is dropping, the skies are always grey, businesses are closing, this must be northern Canada in late September.  Our adventure in Alaska is sadly behind us and our aim is to start heading seriously south over the next couple of weeks but we still have many things we want to see along the way and to enjoy more Canadian hospitality, if not … Continue reading →

There are two lines drawn on the map which they say delineates where during a specific period in the summer the sun never sets on the horizon and in a specific period in the winter the sun never rises above the horizon.  There are two such lines – one in the south marking the Antarctic Circle and one in the north marking the Arctic Circle.  Such is the remoteness of … Continue reading →

Playschool taught all children to love bears.  They are cute and cuddly, don’t say much, just nod their head and wave their big flannel paws.  But if you are bush camping in northern Canada bears take on a whole new meaning, especially when you see them so regularly on the side of the road you stop taking photos…and then you pull into an open area off the road and set … Continue reading →

The Northwest Territories is big, I mean bigger than can be imagined.  We thought Texas was big, we thought Ontario was big but this was all before we crossed the 60th parallel and entered Mr. Big himself, the Northwest Territories.  Reaching all the way to the Arctic Ocean and beyond, the NWT features the longest rivers, deepest lakes, largest national parks and biggest horse flies of Canada and seems to … Continue reading →

Well, yes, as it turns out I got it right first time.  Bit of a fluke I think. For the annual school spelling bee it is the Canadian equivalent of Mississippi but without the repetition or the famous river.  We entered Saskatchewan via its northern-most boundary road with Manitoba and then headed a bit further north, almost hitting the 55th parallel, before camping on the banks of one of the … Continue reading →

It is said Ontario contains all the fabulous features of Canada in one province.  It has the national capital of Ottawa and Toronto – a cosmopolitan city to match any in the world, almost 40% of the country’s population, sharing borders with some of the Great Lakes, vast tracts of agriculture, boundless natural resources, a strong bi-lingual society and all of this in an endless space larger than Spain and … Continue reading →

We were camping wild in the bush but we were not alone.  Julie spotted him first, a large grey wolf appearing on the hillside near our camp, the bloody results of his hunting skills hanging from his mouth, staring at the strangers who had entered his domain.  He disappeared for a moment but reappeared soon after, staring at us, sniffing the wind, trying to assess the situation and plot his … Continue reading →

Our first view of The Rock, as Newfoundlanders affectionately call their island, was glorious.  We were standing on the deck of our huge ferry as it pulled into the little harbour of Port aux Basques in the southwestern corner of this huge province.  The early morning sun was shining brightly on the freshly painted little homes on the nearby hillside and the distant hills still featured larges patches of snow … Continue reading →

How many cities can claim to have a citadel?  In particular one that protected its people for two centuries without ever firing a shot?  Well, Halifax, the capital of Nova Scotia can make that claim and we had a chance to explore this fortress on a hill overlooking the centre of town during our brief visit to the city.  But Nova Scotia is really more about its famous coastline and … Continue reading →

How much different can Canada be to the US?  Sure, there’s different currency, different national sports, two languages, an odd flag, a Queen, provinces instead of states, kilometres and litres instead of miles and quarts, and perhaps a defensive posture that they are not Americans.  I get that, for sure, and national pride is uber important but will Canada stand out as being unique in our experiences while travelling through … Continue reading →