Sanuk Canadian

Dark Skies & Prairie Flats Nestled in the southwest of Saskatchewan and near the Montana (USA) border is a national park which is famous for two things:  it's a 'dark sky' preserve, meaning, it has one of the best locations to star gaze in the whole country and  its roaming bison. I visited Grasslands National Park ( LINK ) about a year ago and camped overnight there. I was able to enjoy hiking, buffalo watching and of course, star gazing. While not as famous as Banff or Jasper in Alberta, Grasslands is a unique experience and worth a visit.  Enjoy some photos from my overnight stay... The road in is all gravel and you'll pass by numerous prairie dogs and cattle guards (I think it's to keep the buffalo in, to be honest...) Slight hills to the right... I hiked 70 mile butte -- a butte is an isolated hill with steep sides and a flat top ( Wikipedia ). View from the butte Another view from the top of the butte. Prairie flower seen on the hike...I'm sorry I don...

 Part 4 - Columbia-Shuswap Cycling The main purpose of most of my travels these days has been to get outdoors and ride my bike. I love 'slow pace' sightseeing, and cycling has given me the opportunity to do just that.  On two separate days during my trip to Salmon Arm, my boyfriend and I rode some hills and took in the sights. Both rides were recommended by riders on cycling blogs and Map My Ride . Here are highlights... Route 1 - Carlin - White Lake - Balmoral - Carlin We started by parking at the middle school in Carlin, just off the highway. Then, we cycled down the first big hill to the fork near the highway underpass, turning right, then immediately left, following the first of many hills up towards the farms. We saw a few cyclists out and so, you'll know you're heading in the right direction by just following your fellow riders.   Road conditions in some areas are a little rough, but generally look like the photo above.   We came across some wild berries a...

 Part 3 - Hiking the Upper Canyon Trail After completing the Margret Falls hike, I still felt up to another hike, so we took a longer, steeper trail within Herald Provincial Park. Here's a map for those interested:  According to Hike Kamloops ( LINK ), this trail is a little more strenuous, is dog friendly and is about 4.1 kilometers long. It took us about an hour to complete the loop, starting from the lake overflow parking lot on the right side of the road.  Here's a quick view of the beach front facing the lake. It's a beautiful spot with lots of picnic tables under large, shady trees: The trail is very steep for the first kilometre or so with a number of switchbacks up the hill. According to my Garmin, the elevation gain was 178 meters. At the start, the trail is narrow and snakes through the forest, as you can see below: Once you reach the top of the hill, you'll come across this scenic lookout. You can see the lake overflow parking area at the bottom of the photo:...

 Part 2 -  Hiking the Margret Falls Trail Skipping ahead a few days into my trip to Salmon Arm, I went hiking in a provincial park up the road about 10 minutes. According to Hike Kamloops ( LINK ), Margret Falls was a recommended hike due to its simplicity and ease of access. For those who like maps, here you go:   (via Google Maps) Margret Falls is located inside Herald Provincial Park, which hugs the coastline of Shuswap Lake ( LINK ). It's a beautiful drive to the park too, as the road winds itself along the lake shore.  There is a parking lot off to the left of the road upon entering the park; space is limited, so it's advised to arrive early (before 10 AM). The parking lot has signage showing the way to the trail head and there is a wheelchair accessible loo too. Trail head at the start of the Margret Falls hike. It's dog friendly! At the time of writing, COVID-19 was still an issue in BC, so it's recommended to allow 6 feet (2 meters) in between hikers and ...

Part 1 - Lakefront Views I had about six days off in early September which I wanted to spend outside of my area. Since the Canadian border is closed to the U.S and most international travel, I stayed (somewhat) local by travelling inter-provincially to British Columbia for about four days (not including two days to drive out and back).  My boyfriend actually chose the location of Salmon Arm, since it was an area not too far across the Alberta border, was scenic and according to cyclists, had a lot of great routes for biking.  I packed my road bike and a small bag and headed west on an early Thursday morning.     Map showing Salmon Arm (via Google Maps).   Salmon Arm is a small retirement community of 16,000 tucked into the hills east of Kamloops. We stayed in a kitchenette suite at the Prestige Harborfront Resort ( LINK ) to save on costs and also, to avoid mixing with other people in these COVID times. The room was fantastic and just outside the hotel was a n...

I am the cat whisperer... I bought a house last year. For some reason, the kitties in the neighbourhood have taken a liking to my house and drop by often. They don't just hang out around my driveway, yard, or on the deck. No, no...lately, some of the cats have been marching themselves right into my home.  Here are three cats which are not mine.   This is not my cat. This is my neighbour's cat, Buttons. She's an Arabian Mau. She lost her leg due to being on the streets in Dubai, where my neighbour picked her up, got her to a vet and rest is history. She's a very demanding kitty, but very loyal. She drops by so often, she's made herself at home in my home, many times.    Just taking over the bike room.... And the spare kitchen chair... And sometimes on my lap... And my spare bedroom...   This is also not my cat. This is Bella. Bella has a clumping hair problem and thus, gets shaved once or twice a year. She has the tiniest 'mew'. She is also owned by my neigh...

Scenic Drive - Reverse Route to Hana via Kula. For the last full day spent on Maui island, we had to branch away from our usual cycling adventures. For the entire trip we managed to only get around the island on our bikes; for one day, we rented a car and would take a scenic drive along the south east coast. The reason for this was several: We had to be out of our rental by noon. We had to dismantle and pack our bikes into our bike boxes for the flight home later that evening.  The car rental company gave us permission to store our bike boxes and suitcases at the rental shop while we were out driving.(We used Kihei Rent-A-Car -- highly recommended!)  Once in the car, we took highway 37 and 377 heading south-southeast towards Kula. The route took us past the churches we had biked the day before and we drove until we reached a small farm. The views from a public park nearby were spectacular..... Looking down the hillside to the Pacific ocean: We stopped at the Lavender Farm, ...