June 17, 2007 | Tips from Travellers >
Sechelt, Wildlife Tours
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Sechelt Inlet is an incredible inland sea, which most visitors to the Sunshine Coast completely miss. Just 10 minutes from the village of Sechelt, there is a feeling of quiet solitude, with abundant wildlife - eagles, great blue herons, kingfisher, otters, seals, and recently, a pod of 75 dolphins. The inlet is great for kayaking due to its protection from wind and waves by the surrounding mountains. Porpoise Bay has an excellent campsite and there are several wonderful B&B's in Sandy Hook as well as over on the west side of the Inlet.
June 16, 2007 | Tips from Travellers >
Nanaimo, Boating & Sailing
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Participants of the VanIsle 360 race are getting ready in Nanaimo Harbour.
(Full size available on request)
June 15, 2007 | Tips from Us >
Dawson Creek, Sightseeing Tours
Last week was Our Community Blooms: Community Planting. Basically anyone who wanted to come out could help plant flowers in the downtown core of the city. There were four huge sidewalk corners to plant but it was so much fun! And now the downtown area looks great! Every time I’m downtown now I look on those planters with pride. And people were so friendly; we even had a visitor from the U.S. ask if she could plant a few flowers and of course we obliged. Everyone that does the downtown walking tour of Dawson Creek can see all the flowers we planted. The walking tour is a lot of fun too. It gives fascinating tidbits about the history of the town. My favourite is the bit about the explosion of 1943. That’s right, explosion. When the U.S. Army was working on the road they stored their dynamite in town and the night of February 13, 1984 60 cases of dynamite caught fire and destroyed an entire block of Dawson Creek! It’s some pretty cool history. The walking tour is full of fun facts like this.
The walking tour also goes past the Alaska Highway House. It is just finishing its renovations and it promises to be amazing. The exhibit will cover many different aspects of the building of the Alaska Highway including a scaled model of the Kiskatinaw Bridge. The staff at the Visitor Center will get a sneak-peak preview of all the cool stuff inside. I’ll have to tell you all about it when it happens.
June 15, 2007 | Tips from Us >
Dawson Creek, Attractions
Hi, my name is Leah. I have lived in Dawson Creek my entire life, well the 22 years that I have been alive anyway. I go to university in Edmonton for 8 months of the year and I’m always glad to come home to Dawson in the summer. There is just something about a small town that is endearing. Dawson Creek may be small by some standards but we are a population of about 12,000 people and growing all the time. Dawson Creek is famous because it is Mile 0 of the Alaska Highway but there is lots to see and do that is separate from the highway. And there is always something to do if you want to get out and participate. Our online community calendar is a brilliant place to find upcoming events. This is my third year working at the Dawson Creek Visitor Centre and I hope to share some my experiences with you readers.
If anyone was interested in that community calendar link I’ve included it below:
http://www.tourismdawsoncreek.com/events/calendar.php?type=month&calendar=1&category=0&month=06&year=2007
June 14, 2007 | Tips from Travellers >
Burns Lake, Attractions
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Burns Lake is located in the heart of the Lakes District. There are plenty of Lakes and Trails to come and see, it's a great place to go camping, hiking, mountain biking, canoeing, fishing and kayaking. In the winter Burns Lake is great for cross-country skiing and snowmobiling, ice fishing and more. We also have a great amount of Lodges and resorts, motels, RV parks, an art gallery featuring local works. So come and see the heart of the Lakes District where we are a place for all seasons.
Also if you're in our area during Canada Day we are celebrating, starting with a parade at 11:00 am at the Lakes District Secondary School located west of Burns Lake then heading towards Radley Beach where there will be all the fun!! Also there will be the second annual Bathtub Boat Races that start from Radley Beach and race around Dead Man's Island and return back to the sands of the Radley Beach.
June 13, 2007 | Tips from Us >
Dawson Creek, Outdoor Activity Tours
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So instead of working today, me and two co-workers went for a small little day trip...It was so much fun. First of all we drove out to the old wooden Kiskatinaw Bridge and got our pictures taken out there as well as took in the scenery. We went on a kind of a cold day, but none the less it was still a breath taking view. The only unfortunate part of the drive was that since the bridge is located on the old Alaska Highway, the road out there hasn't been well maintained so there were a few potholes and gravel spots along the way, but it didn't seem to bother anyone. The best part was that before and after the bridge there was lots of room on the shoulders where people could pull over and take pictures as well as stretch there legs.
After we jumped back into the truck and headed to the Barnyard Petting Zoo. We were greeted by a wonderful lady who told us all we needed to know about the zoo as well as how to take care and manage so many animals... She had everything there, rabbits, chickens, geese, lambs, goats, pigs, cows, and horses. It was amazing. We were able to pet the animals, hold them, and basically do whatever we wanted with them except ride them. After that we headed over to an old hay barn where she had a tickle trunk filled with old western wear where people can dress up and get their pictures taken. So of course we jumped in on the opportunity. When we walked back to the main area we saw that she had a little park area set up. There were picnic tables where you can have lunches as well as toys for kids to play on. All three of us were quite impressed with her set up and would go back again in an instant. Just the feeling being back on a farm again brought back so many childhood memories...I just wish I could have rode the horses.
June 13, 2007 | Tips from Us >
Dawson Creek, Attractions
Hello
My name is Becky and I have lived in Dawson Creek for 22 years. Even though I have lived here for such a long time, I don't really know the area. So when I started my new summer job as a tourist counsellor I thought that it would be the perfect opportunity to go on a few road trips and learn about my area. I used to tell people that you could ask me anything about the Philippines and Mexico and I would know the answer just don't ask me about my own area. Thankfully this statement is changing as I am learning more and more everyday about the place I call home. I have made a promise to myself that every day off I am going to go on a little tour so I will be able to not only experience the attraction myself but also to tell others about it so they can enjoy it just as much as I did. I hope you enjoy my blogs and feel free to ask questions about a particular area I have visited...Talk about being a tourist in your own town!!
June 13, 2007 | Tips from Travellers >
Whistler, Outdoor Activity Tours
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My wife and I will be celebrating our 10-year anniversary in early October this year and I am checking into a trip to BC. Any advice? What's happening in your area during early October?
June 11, 2007 | Tips from Travellers >
Abbotsford, Dining
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For an exceptional dining experience in Abbotsford, visit the Quazines Fine Dining restaurant. It is headed by Executive Chef Michael Dicks C.C.C., winner of the 2006 Iron Chef competition. The food is amazing and very reasonably priced. Their "come as you are" atmosphere is great for the traveller and resident alike.
June 09, 2007 | Tips from Us >
Hudson's Hope, Attractions
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On May 27, 2007 I took a day trip down to Hudson’s Hope from Dawson Creek to take a tour of the Bennett Dam. When I left Dawson Creek I had exactly 2 hours to make it to the last tour of the day. To Hudson’s Hope it is 162km and then an extra 25km to the Dam. Well I assumed that I was going to be late so being the little speed devil that my car is, I ended up driving 120-130km/hour and made it there with 20 minutes to spare. The drive there was so beautiful. I have lived in Dawson Creek for 22 years and have maybe been to Chetwynd a handful of times and to Hudson’s Hope once. 15 minutes out of Dawson Creek I had to slow down due to a yearling moose grazing on the side of the highway, from there I saw 5 deer watching the traffic from a farmer’s field. After that the only wildlife that I saw on the drive was 2 dead squirrels and a bird that I ended up running over. As I was driving I remembered how beautiful this country really is. Even though I was traveling fast I still got to take in quite a bit of scenery and thoroughly enjoyed it. After Chetwynd the drive to Hudson Hope was amazing. Moberly Lake is immaculate and you can see it for most of the half hour drive. The lake looked just amazing, all I wanted to do was pull over and go for a swim...but I was on a mission.
When I got to Hudson Hope the signage quickly showed me where to go to get to the Dam and before I knew it I was there. I met up with Nicole and her and I went through the building to get ready for the tour. They had many different kinds of activities that you could do to see how electricity works which was fun and informational. When the tour started we were taken into a theatre type room and watched a quick 10 minute film on how the Bennett Dam was built. From there we were taken on a tour bus and went on a 5 minute bus ride down into the dam where we were showed how electricity is produced and what the dam actually does for our surrounding area. The guided tours were so informational and the lady was so nice and answered any questions we had about the dam...especially about the sinkholes that happened in 1996 and nearly flooded all of Hudson's Hope. The W.A.C. Bennett Dam at the head of the Peace River Canyon is key to the multiple uses of Peace River water for power generation. Completed in 1967, it is one of the world's largest earth fill structures, stretching 2 km across the head of the canyon and measuring 600 feet in height and is named after the B.C. premier at the time. Behind the dam is British Columbia's largest reservoir, Williston Lake, which covers an area of 410,000 acres. Driving back on the bus we spotted 4 bald eagles which are usually located there watching for dizzy fish that come out of the turbines so they can munch on them. After the hour long tour Nicole and I left the main building and drove around on top of the dam where we could see the top view of all the surrounding area. We were also fortunate to stop in at an artifact gallery with Dinosaur prints as well as old goal mining carts and stamp machines. On our way home we also stopped at a little abandoned cabin which is really just a short long house and toured the area a little more before heading back home to Dawson Creek. The way home we took the end of the circle route which took us from Hudson Hope to Fort St. John and then to Dawson Creek. The drive once again was very beautiful and scenic but it was so windy that I need to go much slower especially around those corne