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Tips to Enjoy Safe Family Skating on Canada’s Natural Lakes & Ponds

Originally published February 10, 2021 I have early memories of my parents strapping BOB Skates onto my bulky winter boots, and letting me shuffle around with my siblings on a natural lake in Southern Alberta. The sense of wonder and freedom I felt at the wide-open space still remains with
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Niagara Falls - Canadian Falls Credit Blue Motel Room Photography
Niagara Falls Without the Kids?

In our household, Niagara Falls had always been a family destination — for waterparks, mini-golf, a wax museum, ziplining and of course, a boat tour aboard Niagara City Cruises. But with our kids now in their late teens, my partner and I decided to visit Niagara Falls in a whole
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Photo Liz Bruckner
What Do You Mean You Don’t Want to Go to Disney World?! Why My Kids Choose to Cruise

As someone who’s never set foot on a Disney property, I’ll admit that when my husband and I began discussing the two main contenders for our next getaway – the land of The Mouse or a Carnival Sunshine family cruise – I felt excitement bubble up at what I was
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The Book Cliffs outside Moab - photo Rocky Mountaineer
Taking My Sweet Time: Rockies to the Red Rocks on the Rocky Mountaineer

Visions of towering rosy hoodoos, pillowy sandstone hills, and sheer-sided box canyon walls were on my mind as I climbed aboard the Rocky Mountaineer just outside of Denver. For two days we’d be rolling along historic rail lines and tracking the muddy Colorado River from Denver to Moab, Utah, covering
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Sunset at Farewell Harbour Lodge - Photo Carol Patterson
Great Bear Rainforest’s Farewell Harbour Lodge offers Leaping Whales, Backcountry Luxury, and (almost) Zero Emissions

Flying through the air, higher than any agility dog clearing an obstacle, were two male orcas. They were killing a Dall’s porpoise! Bludgeoning it with their body weight so it would be defenceless when they moved in for the final attack. When I’d signed up for a visit to Farewell
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Ditch the Liquids Carry-On (Family Fun Canada)
Ditch the Liquids! How to Manage Toiletries When You Travel Carry-On Only

Pack your bags and grab your passport, we’re heading for the airport! How do you pack when you fly? The biggest suitcase you can find or a carry-on bag that fits under your seat? The upper classes of earlier times often travelled with multiple trunks and valises. Golda Meir, a mid-20th
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Learning-From-Lilwat-and-Squamish-Teachers-The-West-Coast-carvings-are-beautiful.-Photo-Annie-B.-Smith.jpg
The Stories Are Alive: Learning From Lil’wat and Squamish Teachers

We stood in front of the cedar pole carving while the drumbeat began, strong and in time with the earth’s heartbeat. Qawam Redmond Andrews, our cultural ambassador, closed his eyes as he lifted his voice and joined his drum to begin the same song his ancestors used to call the
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Strangest Airbnb Accommodation - Industrial but it was quieter than many RV parks I’d stayed in. Photo Carol Patterson
My Strangest Airbnb Accommodation Was…a Parking Lot?

When I headed to British Columbia’s Fraser River Valley for fall bird watching, camping spots were as scarce as a long-billed dowitcher (rare). Fortunately, a fellow horse-lover rents out the most basic of accommodation on Airbnb – a safe place to park – next to some horses and a short
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Painted Warriors Bimose Forest Walk - Rebecca (left) learns about tying a clove hitch to secure the tripod for cooking over a fire. Photo Robyn Louie
Painted Warriors’ Bimose Stories of the Forest

We are walking with nature in a sun-dappled forest as we learn about Indigenous healing traditions with Painted Warriors, an Indigenous-owned business near Sundre in the Alberta foothills. Our guide, George, points out a native plant with feathery grey-green leaves, carefully breaking off a small leaf, crushing it to release
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A Few Nights Alone = The Mom-Cation of my Dreams

Every year, around my birthday in the Fall, I give myself a night off at a hotel in town. Once a year is all I take off as a parent and this year, I decided to give myself two nights away, in another city!  I spent my Mom-Cation in another
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