It’s like we’re caught in some gigantic pinball machine as we rapidly zigzag across the roaring river, trying to find a route between boulders the size of cars, as our canoe bumps and grinds over barely submerged rocks. Then after a couple of kilometres of non-stop manoeuvring, the wild river suddenly turns peaceful, allowing us […] Read more
Robin And Arlene Karpan
Stories by Robin And Arlene Karpan
Forest, river envelop sand dunes and cactus
Following the trail through gently rolling hills, we pass by grassy meadows carpeted in yellow with flowering hoary puccoons. Pincushion cactus is just beginning to flower, and the air is filled with the sweet aroma of wolf willow. It’s a prairie landscape, but one with a twist. All around us are huge stands of mature […] Read more
Aboriginal rock art offers look into past
Ancient images carved on weathered rock gaze over the meandering river, its green banks lined with a fairytale landscape of eroded cliffs and whimsically sculpted hoodoos. Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park has two claims to fame: the largest collection of aboriginal rock art on the North American Great Plains and an unusual and delightful prairie landscape. The […] Read more
Bird watchers delight in Mindo Cloud Forest
Clouds cling to forested hills, cloaking jungle-like growth in a perpetual damp blanket. Moisture nourishes a rich diversity of life from flowering bromeliads on moss-encrusted trees to giant ferns, rare orchids, butterflies galore and a staggering number of birds. The Mindo Cloud Forest is on the slopes of the Andes Mountains in Ecuador, two hours […] Read more
Everything’s coming up birds on Chaplin Lake shores
A mesmerizing blur of wings descends on brilliant white banks as visitors from as far away as South America drop in for a bite to eat. The tasty buffet served up on the shores of Chaplin Lake makes this the ideal stopover for hundreds of thousands of shorebirds making epic journeys from southern wintering grounds […] Read more
Monarchs are Mexico’s other North American tourists
Bold splashes of orange speckle the blue sky as countless Monarch butterflies fill the air and land on branches, logs, the ground and even on our heads and shoulders. The sound is unlike anything we have heard before: a gentle, whispering-like whir like a million pieces of confetti thrown in the air. Awestruck visitors speak […] Read more
