Aurora Borealis: Trip The Northern Lights Fantastic with the Heavenly Dancers

There's more to Churchill, Manitoba

than polar bears and beluga whales

By Stephen A. Nelson

For the Brandon Sun

Jasper in January promises fun, indoors and out

By Stephen A. Nelson

Those who love it, love it a lot.

And for those who love winter in the great outdoors -- there's a lot to love at Jasper in January, Alberta's answer to Quebec's Winter Carnival and Winnipeg's Festival du Voyageur.

"What's exciting about the Jasper in January festival is that it offers visitors a diverse array of events and activities that both couples and families can take part in and enjoy," says Anastasia Martin-Stilwell at Tourism Jasper. "It's really the perfect way to kick off the new year and head to Jasper for a little authentic Rocky Mountain fun."

The festival is a two-week showcase for everything that's great about the Rockies in winter.

This is where outdoor adventure meets indoor arts and culture. It's a party in the park that's become Western Canada's premiere winter festival.

It began more humbly, 24 years ago, on the silver anniversary of Marmot Basin -- the ski resort that for many defines the Jasper experience.

The ski hill decided to celebrate its marquee anniversary with a party that everyone could enjoy.

It was one heck of a party and a great success -- so they decided to make Jasper in January an annual celebration.

These days, Marmot Basin -- along with hotels, restaurants and retailers -- still offers attractive discounts to those who want to join the fun. And the whole community gets involved to roll out the red carpet for visitors.

"Whether you're interested in untamed outdoor adventure -- like skiing, snowshoeing, polar dipping, moonlight skates and the sights and sounds of a bustling family street party -- or you're looking more for eclectic indoor pursuits ... Jasper in January really provides one of Western Canada's premiere winter-festival experiences that everyone is sure to enjoy." 

The original story in The Edmonton Journal

Stephen A. Nelson is a freelance writer and broadcaster.

Not Your Daddy's Dinosaurs!

Chryolophosaurus (copyright Stephen A. Nelson)

Chryolophosaurus is part of the Ultimate Dinosaurs - Giants from Gondwana special exhibition still on at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) in Toronto. The show will be open for special hours during the holidays, till January 6.

This is the World Premier for these fearsome reptiles and this exhibition. It features dinosaurs that weren't in Jurassic Park, terrible lizards from the southern hemisphere that most of us have never seen before.

From the ROM's website: The first dinosaur named from Antarctica, Cryolophosaurus lived 190 million years ago during the early Jurassic. It would have grown to over 7 m (23 ft) long and weighed around 450 kg (990 lbs). Its name means "frozen crested lizard" which refers to the striking crest it sported on top of its head and the fact that fossils of this animal come from the cold bottom of the world.

Fall Colours

Journey Behind The Falls - Niagara Falls, Ont.

Photo By Stephen A. Nelson

The Loon's Necklace: Patricia Lake, Jasper

Copyright: Photo by Stephen A. Nelson

Jasper Heritage Railway Station, Jasper National Park

Photo by Stephen A. Nelson

Maligne Lake in Jasper National Park, a Different Point of View

China Plate Blue

Photo by Stephen A. Nelson

An accidental crop of Maligne Lake Boathouse at dusk.

Maligne Lake in Jasper National Park, the Lawren Harris Group of Seven Way?

When Evening Falls

Photo By Stephen A. Nelson

A view of Maligne Lake, in Jasper National Park, at dusk. 

No special effects, FX, PhotoShop or CGI here.

Except for the boathouse, I imagine this is how Lawren Harris might have seen it when he came here.

I took this photo while leading a Japanese television crew on a tour of the Maligne Valley.

We followed up with dinner at the Kimchi House in Jasper - best Korean food this side of Seoul.

Jasper in January, Winter in the Canadian Rockies: Those who love it, love it a lot

photo from Tourism Jasper

Stephen A. Nelson

For The Edmonton Journal

JASPER - Those who love it, love it a lot.

And for those who love winter in the Great Outdoors – there's a lot to love at Jasper in January, Alberta's own unique answer to Quebec's Winter Carnival and Winnipeg's Festival du Voyageur.

The festival is a two-week showcase for everything that's great about the Rockies in Winter.

This is where the adventure of Great Outdoors meets the arts and culture of the Great Indoors – a party in the park that's become “Western Canada's premiere winter festival.” 

Read the Full Story in the Edmonton Journal

The Story on Canada.com

See my Facebook Page: Stephen A. Nelson - Writer, Editor, Traveller and More

Smallville: Metropolis' railway station a.k.a. Pacific Central in Vancouver

Photo by Stephen A. Nelson, Mild-mannered reporter

Vancouver's Pacific Central Railway station is home to VIA Rail. It's often seen in the Smallville TV series.

Things were a bit of a Blur when I was there, so I never did see Lana Lang, Lois Lane or Supergirl. Darn.

I'll post the rest of my Metropolis pics when I get my story with Lois and Lana.

Where to Stay in Vancouver: Fairmont Pacific Rim – A Room With A View

During my recent trip to Vancouver, I spent my first night at the Fairmont Pacific Rim. It’s the newest of the Fairmont hotels in the city: practically next door to that OTHER Fairmont, the Fairmont Waterfront – and just down the street from the OTHER OTHER Fairmont, the historic Hotel Vancouver.

I confess that I’m kind of partial to the chateau-style Hotel Vancouver – with it’s Ionic columns and Italian marble ceilings – because of its history as a great railway hotel (Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway) that has hosted kings, queens and governors general.

But with a harbour view like this, one could get used to staying at the Pacific Rim. Heck, I’d even move to Vancouver if I could wake up to this every morning.

And I have to say that I got very good service from all the people I dealt with - starting with the curb-side check in, right through the the car service that took me to my next location. For a poor freelancer like me (more used to hostels than hotels), it was almost overwhelming - in a good way.

Hint for travellers: If you stay at a Fairmont hotel, join the President’s Club. It’s free and will get you free local phone calls and free high-speed Internet when you stay at any Fairmont Hotel. Otherwise, Internet is $13.95 a day.

http://www.fairmont.com/pacificrim

This Is Paradise: Magnificent Maligne Lake and Wonderful Whistlers' Peak in Jasper

Story and Photo By Stephen A. Nelson

The Canadian Press

"If I have only one day in Jasper, what's the one thing I MUST do?"

As a resident, my answer is usually the same: "It depends what you want to do. It depends what you're interested in."

Some prefer placid lakes and picture-perfect postcard scenery. Others prefer high adventure on the mountaintop.

If you were my guest in Jasper, I hope you would stay more than one day. Six days of (re)creation would be suitable for a place many believe to be Paradise.

But if you have only a short time in Jasper, here's what I would show you.

http://timestranscript.canadaeast.com/rss/article/1211696

This Is Paradise: Maligne Lake, Jasper Tramway/ The Whistlers in Jasper National Park

By Stephen A. Nelson

For the Brandon Sun

“If I’ve only got one day in Jasper, what’s the one thing I MUST do?”
Well, if you were my guest in Jasper, I would hope you would stay more than one day. Six days of (re)creation would be suitable for a place many believe to be Paradise.
But if you have only a short time in Jasper, here’s what I would show you...

I've Been to the Mountain Top: The Whistler's Via Jasper Tramway

View from the Top: Looking towards Mount Edith Cavell from The Whistler's in Jasper National Park (not to be confused with Whistler, in British Columbia.)

Photo copyright Stephen A. Nelson

Going to the Calgary Zoo: Lions and Tigers and Scares (Oh My!)

Not the Only Dinosaurs

Story and photo by Stephen A. Nelson

Brandon Sun / Canadian Press

A lot of Canadians feel somewhat ambivalent about wild animals in captivity.

One the one hand, it seems just wrong to put migrating Beluga whales in an over-sized swimming pool or to put polar bears on artificial ice during a sweltering summer.

But Canadians also appreciate the value that a good space can have. They understand that the survival of some endangered species — Siberian tigers for example — depends on breeding programs like the ones at the Calgary Zoo. And zoos can help us understand the importance of preserving the wildlife habitat.

But there’s no denying the Calgary Zoo has been getting a lot of bad press in the past year. There’s been a string of high-profile animal deaths and some serious problems after stupid humans had close encounters with animals.

Depending on who you ask,these incidents are the result of either bad luck or bad management.

The zoo, for its part, says it’s made the necessary changes to ensure these kind of things never happen again.

So we wondered what to expect when we visited the Calgary Zoo for a “behind the scenes” experience. This walk and talk with the animals is a privilege that’s usually reserved for school children who want to make like Dr. Dolittle.

What we got was a warm reception from zoo keepers who were clearly concerned for the animals in their care. And despite some initial misgivings, we felt like big kids when we got to feed the giraffes.

We missed out on the other “big” thrill for school kids: helping the hippos to brush their teeth. These days though, brushing behemoths and giant giraffes are not the biggest attractions at the zoo.

The biggest draw is the Dinosaurs Alive area, where 20 animatronic giants turn a corner of the zoo into a kind of prehistoric park.

Of course, for grownups who saw the Jurassic Park movies, nothing short of a living, breathing T. Rex and a pair of crafty raptors will satisfy. But for kids, the roar of the mechanical “terrible lizards” was a big thrill — and sent the young ones scurrying to Mummy for cover.

Among the anachronistic animals, the Stegosaurus, Triceratops and even the Pterodactyl were particularly impressive. But our favourite was the T. Rex’s cousin, the Albertosaurus — which prompted someone to comment, “See! The Socreds aren’t the only things in Alberta that became extinct.”

Calgary Tower: You Can See the Canadian Rockies from the Centre of the City

Calgary Tower

Story and photo by Stephen A. Nelson

Brandon Sun /
Canadian Press

Practically in the centre of the city, the tower is the very symbol of Calgary, if not Alberta.

Sometimes Calgarians seem to take the tower for granted. But Calgary’s space needle boasts a panoramic bird’s eye view of the city and — on a clear day — a spectacular view of the Rocky Mountains.

A guided tour is a great way to get a new perspective on the city. In the space of half an hour, you'll get much greater appreciation and understanding of Calgary's culture and history. And you can figure out where you're going next.

Make sure you stop at the Tourism Calgary information centre at the base of the tower.

www.calgarytower.com

Calgary Cultural District /
Calgary Arts Development

Headquartered a stone's throw from the Calgary Tower, this group acts as a central hub for the arts in the city. It is a happening place, especially for those people who say Calgary has no culture.

On the first Thursday of each month, they organize First Thursday — featuring free arts and music events around downtown Calgary.

 www.calgaryartsdevelopment.com

www.calgaryculture.com

CALGARY'S CULTURE CACHE: GLENBOW MUSEUM

It's Around Here Somewhere:
This is Indian Land

Story and photo by Stephen A. Nelson

Brandon Sun / Canadian Press

The Glenbow Museum is just a stone’s throw from the Calgary Tower. And, as the jewel in Calgary’s cultural crown, you’d think it would be hard to miss.

Unfortunately, people seem to miss it all the time. Located in a nondescript, almost windowless edifice that looks like a mall/office building, we walked past the place twice before figuring out that you had to go into the “mall” to find the museum’s entrance.

Once inside the museum, we were glad we’d persevered — and wondered why we’d never been here before.

The star attraction of the Glenbow is the Blackfoot Gallery — featuring the story of this area’s first peoples, as told by the descendants of those tribes and nations that made up the Blackfoot Confederacy.

Of course, it’s a long and complex story and it would probably be best told over several nights. Ideally, it would be told by real storytellers to a real audience, sitting around a real campfire.

But the Glenbow has made an admirable attempt at working with the Blackfoot to help them tell their own stories through voice and video recordings, photographs and artifacts.

And we did get some insight into Blackfoot culture and history — from the beautiful stories of Creation to the horror stories of the residential schools.

Sometimes the story seems a bit simplified or uneven — like learning Biblical history from “Mysteries of the Bible” on A&E.

Still, of all the exhibits at the Glenbow, this seems to be the most careful, most complete, most “correct.” If other exhibits were done as well, you couldn’t hide this jewel for long.

Little Child won't you dance with me?Native Aboriginal Days in Jasper National Park

Two dancers share a moment after performing in the Welcome Dance ceremony, part of the National Aboriginal Days celebrations in Jasper on June 20, 2010.

Most natives - including non-status Indians, Métis and First Nations - left the area when it became a national park. It wasn't exactly their idea.

Many of those native groups with traditional ties to the land were back in Jasper for the June 19-20 weekend.

Scores of white folks who joined in the Friendship Dance thought that it was about time.

Photo copyright Stephen A. Nelson

Edmonton First Impressions: More to Alberta's Capital City than Oilers, Eskimos and Folk Festivals

By Stephen A Nelson

The Brandon Sun

June 19, 2010

You never a get a second chance to make a first impression.

And, to be honest, our first impression of Edmonton was, um ... unimpressive.

“Grey sky, grey city, grey people,” said my friend Andrea — a traveller from

Switzerland who was visiting the city for the first time.

Still, Edmonton does have some great offerings for visitors.

Old Strathcona District: Maybe Not Exactly the Champs-Elysée but best part of Edmonton

photo copyright Travel Alberta

Old Strathcona District

“I thought it would be like the Champs-Elysée , but it's not.”

That was Andrea's first reaction when we arrived in Edmonton's Old Strathcona District.

The travel magazines promising theatres and cinemas, boutiques and bookstores, restaurants and sidewalk cafés had clearly captured Andrea's imagination – and she was most keen to go to what I had called “the best part of Edmonton.”

Clearly Andrea had failed to factor in two things: Edmonton is not Paris, and Old Strathcona's famous Whyte Avenue lacks the more temperate nature of those foreign climes. In fact, Whyte Avenue might have more in common with Toronto's Queen Street than it does with Paris' tree-lined avenue. But that's not all bad.