On a recent trip to Long Point Provincial Park we spotted what we thought was a huge, beautiful butterfly. Upon showing her this picture, the park naturalist informed us that it was not, in fact, a butterfly, but a moth. None other than the Cecropia moth, the largest in North America!

Cecropia Moth photographed at Long Point Provincial Park

The scientific name is Hyalophora cecropia and it’s a member of the Saturniidae family of giant silk moths. Females with a wingspan of 160 mm (over six inches) have been documented. It is found all the way from B.C. to the Canadian maritime provinces.

Long Point Provincial Park, near Port Rowan, Ontario, Canada is part of the Lake Erie beaches. It’s a stunning place to visit if you like sand-dune camping and deserted beaches. It is also world-renowned for migrating birds in the spring and fall (many of which probably feed on the Cecropia moth). Bird-watchers have spotted 383 different species of birds on Long Point itself, which is recognized as a biosphere reserve by the United Nations.

The beaches at Long Point Provincial Park on Lake Erie

In the Canadian Badlands between Cypress Hills and Etzikom, Alberta

Even though we’re big travelers of Canada, there’s still plenty to see. Canada is so big and the average vacation so short ( 2 weeks) that it’s difficult to cover a lot of ground. One way to do it is a fly-drive.

Hoodoos and beehive hills near Drumheller, Alberta

A 4-hour flight west from Toronto will put you in Calgary. A car rental and an hour later and you’re in southeastern Alberta, a landscape so foreign from central Canada that a travel writer from Toronto described it as reaching out and slapping her. 63 municipalities have coined it the Canadian Badlands and aim to make it Canada’s next iconic travel destination (just like the Canadian Rockies, an hour west of Calgary).  From a road trip perspective, we think it’s already there.

The massive prairie landscape is intersected by river valleys with hills that look like giant beehives. The valleys are part of a prehistoric sea that once occupied a good portion of North America. Wind and water have stripped away the sandstone and they’ve revealed something else. Dinosaur fossils. Millions of them. Two places to learn about the biggest finds are Dinosaur Provincial Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the Royal Tyrrell Museum, the world’s largest devoted to palaeontology.

If you love driving but hate traffic, this is the place. Armed with an Alberta road map and GPS, we crisscrossed the region by paved and gravel road, sometimes not seeing another car for the better part of two hours.  Gas stations are scarce though. So are corner stores and other things that we take for granted in the city. Topping off the gas tank and having lots of drinking water in the car quickly became necessities.

Streetcar in downtown Toronto, Ontario

On the Trans-Canada Highway west of Brooks, Alberta

If you’ve ever driven any distance through the Canadian bush (as Shania Twain calls it), especially endless miles of tree-lined, two-lane highway, then you will know about the moose. There are foreboding signs along the way featuring outlines of these hulking creatures nonchalantly strolling across your path. The message is not one of protecting the environment, it is one of avoiding mortal danger. An uneasy feeling starts to set in right about dusk, when the light of the sky darkens enough to match the light thrown by your high-beams.

If you know about the threat of the moose you will tend to slow down just a little, and your eyes will skirt furtively for motion and shadows along the treelines. Because you do not want to hit a moose. If you do, it will almost certainly be THE event of your day.

Except for the driest regions of southern Alberta and Saskatchewan, and big parts of the far north, moose are EVERYWHERE in Canada. Unconfirmed reports from my travelling buddy Bob Fisher state that there are now more moose in the province of Newfoundland than there are inhabitants of the capital city of St. John’s. And moose are not even indigenous to the island.

My partner Judy recalls the first time she ever saw a moose: “I was barreling down a highway through La Verendrye Provincial Park in my old Vega, on my way back to Montreal from Val d’Or. I had just passed a big lumber truck and when I came over the crest of a hill there he was standing beside the highway. I stopped, afraid he’d cross in front of me and all the while fearful of that lumber truck bearing down behind me. The moose and I eyeballed each other for what seemed like an eternity and then he turned his back on me and clambered down into a mineral pool beside the road.”

Moose-spotting at Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario
Ontario’s Algonquin Provincial Park is a good place to spy a moose. There are about 3,400 in the park. Moose are elusive creatures but in spring, you can often spot them alongside Highway 60 which runs through the southern portion of Algonquin Park. Beside the highway are small mineral pools  filled with runoff and salt from winter highway maintenance. Moose can be salt-depleted by spring and often feed in these pools which are salt-rich. The month of May is susceptible to “moose jams”, when you can see 30-40 cars of travellers stopped on the side of Highway 60 to watch a moose feed in a roadside pool.

All of the moose photos in this post are courtesy of Ontario Parks. The moose twins pic was snapped last spring by a staffer who works with the provincial parks system in Ontario, Canada’s second largest province.

Photo courtesy of Ontario Parks

Over the edge at Niagara Falls – photo courtesy of Bobby Mikul

Back in 2000, Niagara Falls Tourism asked us to help them get publicity for a big Valentine’s Day wedding.  Four hundred lovers were tying the knot in a winter garden ceremony across from the American Falls. The event got me thinking how did Niagara Falls become the honeymoon capital of the world anyway? That’s when I caught up with Sherman Zavitz who told me a remarkable story. Zavitz is a Niagara Falls historian and author of It happened at Niagara. His book is full of interesting tales on the Falls including its honeymoon tradition.

Theodosia Burr by John Vanderlyn (1802)

Joseph Brant was a celebrated Mohawk chief, politician and military leader who fought in the American Revolution for the British and who knew George Washington and King George III. On a visit to New York City in the late 1700s, Brant was introduced to Theodosia Burr.  Theodosia was the daughter of the third Vice President of the United States, Aaron Burr. The Burrs were part of New York City society and when Theodosia met Brant at a New York social gathering, Brant invited Theodosia to Niagara. In 1801, when Theodosia married Joseph Alston, the couple decided to embark on a “wedding journey” to Niagara Falls. The couple also visited Brant at his home on the Grand River. Pack horses and a team of staff accompanied the Alstons on their journey. It was likely a long and arduous affair. But obviously Niagara Falls must have impressed the newly married Alstons because when they got back home, news spread quickly of their Niagara visit and before long, many well-to-do Americans were embarking on similar wedding journeys. The honeymoon destination was beginning to catch on.

By the 1850s, railway travel was taking North America by storm and thousands of newly married couples began to visit Niagara Falls. My grandparents married in New Brunswick on June 10, 1903 and traveled by train to Niagara Falls for their honeymoon.

So what is it about Niagara Falls that has captured the hearts of so many? Well, Louis Hennepin, the first European to see the falls in 1678, seemed to understand the falls’ allure when he called Niagara “a vast and prodigious Cadence of Water.” Charles Dickens was obviously fascinated by the falls too when he wrote, “I seemed to be lifted from the earth and to be looking into Heaven.”

In the 1950s, Niagara Falls became known as “Baby City” after it was discovered that a record number of honeymooners were conceiving their first child in the world’s honeymoon capital too.

Maid of the Mist – photo courtesy of Ontario Tourism Marketing Partnership Corp.

As the 2000 Valentine’s Day wedding suggests, honeymooners still visit Niagara Falls. You’ll see them on the Maid of the Mist which has been taking honeymooners to the base of the Horseshoe Falls since the mid 1800s or on the  Spanish Aerocar which has been operating since 1916. Today’s honeymooners also visit  Niagara wineries and many choose to stay at a Niagara inn or spa. Honeymooners also attend the wonderful Shaw Festival, an annual summer theatre festival devoted to the works of George Bernard Shaw and his contemporaries.

Tranquility at Driftwood Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada

The 2010 season at Ontario Parks officially opens today (Friday, May 14, 2010).  Ontario is Canada’s second largest province. The Ontario Parks system began in 1893 with Algonquin Park. When I was a kid, I went to a summer camp in Algonquin. My best camp memory was a week long canoe trip. On the last leg of our trip, we stopped at Algonquin’s famous Portage Store on Canoe Lake. It was exciting because we didn’t see other trippers for days and then suddenly we were crossing paths with paddlers from around the world. There are three lodges in Algonquin and I’ve been lucky to stay at two: Bartlett Lodge and Killarney Lodge. Both were terrific. I also remember the rib dinner we had at Killarney. Lip-smacking good.

Kayaking is popular in Ontario Parks

Another favourite Algonquin Park experience for me was the park’s wolf howl. I was 13 years old yet I remember the howl as if it was yesterday.  It was an August night. The park staff led hundreds of us in cars down an old logging road in the park. We turned off all our lights and were instructed to sit quietly outside our cars. One of the staff howled into a megaphone. We waited then he howled again.  It wasn’t long before he got a response. It was AMAZING. We could even hear the young wolf pups’ yelps. The pack was miles away but they sounded like they were just over the next hill.  Algonquin Park still has its August wolf howls. For details, see here.

Canadians might not think of Ontario as a land of beaches, but some of Canada’s best are in Ontario Parks. Sandbanks, Wasaga Beach and Pinery are all within a couple of hours drive of Toronto and there are plenty more across the province.

Kids love the dunes at Sandbanks Provincial Park

We’ve picnicked at old encampments in French River Provincial Park where the famous Voyageurs camped hundreds of years before us. We’ve marveled at how rugged Frontenac Provincial Park is even though it’s only 40 kilometres north of Kingston, a city in eastern Ontario. Then there’s Killarney. The colour of its lakes are Windex-blue. Friends rave about other Ontario Parks such as  Pancake Bay on Lake Superior. We’ve been told the beach is fantastic and the sunsets unforgettable. A stay in a  Sleeping Giant cabin in fall also comes highly recommended. The park is just outside of Thunder Bay. Atikokan, the Canoe Capital of Ontario and Quetico, a paddler paradise in northern Ontario also intrigue.

It was a beautiful mid-September day when we pulled off the T’Can into Driftwood Provincial Park on the Ottawa River. We pretty much had the park to ourselves. It reminded me once again why the shoulder seasons are a good time to travel Canada. The weather is generally good and there are fewer travelers.

Ontario has 329 provincial parks. Over one hundred  have visitor facilities and park programming for all ages. Many Ontario Parks have roofed accommodation. Paddling, hiking and mountain biking are popular in spring, summer and fall. In winter, cross country skiing, snowshoeing and dogsledding are big. Getting outfitted from head to toe is possible if you don’t want to travel with gear. Local outfitters and lodges are generally found close to individual parks. For information on how to reserve a campsite at an Ontario park, check here. And for accommodation near many Ontario Parks, check Resorts of Ontario, an umbrella resort association with over one hundred member resort hotels, lodges, cottage resorts and country inns.

Final destination: Sudbury, Ontario and the Big Nickel (the world's largest)

Everyone arrives, unaware of what’s to come as we start loading the bus with everything we need, all the moms asking if we have our toothbrush and hockey equipment. Everyone answers with the same loud sigh and “yes, mum,” answer. Once everything was packed and we all got seated, the doors closed and the coolers opened and we were off.

Loading the bus

At first it felt like the longest bus ride ever, but as the parents got louder and louder, the trip felt shorter and shorter with the movie also helping. With just one stop in Nobel on the way, we were there, at last!

We thought the wait was over, expecting to start our never-finished, N.H.L., 10-video game tournament right away, all forgetting about the dreaded wait that feels longer than the bus ride to get to our rooms. I hop off the bus, heading for my bags before I realize I packed my bag on the bus first, meaning I will get my bag off the bus last, making for even more of a wait.

Into our rooms we all went, excited about the rest of the weekend but all thinking about the low rating of the motel without a pool or anything, but right to ideas, we went outside for a game of tag and football. The team all ate out at Buzzy Brown’s and had a curfew so we were off to bed. The Super 8 motel was quickly growing on us, as we all liked the location, being next to a grocery store, Dollarama, Subway, Timmies and anything else Canadian you can think of…  specifically the arenas, and since we were here for a tournament, those were most important.

The next day was the beginning of the hockey part of the tournament, playing against the home team, the Sudbury Bulldogs. You could tell they were the home team as the refs were clearly biased on their side but we still won 5-1 with an easy win for the gang. With a while before our next game, we hung out around the motel starting our fun off with some lunch and a trip to the field where we played tag for another half hour. The days felt long so it was great. Then, there was the next game, against West Ferris Blades, a team from North Bay. Once again, easy, as we won 5-0 with not much of a challenge.

Time for another dinner. This time, most of the team ate at a sushi restaurant near the motel. The sushi was great with some of the team trying raw seafood for the first time. Everyone enjoyed it and talked about it for the rest of the night. We still had some time so a few of us from the team took a short walk to see what was around. After a few snowball fights and a stop at Tim Horton’s, we had gone in a circle and headed to our rooms to sleep before the morning game.

The next day, we had a game at 8:50 in the morning. We ate breakfast in the motel’s lobby with cereal, muffins, tea, juice and coffee for a quick “to-go” breakfast. Meeting at the bus at 6:45, we were not yet awake and it affected us, as we only won with a 3-2 score. It still put us in an easy win of first place in our division and a bye into the semifinals to play the Humber Valley Sharks. 9:30 that night, we played them and had yet another big win, but this one not quite as easy though still ending with a 5-0 score, and off to the finals. We were set.

The game was the next day so we had some time to hang around at the motel. Most of us ate at Buzzy Brown’s again since we loved it the first time. Others decided to eat at the motel or other places nearby.

Set to play the #1 ranked team in all of Ontario as ranked on myhockeyrankings.com. Despite their great record and #1 ranking, we were not worried and knew we could compete as we had tied them earlier 1-1 in another tournament. The day of the Finals against the Kenata Blazers, we were all pumped up to play the game of our lives with the chance to win it all and go to the international tournaments in Port Huron, Michigan in early January.

We all get checked out of our rooms and met in the lobby at around 12:00 for our 1:30 game. Once everyone was loaded up on the bus, we were all thinking, barely any talking had gone on. When we started heading off the bus at the arena, the parents all started clapping and cheering. We were pumped, ready to go on the ice right away, only to find out our game was two and a half hours behind. We lost our grittiness watching a few of the other finals but after warmup and dressing for 30 minutes, we got the talk. Coach Lewis, talking about his 25 years as head coach, and a great one he is, and yet he only has had the chance to go to the international tournament once, this being his second time in the finals. Talking about how you will throw away most of your trophies when you get older, but this one, we would keep. That was what got us pumped added with sprinting on the ice, we were all screaming, ready to knock the Blazers off their #1 throne. It was a great game played by everyone on the team. We got a 1-0 lead then later in the second period, we scored to make it 2-0. We went into the room between the 2nd and 3rd and once all rested, we ran on the ice to fight to victory to win it all! This one sending us to the international tournament in Port Huron, Michigan, with lots up for grabs.

We celebrated loudly with Kenata packing up and heading home. A feeling that once you get it, you can remember it clearly. Lots of pictures, hugs and high fives later, we were changed and ready for the trip back, knowing it would be great since we had won and not lost. We stopped at the same place in Nobel, the Wendy’s and Tim Horton’s. We were all loud on the ride back and every so often one player, most of the time me, would yell something to do with our big win. We are all ready for the next tournament on January 7th and we can’t wait to get there. See you in Michigan! For an update on the team’s Michigan record, check out the latest comments below.

The Scarborough Young Bruins, Sudbury Regional Silver Stick Champions

The Automatiste Revolution: Montreal 1941-1960, opened at the Varley Art Gallery in Unionville, Ontario last week. It’s a fantastic tribute to Canada’s best known and original avant-garde artists. This is the group that paved the way for contemporary art in Canada. The group included Jean Paul Riopelle and Paul-Emile Borduas.

From the Varley, the exhibit will travel to the  Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, America’s pre-eminent gallery for post-war art. The Albright-Knox exhibit which opens in late March 2010, will be the first time ever that the Automatistes have exhibited in the United States. Guest-curated by Roald Nasgaard, this landmark exhibit is one not to be missed. I think it’s the best show I have seen at the Varley to date.

Nasgaard is a professor of art history at Florida State University. He is also the former chief curator of the Art Gallery of Ontario. He and Ray Ellenwood, Professor Emeritus and Senior Scholar at York University in Toronto, have co-authored a new book on Canada’s first avant-garde art movement called The Automatiste Revolution.

The Automatistes were a group of Quebec artists formed in the 1940s and 50s that included avant-garde painter, Jean Paul Riopelle. The group came together around Paul-Emile Borduas, another Canadian painter. Borduas was an activist for the separation of church and state, especially for art, in Quebec. In 1948, he and his fellow artists signed a manifesto called Refus Global which became one of the pillars of the Quiet Revolution, a period of intense change in Quebec. Although the group disbanded with the death of Borduas in 1960, The Automatistes, which included painters, poets, a playright, a TV producer and sculptors, continue to influence Quebec society and culture.

In the light of day the Atlas Coal Mine doesn't look so creepy, but at night...

Two of the creepiest places to spend Hallowe’en in Canada are Fort George in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, and the Atlas Coal Mine near Drumheller in the Canadian Badlands of Alberta.

Bath house at the Atlas Coal Mine – creepy!

Niagara-on-the-Lake is said to be the most haunted town in Canada and the creepiest place in town is Fort George. Its Hallowe’en ghost tours are so popular tickets go on sale every July so, if you miss this year’s Hallowe’en ghost tours, consider a summer tour. They’re held then too. Fort George was originally built in 1796 as the headquarters for the British Army in Ontario. During the War of 1812, General Isaac Brock and his Aide-de-camp, John Macdonell were buried here following their deaths at the Battle of Queenston Heights. Later, their bodies were removed and buried at Brock’s Monument on Queenston Heights, a famous Niagara landmark that can be seen for miles.

The blacksmith shop at Fort George – photo by Joel Benard

Fort George was the scene of death and suffering. The US Army occupied it for seven months during the War of 1812 and hundreds of young American soldiers died during the occupation due to poor sanitation. Many are still buried on the fort grounds in unmarked graves. Fort George staff talk of unexplained ghostly phenomena on candlelight “ghost” tours. Is Fort George haunted or is it the power of suggestion? That’s for visitors to decide but many who take a Fort George ghost tour report seeing, feeling or hearing strange things. Fort George Hallowe’en tours run in 2009 on October 16-18, October 23-25, October 30-31 and November 1st.

Tunnel tour at the Atlas Coal Mine

From the early 1900s to 1960, Drumheller was the Fort McMurray of coal mining. One hundred and thirty-nine mines once operated in this part of Alberta known as the Canadian Badlands. The Atlas Coal Mine, now a national historic site, is the only one left. Its creepy wooden tipple is the last one still standing in Canada. It’s a favourite Hallowe’en haunt and so is the mine’s former bath house which is just as creepy. Massive meat hooks attached to ropes on pulleys are strung from its ceiling. Miners once used these to hang their street clothes on, high above the coal dust. Every year, the Atlas Coal Mine hosts special Hallowe’en tours where a visitor can explore the tipple and the bathhouse armed with only a flashlight. Tours run October 24th, 30th and 31st. Evening tours are for adults only. Participants beware. We’re told you may encounter the tortured souls of the Headless.

Late-season calm at Dorset on Lake of Bays

We did a road trip to the northeastern part of Muskoka near Algonquin Park, Ontario in September. Our base was the Foxwood Resort on Lake of Bays, a big lake with five hundred kilometres of shoreline. Canadian Thanksgiving is this weekend and at Foxwood, it’s possible to cook your own turkey. The resort has cottages with fully equipped kitchens. This is the perfect time to travel Canada especially if you love a good road trip. Resort rates are lower than the busy summer season, especially in mid week, and the traffic is light.

Some serious fly-in transportation at Bigwin Island Golf Club

Lake of Bays is crystal clear. Its headwaters are the rivers and lakes of Algonquin Park. We toured a good portion of the lake by boat. It is beautiful and I hope it remains that way. Some summer residents seem bent on building HUGE “cottages” but at least the bulk of what we saw were tasteful in design. Many have also built elaborate boathouses. We saw several of these on our tour. We also passed the Bigwin Island Golf Club and its signature 18th golf hole. I was amazed at how much of the old Bigwin Inn is still standing, but Rob, our guide, says it has been condemned and will likely be torn down. Too bad. During the big band era, it was THE place to be. The old Bigwin water tower will likely stay and that’s a good thing. The tower is a reference point on this lake of many bays which we discovered is easy to get turned around on. The Dorset Fire Tower is another landmark you can see from the water. It’s popular with road trippers, especially in fall.  You can actually climb the tower and if you can handle heights, it’s worth the small price of admission. The view is out of this world.

One of many trophies at Robinson’s General Store in Dorset – 41 inches, 35 pounds, caught by Jack Bramm on Lake of Bays in 1966

We also stopped in the little village of Dorset and had an ice cream cone and checked out Robinson’s General Store. It has been operating since 1921 and sells everything under the sun.

The Bigwin steamboat being renovated

Dorset is photogenic, so if you like snapping pix, this is one town not to miss. While we were there we caught up with Bruce Davidson, a boat builder/local carpenter at the Lake of Bays Marine Museum. He’s helping restore The Bigwin, a 1920s steamer yacht that once ferried passengers across the lake from Dorset to Bigwin Island. The Bigwin sat on the bottom of  the lake until a short time ago. You can see its restoration in progress at the museum and if you feel so inclined make a cash donation to help the local heritage boat society complete its project.

Lake of Bays is Canadian Shield country – craggy outcrops of rock, towering white pine along rocky shoreline, all set against brilliant blue skies. My kind of place.

This post is supported by canada boat operator card.

Editor’s note: This year’s Elvis Fest runs July 21-24, 2011:

We really just wanted to grab some lunch on our way home from Blue Mountain Resort, but we ended up taking in the opening salvos of the annual Elvis Festival in Collingwood, Ontario.

I'm sure that I saw Elvis in Collingwood that day.

When we asked at the Tourist Information Centre (right across from the Walmart, where the big RVs overnight because it’s free) about a diner-style place for lunch, they suggested the Olde Red Hen Restaurant on Hurontario Street. Good call. Rye toast, perfect eggs, four kinds of meat, hashbrowns, coffee and raisin pie, all served up with an efficient smile. This is my kind of place, and today it has a very Graceland feel.

Elvis would have liked this car. I did.

And the crowd is very well behaved, making sure to fill only one side of the street with their fold-up camping chairs (fire regulations), waiting for the music to start on the main stage. This isn’t just blue-hairs from the King’s glory days either, there are kids everywhere, all tuned in to the memory and the spirit of Elvis. If you don’t have the right kind of hairdo, no problem, just buy a set of plastic sideburns along the way. And friendly… OMG, these people know how to have a good time.

Orderly crowds waiting to start the party at the Collingwood Elvis Festival

Collingwood was about to be rocked by the King, again. This is the 15th annual festival and according to Catherine Durrant, Economic Development Officer for the Town of Collingwood, each year gets better and better. Once the music started – Elvis impersonators introduced by a local radio personality – we knew it was just the beginning of another Elvis extravaganza weekend. But we reluctantly moved on, sad to leave the party. After all, we had only stopped in for lunch. Long live the King!