My Favourite Corners of Canada ...

In further honour of the Day ... I would offer some of my favourite corners of Canada in which to hang out and enjoy the setting, the scenery and the place ... They are diverse and spread across this vast land of ours, but what unites them is a deep connectedness that I feel for them ...

1) Confederation Park (known to the oldtime locals as Centennial Park) in Stratford Ontario - The waterfalls, the sledding hill, the nearby art gallery, the bridge over the train tracks, the towering spruce trees, the funky scultures, ... it was a special place through my childhood, and when I come back as an adult, if I'm quiet I can still hear the laughter of children playing throughout the tiny gem of a park tucked on Romeo Street.

2) The Atnarko Valley - Located south of the Highway into Bella Coola at the foot of the infamous "The Hill" that takes you from the Interior Plateau into the Valley, the Atnarko is the home to deer and grizzlies and some of the most striking scenery on the planet. If you walk far enough you find Hunlen Falls and where The Birches - the Homestead of the Edwards family once stood. It is a beautiful enchanted place filled with stories and memories of a different time.

3) Purgatory Glacier - Located a few kilometres west of the Atnarko, the logging road wends its way up the side valley from the Bella Coola valley until the road runs out under the watchful gaze of the northern end of the vast ice fields and glaciers that lie in the Coastal Mountains south of Bella Coola ... Words don't do justice to the scenery ... Odegaard Falls is worth the hike to stand under its thunderous plummet, and to feel it glacial spray on you face ...

4) The Forks, Portage and Main and The Exchange District in Winnipeg ... Where the continents meet - this small pocket of neighbourhoods in downtown Winnipeg are chock-a-block full of things to do, places to go and people to meet ... It is a place where cultures come together and the multi-ethnic nature of Canada is celebrated ... Like Granville Island in Vancouver, or Kensington Market in Toronto - one has to visit it to truly appreciate it.

5) Riding Mountain National Park - from the town site on Clear Lake, to the Bison Compound to the back country trails - RMNP is simply exquisite, and worth visiting ... We've spend many happy hours in and around the park since we moved here, but the last couple of years as we've been able to explore it on bikes has been the best ...

6) Stanley Park and the Vancouver Aquarium - I miss standing in front of the huge glass tanks, savouring the marine life indigenous to the North West Coast, listening as my well trained children say with delight "there's alot of good eating in that tank" much to the HORROR of people nearby who give nary a second thought to where their fish came from on their fish and chip platter ...

7) UBC and the Museum of Anthropology - with a stunning view of the Pacific, and the monumental North West Coast carvings the Museum of Anthroplogy is simply incredible ...

8) The dam here in Minnedosa - It's not majestic, it's not magnificent, but it is nice and it is a lovely place for a walk, a bike ride, or just to sit and watch the lake ...

9) Goderich Ontario - Standing on the bluffs overlooking Lake Huron and watching the sun set, or a winterstorm close in, or freighters steam in or out of port, or even just watching the waves wash in and out - it is a beautiful spot.

10) Niagara Falls - How can you NOT include the Falls on a list of favourite corners of Canada ?? Even with the garish tourist traps everywhere - the falls are still amazing and worth the visit ...

11) San Josef Bay - due west of Port Hardy on the west coast of the Northen Island. San Joe's Bay, as the locals call it is a gem hidden two hours down a tough slough of a logging road - but it's worth the drive ... the sandy beach that opens out on the vast Pacific Ocean (next stop here is Japan) is breath taking ... it is truly beautiful ... Ronning's Gardens near the trail head is worth the stop too - the botanical gardens an eccentric loner planted and maintained are unbelievable and worth spending time exploring ... he planted temperate rain forest plants from ALL Over the world including a male and female Monkey Puzzle Tree that are HUGE !!!

12) The Ontario Provincial Police Memorial - tucked in a park just east of the Parliament Buildings in downtown Toronto, this tiny park is a vivid reminder that our peace and our freedom are anything but free ...

There are no doubt many more ... but this is a start ...