Category: wild landscapes

Alberta’s Red Rock Coulee Natural Area

Robin
Red Rock Coulee Natural Area, Alberta

  Standing on the valley rim, we peer into a rugged coulee of badland formations. Between the eroded slopes, native prairie covers the undulating treeless landscape where wildflower blossoms vie for space among the needle-and-thread grass, sagebrush and junipers. What really grabs our attention is the sea of scattered curling rock-shaped boulders, most a dazzling reddish-orange. Many are massive, up to 2.5 metres across, and… Read moreAlberta’s Red Rock Coulee Natural Area

Road Trip Through Manitoba’s Waterfall Alley

Robin
Pisew Falls

Massive walls of water thunder over a fault line. Cataracts and rapids twist through a narrow canyon. Most intriguing of all, a rapid-filled spring seems to gush mysteriously from a solid rock wall. The best part is that all of these spectacular natural features are easily accessible along a paved highway following the Grass River in northwestern Manitoba.   The river became famous during the… Read moreRoad Trip Through Manitoba’s Waterfall Alley

The Marvelous Monarchs of Mexico

Robin
Monarch butterflies

We just got back from witnessing one of nature’s most breathtaking spectacles. High in the Sierra Madre Mountains west of Mexico City is the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage Site where migrating Monarchs from east of the Rockies throughout North America overwinter in a mountaintop forest of oyamel fir trees. Arriving around late November and staying until March, they number in the… Read moreThe Marvelous Monarchs of Mexico