Carol Patterson

INSPIRING EVERYDAY EXPLORERS Through wildlife tales and trails

Carol Patterson

Alberta Eagles Easier to See This Winter?

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Have you noticed a lot of eagles around this winter? If you live along an open river like I do in Calgary, Alberta you might have seen eagles patrolling the water. They’re looking for a duck dinner to ward off starvation.

Bald eagles were on the endangered species list in 1973 and have made a remarkable comeback although try telling that to a juvenile eagle. They have a 50% chance of surviving their first winter.

I recently wrote about the gatherings of eagles in Calgary and southern Alberta. If you’re an animal lover or photographer you might want to check out my suggestions in this Calgary Herald story on where to find the birds.

Good luck!

Three Alberta Road Trips You Won’t Want to Miss

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Has staying home this winter has got you craving Alberta road trips?

It’s been a hard year with travel restrictions on top of short days and winter driving conditions. As spring inches closer there are some Alberta destinations that make a good day trip that you might have overlooked in previous years when you headed to tropical climes.

Some of these trips you can do now, others you might undertake when the weather warms up.

Methane Bubbles at Abraham Lake 

Many northern lakes have methane bubbles but few are as easy to find or as pretty to photograph as those at Abraham Lake along the David Thompson Highway.

This is a trip that has some risks (falling on ice, falling through ice, getting stuck in snow) so do your homework before you head out. You can read my suggestions here.

Wild Horses and Alberta’s Eastern Slopes

Yes, there’s still wild horses in Alberta and with a little patience you might see one. A good place to look is on the forestry roads west of Sundre. I went in fall and found several herds but you can find horses year-round. These roads are not maintained to the same standard as city streets or major highways so check weather conditions, bring extra clothing, food, and shovel. Make sure your phone is fully charged and consider bringing a map as you won’t have cell phone coverage in all places.

For reasons to look for these beautiful creatures read my Roadstories article here.

 

Extreme Cowboy Racing At Bar U Ranch National Historic Site

The only Parks Canada site celebrating ranching is Alberta’s Bar U Ranch National Historic Site. It’s an interesting place to visit on a normal day but park staff are adding more special events to add even more learning. Last year cowboys and cowgirls who excel at Extreme Cowboy Racing undertook obstacle courses that showcased the bond between horse and rider. Historically these races mimicked the challenges cowboys face when herding cattle but some of the obstacles have a more modern feel. It definitely made for a great visit that you can read about here.

Check out the Ranch website for more information on 2021 events.

Hopefully this post has given you reasons for some Alberta road trips. For more ideas check out this book on 125 Nature Hot Spots in Alberta by Leigh McAdam and Debbie Olsen.

Let me know your suggestions for a day trip or weekend getaway.

Environmental Tourism Column: Guide Training and Sustainability in a COVID-19 World

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Outdoor adventure led by skilled guides has always had the potential to reduce tourism’s environmental impacts (e.g. “That’s too many people on that trail!”). But can guided tours make tourism safer during a pandemic?
Guides can shape tourism understanding & behaviour
Pre-COVID-19, guides interpreted natural history and taught appropriate behavior, while local economies benefited from dollars spent on the value-added service. Miles Phillips, Associate Professor at Oregon State University, thinks organized tours may have a new role.  “I work with rural communities in coastal Oregon and they have mixed feelings about reopening to tourists due to concerns they may bring the virus with them. There’s an opportunity where small group travel, maybe families or intact groups, have the opportunity to be part of the early recovery plan.”
Phillips has been passionate about the economic and environmental benefits of professional guide training for decades. He developed programs for Texas ranchers looking to diversify, and the Guide & Outfitter Professional Training Program (GORP) in Oregon. With the recent pandemic pause, Phillips offered online courses to the Kyrgyz Association of Tour Operators in Kyrgyzstan completed by 11 people. “Kyrgyzstan does not have any guide accreditation. Upgrading for international content gives a big advantage for future guides,” explained Mansur Abylaev, Baibol Travel CEO.
Perhaps going forward, we can lean on local experts to travel where we’re welcomed and in ways host communities endorse.

Torngat Mountains National Park

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Most people have never heard of Torngat Mountains National Park and only a few hundred visit every year. But a visit to this isolated park (you can only reach it via charter aircraft or cruise ship) will change you. One of Canada’s most unique national parks (and that’s high praise as there are so many amazing Parks Canada sites) it is also an Inuit homeland.

Torngat Mountains National Park is visited by fewer than a thousand travellers each year

I was approached by National Geographic recently to write about this special destination and the result is a story that explains why Torngats is known as the “place of spirits”. You can read the full story here.

Canada’s North is still relatively undiscovered to travellers so if you want to enjoy travel experiences that are not heavily scripted and allow meaningful interaction with hosts, you will enjoy Newfoundland and Labrador’s Torngat Mountains National Park.

Inuit welcome tourists to important cultural sites

It’s that rare place where you might spot a polar and a black bear in the same day. Did I mention you’ll need a Inuit bear guard to keep you safe while you’re exploring it?

bear
You may see black and polar bears on the same day

One thing that will be sacrificed if you’re contemplating a trip like this is spontaneity. You don’t just drop into the Torngats. You need to arrange a trip to Basecamp or join an expedition cruise (at this time, all 2020 cruises have been cancelled).

This destination may not be on your travel list for 2020 but when you’re dreaming of your post-pandemic travel plans, you might want to put Torngats at the top of your 2021 or 2022 wishlist.

Can We Make Travel Greener? One Scientist Weighs In

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In weeks we’ve gone from lamenting overtourism at popular destinations (hello Venice) to despair at hotels emptied by coronavirus. With many of us pondering the future, it seemed a good time to chat with Vancouver designer and environmental scientist David Oswald.
The pandemic allows time for reflection on tourism’s impact on host environments
How bad were the tourism industry’s environmental impacts prior to the COVID-19 outbreak?
Bad. But it’s unrealistic for us to say we’re going to stay home and look at websites. We need to change the way we are travelling. We’ve got to find ways to have less greenhouse gas emissions.
Airlines need to find ways to lower their carbon trajectory. Carbon offsets are a legitimate option if done properly but offsetting shouldn’t be the responsibility of the consumer. You need to move it into the mainstream so it’s no longer a choice.
Belize, for example, has phenomenal scuba diving and they do a good job of managing their parks. Part of your fee goes into paying to manage that park. They have a fixed number of people who can go per day to places like the Blue Hole.
Hotels need to have an environmental management system. Energy, water and materials – if you track those and put in measures to reduce them, it’s a great start. It doesn’t have to be complicated.
Carbon offset shouldn’t be consumer responsibility
What can travellers do when making their plans?
If you want to fly on an airline that’s paying attention to this issue, then look at the airline website and get their sustainability report. Compare it to other airlines. And ask hotels about their sustainability programs.
Select travel options that reflect your values

Will COVID-19 help us press the reset button on travel’s impact?

Yes, it will literally slow things down. Secondly, it could open up a new dialogue around risk – human risk and environment risk because they are interrelated.
Apparently, this virus came out of exotic species being sold at a wet market in China. It’s an interaction between humans and their environment.  It doesn’t seem like a good idea to me now when you look at the broader impact.
We may be entering into the biggest economic downturn in 100 years and it’s caused by us messing with nature.  That’s got to cause people to think about things.
This article originally appeared in the SATW (Society of American Travel Writers) Maple Leaf newsletter April 10, 2020