4 NOTEBOOK
Dream trips
MMY VERY LONG bucket list just got a whole lot longer. I’ve long dreamt of travelling to Canada’s Far North, well above the Arctic Circle, and the interview with astronaut Chris Hadfield about his cruise through the eastern Arctic last summer and the phenomenal accompanying pictures by Paul Colangelo (see “Astronaut meets Arctic,” page 38, and ABOVE) in this issue have only heightened my interest. Then there’s our cover feature on Canada’s best island getaways (page 23), which is largely responsible for the additions to my dream trips. I have visited just one of the nine islands — Manitoulin, eons ago as a very young child, and I don’t remember it at all — and I’m now tempted by all of them. Newfoundland’s Fogo Island and the renowned inn there were already on my list, as were Quebec’s Magdalen Islands and British Columbia’s Haida Gwaii. Indeed, I’ve heard and seen so many good things about that archipelago (check out the images, page 32, by our art director Javier Frutos) for years now that it keeps moving up my list. You undoubtedly have your own destination wish list, and if you’re like me, it gets longer and longer, even as you strike places off. I’d previously visited every province and territory except Saskatchewan, and I was eager to see at least part of the province. I got my chance last summer with a trip to Saskatoon. It didn’t disappoint. I think it’s a hugely underrated destination, with great restaurants, super outdoor activities and a diverse cultural scene (see last issue’s “One city”). In particular, I was mesmerized by Wanuskewin Heritage Park, a national historic site that celebrates and protects artifacts of some 6,000 years of Indigenous culture just northeast of the city (see “Of the land,” page 44). Now to tick off visits to Saskatchewan’s Grasslands National Park, home to one of the nation’s most endangered habitats, and Athabasca Sand Dunes Provincial Park, the site of the largest active sand surface in Canada. I hope you’ll find destinations in this issue to add to your own bucket list. After all, that’s what Canadian Geographic Travel is here for.