My Summer Vacation!

School is finally over! Summer is here! No more exams, homework, or getting up early! And to make things even more exciting my family and I are going on a cross Canada road trip! I am so excited to travel across my country and see many new places along the way. We will be starting in Halifax Nova Scotia and will end on the west coast of British Columbia with Vancouver. Along the way we will be staying in Stratford Ontario, Edmonton Alberta and Yellowknife NWT. I cannot wait to see all the different places and Canadian scenery along the way. Hopefully this blog will fill you in on the experiences that I will be having and maybe encourage you to go out and see Canada as well! 

Halifax

·      Latitude: 44° 39' 0" N

       Longitude: 63° 36' 0" W

·      Population: 360 000

·      Population density: 67.8 per km squared

·      Landforms: Halifax Peninsula, Halifax Harbour, Appalachians mountains

·      Climate: Atlantic Maritime

·      Eco-zone: Atlantic maritime. 

Climate: an eastern-maritime climate. Short warm summers and cold winters. Snow deeper than 1 cm is seen 85 days each year. Because it is a maritime city most of its precipitation is during the winter months due to snow.

Animals: Black bears, lynx, bobcat, whitetail deer, moose, red fox, coyote, beaver, snowshoe hare, southern bog lemming (mammals) hawks, owls, humming bird, woodpecker, toad, frogs, (fish) rainbow smelt, golden shiner, creek chub..

·      National Parks: Kejimkuji

 Industries: Halifax has a major port and much of the economy is affiliated with the port or the port's associates. It is a major hub for the transportation of goods all over the continent with railways leading to inland Canada and much of the Northern United states. The Municipality of Halifax has resource industries too that include Agriculture, fishing, mining, forestry and natural gas extraction, clay, shale, gold, limestone, and gypsum extraction. The food industry is strong as well since there is high level of tourism in the area.

·      Tourism: Citadel, Prier, Schooner.

     It’s The first stop on my road trip this summer, and we are in the capital of Nova Scotia, Halifax. Turns out I was wrong about not having to get up early because my mom woke me up at 7am this morning to go to downtown. But after spending some time there I realized it was worth it. Halifax’s downtown is very people friendly, you can walk everywhere. It had many restaurants, and interesting attractions and great architecture. Me and my family walked through the buildings heading toward the Harbor-walk, and along the way we were constantly distracted by the numerous shops and theatres. The whole downtown was alive with life and culture! We even went on a horse-drawn carriage with a canopy for shade. On the ride we saw beautiful gardens that had been kept and were full of colour. We didn’t even make it to the Harbor-walk! We were too caught up in the scenery of Halifax’s downtown. This is why we have more than one day in Halifax I guess!

We got up early today again and it’s a gorgeous 23 degrees outside. This time we made it to the Harbor-walk. Its on the waterfront and gives you a beautiful view of the ocean. We walked along the 3km boardwalk for a bit admiring the view and of course the shops, until we saw “Theodore too” and then we knew what we were doing next. Theodore Too is a large imitation tugboat based on the fictional character from the show Theodore Tugboat. And the best part is, it gives tours! 

     Me and my family excitedly got onboard and this adorable Tugboat gave us a informational tour of the harbor. The day was fun and information filled. For example did you know that at a depth of 18 meters at low tide, Halifax Harbor is one of the world's deepest harbors. Considering how fun my first stop on the road trip was I can’t wait to see what waits for me and my family in Stratford. 

Stratford

·      Latitude: 43° 22' 0" N

·      Longitude: 80° 59' 0" W

·      Population: 30461

·      Population density: 1353.7 km2

·      Landforms:  Great lake- St. Lawrence lowlands

      National park: Pukaskwa national park 

·      Climate: Southeastern. Year round moderate. Four distinct seasons. The winter weather lasts from December to March with summer weather stretching from May through September.

·      Ecozone: Mixedwood Plains: plants: cedar, redoak, butternut, black ash, white pine. Animals: Black bear, wolf, bobcat, otter, muskrat, mouse, hawks, owls

·      Industries: One of Stratford largest industries is tourism. Also theatre and the arts. (music etc.)

     Our second stop is already a good experience and we have just arrived at the hotel. The moment you drive past the “Welcome to Stratford” sign you notice the beautiful culture, arts and overall vibrancy of Stratford. We are staying in a cozy bed and breakfast that fit the overall look of Stratford perfectly. It was clean and tidy, luxurious and elegant. It had an old Victorian feel just like the town. The downtown here as well is one of the many experiences your should see here. Including many shops, and restaurants you can’t get bored! We arrived at the famous Avon Theatre to find screaming girls. They we apparently waiting for Justin Bieber to arrive. They were definitley missing out on the point of Stratford. Well my family and I slipped by the girls and went inside.

 The Shakespeare Festival is held here and lucky for us it was on right now! We bought tickets and took our seats. Me and my family went to see Of mice and Men. Now I see why Stratford is known for the arts, the play was perfect! Even my brother  had a great time watching the actors on stage and getting into the performance. After that we went down to the Avon river right outside downtown to see the nature. There were white swans everywhere! And the locals we talked to say that’s usual, you can even feed them! Naturally my family and I bought the swan food and went for it. Even my mom who fears birds gave it a shot. 

We laughed and had a great time sitting by the river. On our way back to the hotel we passed and art exhibit right outdoors. This town is certainly an arts town. I have realized that there are few places as concentrated on the arts and theatre as Stratford Ontario. I am definitely excited to see what’s in store for our next stop, Edmonton Alberta.

Yellowknife

Longitude: 62° 27' 0" N

·      Latitude: 114° 21' 0" W

·      Population:15,865

·      Population Density: 142.86 people/km²

·      Landforms: Canadian shield

·      Climate: Taigia. Semi-arid subarctic climate and sees less than 300 millimetres of precipitation per year. the city also has a frost-free growing season that lasts about 100 days every year. average summer temperatures in Yellowknife sit at about 20 degrees and -30 degrees in winter.  
     
     Industries: mining, industry, transportation, communications, education, health, tourism, commerce and all government activity in the territory.
     
      Ecozone: Plants: paper birch, water birch, Alaska paper, trembling aspen, black spruce. Animals: Black/ grizzly bear, wolf, lynx, caribou, moose, mountain goat, American pika, hoary marmot. Fish: lake whitefish, lake chub, Chinook salmon

·      National Park: Nahanni (different country)

·      Tourism: Aurora Borealis, nature, arctic scenery

The home of endless summer days, amazing arctic scenery, and a thriving community is Yellowknife NWT. Sitting on the edge of Great Slave Lake. During the summer the lake calls to boaters and fishers. Yellowknife was certainly a beautiful sight for my family and I arriving.  While we were here we decided to take advantage of the arctic climate and what it has to offer. We found a tour company called Aurora World and it sounded exactly what we were looking for. This tour specializes in adventures centered around the northern lights, also called Aurora Borealis.

 Before we got to view the magnificent northern lights we had many other activities. In Yellowknife, July has the wettest weather when on average 36 mm of rain, sleet hail or snow falls across 9 days. We are lucky because our stop in Yellowknife was in the middle of these 9 days and therefore me and my family could participate in the dogsled part of the tour! My family and I got to drive dogsleds! This trip has given me so many opportunities to do things I wouldn’t be able to do in St.Catharines! Our dogs raced across the snow and took us around the beautiful arctic area. We saw many of the common trees there such as, paper birch, water birch, trembling aspen, and black spruce. After that our tour group was taken to the main Aurora World Lodge where we had our choice of Northern Stew or Chowder. 

The guides were making everything very authentic to the culture of the north. They even had exhibits to the native Chipewyan tribe that was there during the 1800’s. finally nighttime fell and the northern lights began. It was like colourful rippled were going across the entire night sky. There was blue, yellow, green and all the shades and hues in between. We were all mesmerized. Nothing from St. Catharines can come close to the one and only northern lights here in Yellowknife.

Summer road-trip is over...

Well my road trip across Canada is now over. I had a lot of fun and have experienced many new things I would never have done or seen staying in my home city. I saw the northern lights, went dog sledding, toured the temperate rainforest, went to my first national park, and experienced many different types of art and culture. I'm going to miss travelling with my family. I had no idea that Canada had so much to offer. Everyone should go out and explore what your country has to offer! You never know what you may find!