The world is going crazy for bears these days.  And for good reason as these kings of the forest are fascinating and magnificent beasts.  The government of Alaska recently announced they are accepting applications for the lottery to visit Katmai National Park or McNeill River State Game Sanctuary.  mcneilriver.adfg.alaska.gov  These are two renowned sites for excellent viewing of brown bears in the wild.  If you have never been there, it…

The Emerald Mile, Kevin Fedarko's incredible book that we highlighted in our last blog entry, chronicles the effects that Glen Canyon Dam had on the Colorado River and the profound water shortage issues in the Colorado Plateau.  This refresher in History 101 is just the tip of the iceberg and we seem to be forgetting our lessons that 90 percent of the ice is still below the surface.  Like the…

There is nothing more American than Thanksgiving weekend.  In Canada, it happens on the second week of October while the USA is much later.  In either case, and after three decades in the travel industry, it has become apparent to me that this holiday weekend is a focal point for trip planning with friends and family.  And for good reason - the weather has started to turn, days are shorter…

With all the discounting going on in the travel business, I was starting to wonder if I was missing something?  My adventure travel colleagues have been laughing at me because I am concerned our industry is becoming commoditized by the Internet.  They suggest I just need to drop prices on our trips in order to combat the slow economy and weather the storm.  Certainly our volume of travelers are down…

Recently we became part of a really cool travel network called My Little Swans.  Started by Katrina Garnett as an outflow from requests for information on her personal travel experiences, this is an eclectic collection of top quality, albeit small, travel outfitters who provide personalized travel experiences.  As part of this process, I was asked to summarize what ROAM was all about and why we were different than the other gazillion…

African Safaris (cheap and cheesy or well-planned and extravagant)As the US struggles with its own budget shortfalls and the "Obama buck" plummets further against international currency, many people are being faced with the same choices the government is needing to make.  Unfortunately for us, the travel industry, is often an indicator species for the global economy.Our industry has been in flux since the early problems evolved in the stock market. …

No rant needed from me this week as I think this letter from one of our guests speaks volumes about why families should travel and in particular with us :) Dear Brian We have been back for a few weeks and we've been re-living all the great moments.  Unfortunately, we only have 2000 photos so we have to go by memory for some things!  Now that life is finally settling…

Over the last 2 years a very strange phenomenon has been occurring.  It's not something totally foreign to me as it was pointed by my grandmother 20 years ago, however, it has resurfaced with a vengeance.  It's not something I embraced initially but I have begun to understand it better over time.Apparently I look like Chuck Norris...I couldn't be lucky enough to look like Brad Pitt or George Clooney.  No,…

In June we had the pleasure of hosting Roger Waters and his production manager, Trip (aptly named), for 3 glorious days of trout fishing on the Chilko River. A legendary rock celebrity from the band, Pink Floyd, Roger arrived by A-Star helicopter after his concert in Vancouver. I am not the type to be star-struck but was the first to admit it was all quite surreal - as my favourite…

The Chilko-Chilcotin-Fraser river corridor is one of North America’s best-kept secrets - and not for good reason. The Chilko River features the longest stretch of commercially operated whitewater in the North America. In fact, only the Futaleufu in South America and the Klinaklini (the Chilko’s nearby cousin) in British Columbia can rival it for continuous excitement.The Chilcotin offers a relaxed pace while it wends its way through the Chilcotin grasslands…