Canada, the Land of Infinite Winter

It has happened to us all, you travel somewhere warm and sunny and someone local asks you where you are from. You proudly tell them you're Canadian.  "Canada!? That must be cold! Do you have snow there?" They ask as they start to shiver, like the word Canada chills them to their core and makes their body temperature drop a degree or two. You try to explain that Canada does see it's fair share of snow but that it is not a land of perpetual winter, despite our horrific ice storms and the odd September snowstorm we do have a summer and it does get hot. Your explanation will not change their mind, but that won't stop you from explaining it to the next person that asks where you are from.


What are 150 of our favourite Canadian things? Read about it here

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Canadian Winter Festivals

We Canadians have learned to embrace what others typically hide away from. The frigid cold of winter is one of those things we cannot escape (until we are 65+ and become snowbirds) so we make the best of it by having a big party! All across Canada, cities, towns and communities host winter festivals as a way to celebrate their heritage and of course, beat away the winter blues. While there are many festivals that exist, some notable ones are:

Carnaval de Quebec, Quebec City QC

Carnaval de Quebec is the largest winter festival in the world. The festivals features parade’s both day and night led by the King of the Winter Festival, Bonhomme. There are also ice sculptures, dog races, select streets are closed down and filled with family activities, restaurant and bar patios open are for service and much, much more. I had the pleasure of visiting last winter and had a blast! Although I never go to meet Bonhomme, I did manage to find a sculpture of him and that will do until next time.

Me and a sculpture of Bonhomme, The King of the Winter Festival.

Winterlude, Ottawa ON

At this festival you better show up with ice skates because the Rideau Canal is frozen and offers up 8km of ice to freely skate on. There is plenty of food to be eaten (prix-fixe plans across 55 restaurants) and an annual bed race in support of Kiwanis Club of Ottawa community initiatives. There is plenty of family fun at Snowflake Kingdom and an ice sculpture competition.

Winterlude Ice Sculpture.
Photo Credit: By Andrew Plumb from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada - Winterlude/Bal de neige, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=48520039

Toonik Tyme, Iqaluit NU

Celebrating the arrival of spring, this festival showcases the traditions and heritage of the Inuit people. The goal here is to celebrate and preserve the Inuit culture as well as showcase it to non-Inuit tourists. Here you can witness igloo building competitions, ski-doo races, learn about sled dog teams and their importance in the north, try your hand at Skijoring (I tried with my Siberian Husky here in Ontario and failed miserably), watch Inuit games and much more offered by the community.

World Ski and Snowboard Festival, Whistler BC

Thrill seekers and party goers this a festival for you. Skiing, snowboarding, music and art all in one jam packed festival in April. Here you can take in a wide variety of ski and snowboard competitions, enjoy the slopes of Whistler-Blackcomb yourself, enjoy a variety of free and paid concerts, take in a comedy show or check out many galleries and art shows.

What are 150 of our favourite Canadian things? Read about it here

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Toques

We Canadian’s have weird words for normal things. Some examples include: a 3 seater sofa being called a chesterfield, the great folk in Saskatchewan call hooded sweatshirts bunnyhugs and a 24 count case of beer is called a two four.
                       

A collection of my girlfriend's gray toques 

One article of clothing that that helps us stay warm in the frigid Canadian winters also has a unique name. Of course I am talking about the toque! A toque is simply a knitted hat meant to be worn in the winter to keep your head warm. Across the globe these are called, beanies, knits, tophues and bobble hats.

While a toque can be any knitted hat, I personally only associate those with a pom-pom on the top of them to be a true toque. But that’s just me. Or is it? What do you consider a toque? Let us know in the comments below.

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Wayne Gretzky

Wayne Gretzky scores his first NHL goal, a weak dribbler between the legs of Vancouver Canucks goaltender Glen Hanlon, in a 4-4 tie at Pacific Coliseum. Photo from Vancouver Courier

Wayne Douglas Gretzky  born January 26, 1961  played twenty seasons in the National Hockey League for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "The Great One", he has been called "the greatest hockey player ever" by many sportswriters, players, and the league itself. He is the leading scorer in NHL history, with more goals and assists than any other player, and is the only NHL player to total over 200 points in one season – a feat he accomplished four times. In addition, he tallied over 100 points in 16 professional seasons, 14 of them consecutive. At the time of his retirement in 1999, he held 61 NHL records.

Born and raised in Brantford, Ontario, Canada, Gretzky honed his skills at a backyard rink and regularly played minor hockey at a level far above his peers. Despite his unimpressive stature, strength and speed, Gretzky's intelligence and reading of the game were unrivaled. He was adept at dodging checks from opposing players, and consistently anticipated where the puck was going to be and executed the right move at the right time. Gretzky became known for setting up behind his opponent's net, an area that was nicknamed "Gretzky's office".

In 1978, Gretzky signed with the Indianapolis Racers of the World Hockey Association, where he briefly played before being traded to the Edmonton Oilers. When the WHA folded, the Oilers joined the NHL, where he established many scoring records and led his team to four Stanley Cup championships. His trade to the Los Angeles Kings on August 9, 1988, had an immediate impact on the team's performance, eventually leading them to the 1993 Stanley Cup Finals, and he is credited with popularizing hockey in California. Gretzky played briefly for the St. Louis Blues before finishing his career with the New York Rangers.

After his retirement in 1999, Gretzky was immediately inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, making him the most recent player to have the waiting period waived. The NHL retired his jersey number 99 league-wide, making him the only player to receive this honour. 

What is 150 of our favourite Canadian things? Read about it here

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Shovelling your Neighbour's Driveway

After spending almost 35 years on this planet I have realized that nothing else defines Canadian identity or character more than winter.  The harshness of winter brings out the best in us Canadians, you see it everywhere. People pulling over to help others in need, pushing cars out of snowbanks or just giving them a warm place to sit until help arrives. Winter truly unifies the nation because Canadians don’t survive winter alone – they thrive in it together. 

One of the finest acts that a Canadian can commit during the harsh Canadian winter is shoveling a neighbour's driveway or walkway . It’s a beautiful moment when a friendly neighbour shovels the snow off of your drive after a winter snowstorm. Swaddled in snow-packed mitts and salty boots, they’re just lending a helping hand of kindness and some friendly season’s greetings. Don't forget to shovel it forward this winter, it is the Canadian way. 


What is 150 of our favourite Canadian things? Read about it here

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The Canadian Summer

The Canadian summer starts near the end of June. It is around this time that our igloo's melt away and we are left with no choice but to find cover elsewhere.

No we don't live in Igloo's, but the Canadian Summer is as gloriously short as it is spectacular. At least, that’s what you remember during our 3 seasons of winter and you’ll want to keep it in mind as you inch your way along the 400 series highways as you make your way to the fishing hole, cottage, trailer or campsite in Ontario's vast cottage country.

This post is a public service announcement from Real Man Travels to inform you that there are 66 days until the end of August. Get out there and make those days count! 


What is 150 of our favourite Canadian things? Read about it here

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The Canadian Police Chase

One of the funnier commercials that aired in Canada was for Midas in 2011. The commercial depicts what a Canadian police chase would look like if the cars didn't have winter tires installed. The commercial was an instant success and to this day gifs still make the rounds on the internet for those stumbling across it.



The commercial proves that us Canadians love to laugh at ourselves and that winter tires are important!


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Arrowhead Skating Trail

Long, cold winters are a reality for Canadians; while we love to complain about the cold and snow, Canadians know there is plenty of fun to be had when the days get short and the flurries fall.

One truly Canadian winter experience is to check out the skating trail at Arrowhead Provincial Park near Huntsville, Ontario. Ontario Parks builds the trail every winter and it is 1.3 km of good fun. 

Bending through the pine forest you can’t help but feel Canadian as you carve through the woods. Taking on the trail at night is even cooler (literally, as in temperature, as well figurative, as in Fonz-defined coolness), as they light the trail with tiki torches for fire-lit skates.

I checked out the trail with my family on a trip to Huntsville and experienced some of the fun Ontario’s near-north has to offer. Read more about that.

What is 150 of our favourite Canadian things? Read about it here

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Winter Weekend in Ontario's Near North

A post by Scott F

Good things happen when you don’t let small annoyances ruin your day. During an Ontario winter day those “small” annoyances include brutal cold, snow measured in feet instead of inches and air that makes your face hurt...

Because you love it here, that's why.

But if you battle through all that and make your way outside, good things happen. This is what I learned during a recent winter vacay with the family to the outskirts of Huntsville, Ontario. Our intention: jam as many classic Canadian winter activities as possible into a couple days.

Ontario’s natural diversity seems to unfold anytime you cruise up Highway 400 and Highway 11. Wide stretches of fertile farmland blanketed with snow quickly give way to jagged, rocky terrain interspaced with countless lakes and rivers glassed over with ice. We watched as the accumulated snow piled on the road side quickly doubled, and then tripled as we passed Bracebridge, adding to the wildness of the land.

Our first stop was to check out Arrowhead Provincial Park just north of Huntsville. Arrowhead is one of few Ontario Parks that operates at any significant capacity during the winter, offering yurts and cabins for overnight winter adventures. We weren’t staying overnight, but had come to experience the 1.3 km skating trail we had heard so much about. Despite a few weeks of varied weather conditions, the ice was near perfect as we towed my son’s sleigh through the winding trail. The trail is a truly momentous accomplishment; a tribute to the Canadian love of winter. As we huddled around a campfire following our skate it was clear how much people appreciated the park's work maintaining the trail.

Before heading out we spotted Arrowhead’s tubing hill and I simply had to take my one year-old son, Wesley, for his first downhill ride (after a test run by myself, of course). No chairlift here folks, but the walk back up the hill will help you stay warm!

We made our way south east to Cedar Grove Lodge where we would stay for a couple of nights. The resort features 19 cabins backing onto a cliff that overlooks Peninsula Lake. Each cabin is unique and features a wood burning fireplace. We picked the resort for the private cottages, and for the fact that everything is included with your stay, including meals, firewood, recreational activities and more.

The next day, after a fantastic breakfast, we borrowed snowshoes from the resort and trekked to the top of the cliff, no small feat while towing Wesley in his sleigh. From the top we could see across the lake to Hidden Valley Ski Club on the other side. Scooter, our seven year-old fur baby, was thrilled with the chance to crash through the snow. Cheers to Cedar Grove for being pet friendly!

After a two hour hike we were more than ready for lunch. The meals at Cedar Grove are nothing short of spectacular. They offer three or four options at each meal in addition to different appetizers and desserts. The food is pure home comfort food sourced locally whenever possible (including amazing bread from the local Windmill Bakery). Plus, the resort is BYOB, so you can bring your own wine or beer with you to their dining room. I went with a gut warming Blacksmith Smoked Porter from the local Highlander Brew Co. as my drink of choice for our stay.

We spent the afternoon touring the resort, checking out their games room and playing shuffleboard and ping pong. We check off another winter activity when we grabbed some hockey sticks and headed out to the resort’s skating rink on the lake to shoot some pucks around.

After dinner we relaxed by our fireplace and played some board games. The cabins don’t have TVs or WIFI which was an amazing change from our regular plugged-in lifestyle.

Before leaving the next day we asked the resort to pack us a lunch and went out to their toboggan hill to squeeze in one more winter activity.  

All in all it was a near-perfect Canadian winter adventure. So don’t sweat the small stuff, like face biting cold; get out there and experience the unique opportunities winter offers. 

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