Fly Fish with a Helicopter

Located outside of Terrace, B.C., Northern Escape’s Mountain Lodge attracts heli-skiers to the Skeena and Coastal Mountains with a promise of deep powder and epic alpine bowls. In summer, the boutique lodge flips to offer wildlife viewing, mountain biking, jetboat excursions and ghost-town tours. It’s also an angler’s dream, as migrating steelhead trout and salmon swell the region’s waterways. Elevating that dream into reality, Northern Escape also offers heli-fishing, with Agusta Koala helicopters landing on the remote banks of inaccessible streams, where anglers can catch and release hordes of feisty, migrating fish. Experienced guides are on hand to assist with tackle and technique. Norman Maclean wrote there’s no clear line between religion and fly-fishing. A day of heli-fishing turns both amateur and pro into enthusiastic believers.

Alberta

Trail ride to Allenby Pass

My first multi-day horseback ride was also my first excursion as a Canadian Geographic Travel Ambassador. It was not my first visit to Banff National Park, but after riding single file to Banff Trail Rider’s backcountry lodges and spending a few days at their off-grid Halfway House, it easily became my most memorable. Experienced trail riders confirmed my hunch that the ride to Allenby Pass is not only a highlight for Western Canada it’s an unforgettable global bucket list experience too. Sure-footed horses scramble up a narrow ridge, cresting above the tree-line and below the peaks, resulting in dazzling views and pure wilderness pleasure.

The Gopher Hole Museum

I search for bucket list experiences that are unique, memorable, achievable, and make great stories. These can be epic destinations, but they can also be bizarre attractions you won’t find anywhere else. Firmly residing in that eclectic latter category, Torrington’s world-famous Gopher Hole Museum is so outrageously fun and bonkers I just had to include it in my book. Located off the highway between Calgary and Red Deer, Torrington was overrun with Richardson squirrels until someone had the bright idea of getting creative with the furry critters. The result is 44 dioramas depicting the stuffed squirrels – gophers sound better – in various scenes of small-town life in the prairies. Fully dressed gophers engage in commerce at the barbershop, garage sale and beauty salon. They date under the moonlight, curl at the rink, wed in the church, and check books out of the library. Delighting (and bewildering) all ages, the museum is open in summer, and entrance is by much-appreciated donation.