Blog
DK Eyewitness Canada
Published by London-based Dorling Kindersley, The Eyewitness series is renowned for its photographic coverage of destinations around the world. I've worked as an updater and editor on multiple editions of DK Eyewitness Canada, and many of my photos have been used over...
New Moon Editions 2022
Although travel restrictions to Canada were lifted earlier this year, International travellers have not returned to pre-pandemic numbers. That said, Banff was as busy as ever this summer with local and domestic travellers filling hotels, restaurants, campgrounds, and...
Buying and selling photographs in 2022
Buying and selling photographs in 2022 has changed greatly. It wasn't that long ago that I was selling golf course and rodeo photos through a major stock agency, paying Agpix for a daily email want list, and relying on Cradoc software for photo pricing. How things...
Moon Best of Glacier, Banff & Jasper: Make the Most of One to Three Days in the Parks
Avalon Travel has been publishing books in their new "Best of Parks" series for a few years, but all titles have been to U.S. parks. I was approached by the company last year to co-author a new book in the series that would combine Glacier National Park with Banff and...
Baedeker’s Canada, 1894
A few years ago, I became interested in finding a copy of the first guidebook written to Canada, and reading firsthand what the author had written about my hometown of Banff, which was a popular tourist destination along the Canadian Pacific Railway as early as the...
New Moon editions, 2021
Although travel to Atlantic Canada remains restricted, Avalon Travel went ahead with their scheduling for my Atlantic Canada updates, with the three books I updated in 2020 going ahead with 2021 publication. The only difference to past years is that rather than being...
Flying During COVID
I cancelled all work-related travel for this year, but our family also wanted some ocean time, so we decided to head out to Vancouver Island and stay in a self-contained property, thereby minimizing risk to ourselves or others. Driving would have entailed food and gas...
New Moon Editions, 2020
Due to the pandemic, tourism in 2020 in the Canadian Rockies is shaping up very differently than usual. I am assuming that visitors will not be allowed to enter Canada for much of this year, meaning that the millions of tourists from the U.S., Europe, Asia, and the...
COVID 19 Banff
Riding out Covid 19 in Banff is no different to doing so anywhere else in the world. But there is a big difference for the town itself. As a tourist resort that attracts millions of visitors annually, most of the residents rely on the tourism industry for an income,...
The Evolution of Moon Guidebook Covers
Since the first edition of Moon Alberta was published in 1995 (right), the design of Moon covers has evolved greatly. At that time, Moon was the only major guidebook company that did not use a corporate colour on their covers, and every cover featured a different...
Million Mile Kids
Between my work as a travel writer, family vacations, and trips home to Australia, I had assumed a few years back that by the time our two children graduated high school they would be "million milers" through the Air Canada Million Mile Program, which gives those that...
Researching British Columbia – Haida Gwaii
Since Moon Alberta was discontinued a few years back, I've spent less time exploring Alberta and more time in the neighbouring province of British Columbia. The manuscript for the next edition of Moon British Columbia will not be due until 2021, but by spreading the...
New Moon Edition, 2019
As the proud new owners of a mapping company (gemtrek.com), 2018 was very busy for us. But sales of Moon Atlantic Canada had been very strong over the last year, so I was asked to write an update for spring 2019 publication. It was mostly updating prices and keep...
History of Moon Guidebooks
For over four decades, Moon guidebooks have been trusted companions for independent travelers the world over. But the books have evolved greatly–beginning with photocopied notes sold at Australian hippy markets to slick, full colour books distributed worldwide. One...
Key West Book
Key West Travel had been purchasing my Canadian Rockies coffeetable book for each of their guests for many years and recently approached me about developing a custom book designed especially for Key West guests. The end result is a smaller trim size that the regular...
Lake Louise History Book
I've been researching and writing a book on the history of Lake Louise for the past couple of years. Much has been written about the beauty of Lake Louise, but no one has to this point published a book devoted to local history. Much has been written about the Fairmont...
100 Books
I may have missed one or two, but Images of Banff, which was published this spring, is the 100th book I have authored, coauthored, or contributed to. (In this case I took the photos and wrote the text). There is a movement toward smaller soft cover coffeetable books,...
New Moon Editions, 2018
It was a busy 2017 research season for me, with manuscripts for four new editions coming due in September: Moon British Columbia, Moon Vancouver Island, Moon Canadian Rockies, and Moon Banff National Park. Living in the region allows me to spread my research out over...
Gem Trek Maps
For their detail, accuracy, and unique waterproof characteristics, I've been a long-time fan of Gem Trek Maps. Through Summerthought Publishing, we've kept in contact with the company founders, Donna and Roger Nelson, for many years - and at one point we said "call us...
Lake O’Hara Information Boards
I’m lucky that Lake O’Hara, arguably one of the world’s finest hiking destinations, is just one hour’s drive from my home. I head up to the region at least a couple of times a year, but in the last two years have spent more time there working for a client who...
New Moon Editions, 2017
Two trips out east in 2016 were dedicated to a new edition of Moon Atlantic Canada. I finally had the time to drive the new Trans-Labrador Highway from end to end, but also spent considerable time in all four capital cities and resort areas such as Cavendish and...
Banff Wolf Encounter
I'm not a wildlife photographer. I leave that to experts such as Wayne Lynch and John Marriott. But the amount of time I spend in the Canadian Rockies has allowed me many wildlife experiences. Most of these are memorable for the sheer exhilaration of seeing...
New Moon Editions, 2016
It seemed that there were more changes than usual in the Canadian Rockies since the 2013 edition of Moon Canadian Rockies - new cafes and restaurants, changes to the way campground reservations are made, and more. But the region is also much busier than it's been in...
New Moon Editions, 2015
A spring 2014 trip through Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland kicked off the research for new editions of my Atlantic Canada and Nova Scotia books, followed by a family trip to Prince Edward Island in July. After many years of having a blue band with the...
Packing for Family Travel
For the last few years I've been writing and updating a travel book in the For Dummies series. As the market for books in this series is mostly families, authors are required to write with this demographic in mind. Travelling regularly with a young family myself makes...
New Moon Editions, 2014
With an early September 2013 due date for manuscripts, I travelled extensively throughout last year for new editions of my Moon guidebooks to British Columbia, starting with a trip to Vancouver in March and wrapping up with a mid-summer family camping adventure...
Skyhorse in Banff
One of the joys of travel is the people you meet on the road, but living in Banff affords us the opportunity to meet interesting people who are visiting our town. Which was the case recently when I struck a conversation downtown with a couple from Florida, Hani and...
New Moon Editions, 2013
Sales of all my Moon books have increased over the last few years, including the Canadian Rockies. I'd like to think it has to do with how much work I put in to ensuring they have the very best information available, but it probably also has to do with the demise of...
Canadian Rockies Coffeetable Book
My Canadian Rockies coffeetable book sells a few thousand copies a year and has been reprinted annually since it first hit bookshelves in 2009. This year, instead of a reprint, we decided to redesign the book, and most importantly include a new selection of photos,...
Moon Alberta Discontinued
The Alberta Handbook, published in 1995, was the first guidebook I authored, and 17 years later my publisher recently advised me that they would not be publishing any further editions. Alberta is booming, it's Canada's wealthiest province, and it welcomes over 30...