Stories
My Favourite Canadian Restaurants
As a former academy member of Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants I've had a chance to eat at many great dining rooms around the world, but, for me at least, the most renowned restaurants don't always equate to the most memorable dining experiences. This was...
New edition of DK Eyewitness New Zealand
I wrote and updated multiple editions of Moon New Zealand, which required a tremendous amount of on-the-ground research to make sure readers had the very best recommendations for what to see, where to stay, and what to eat. For DK Eyewitness New Zealand, the focus is...
Jasper Wildfire
Seeing firsthand the devastation caused by the July wildfire that destroyed almost a third of the town of Jasper is shocking, and talking with our Jasper friends whose lives have been upended is heartbreaking. But I spent a couple of days in Jasper earlier this fall...
New editions 2024
Most of the research I did for guidebooks published in late 2024 was done through the spring and summer of 2024, including trips to all Atlantic Canada provinces. A new edition of Best of Glacier, Banff and Jasper National Parks was published in March 2024 (2nd...
Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society
It was a memorable experience this week in Ottawa to have been elected as a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, joining a list of Canada’s most intrepid explorers, geographers, writers, astronauts, actors, and former Prime Ministers as inductees. From...
New Nova Scotia Lodgings
For my most recent update of the Moon Atlantic Canada guidebook (publication in 2024) it was great to see a new wave of lodgings in the region, especially in Nova Scotia. As recently as a decade ago, choices were limited to familiar city hotels, roadside motels, bed...
Moon Handbook Reviews
I've worked for most major guidebook publishers, and each series has its sell points, but the Moon guides have always stood out to me for their stellar reputation as go-to guides for travelers that are serious about learning more about the destinations they visit....
50th Anniversary of Moon Guides
It was a memorable weekend in San Francisco helping Moon Guides celebrate 50 years of guidebook publishing. A testament to Moon's stellar reputation was the attendance of guidebook publishers from as far away as Europe and Asia, dozens of guidebook writers, and over a...
New Edition of Moon Victoria and Vancouver Island
I spent a big part of last summer out on the west coast researching the newest edition of the Moon Victoria and Vancouver Island book, including family trips to the far north that included a few days at Telegraph Cove Resort, which we all love for the renovated...
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
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...
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,...
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,...
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...
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, 2012
Researching new editions of Moon Atlantic Canada and Moon Nova Scotia last summer was a family affair, with two trips to the Atlantic provinces with kids in tow. I doubled up on a solo Newfoundland and Labrador trip last June, researching the Moon guidebook and also...
2013 Canadian Rockies Calendar
As is standard practice in the calendar industry, it may be early 2012, but I'm proud to announce that my 2013 Reflections of the Canadian Rockies calendar is on sale at retailers throughout the Canadian Rockies. With our designer Linda Petras, we chose a selection...