Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden

When you are travelling across the Canadian Prairies the last thing you expect to find is an oasis of tranquility straight out of the Far East. Yet, this is what we found in Lethbridge, Alberta as we passed through after leaving the foothills of the Rockies.

Looking Across the garden

The Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden is a small park of only 4 acres, but is designed in such a way that it appears to be much larger. The project began during Canada’s 1967 Centennial to celebrate the contributions of Japanese Canadians to the Lethbridge area.

The two main themes incorporated in the park reflect its location on the rolling grasslands of the prairies and the magnificent mountains to the west. To make sure that everything in the garden would be authentic they imported Tadashi Kubo, who was a respected landscape architect and garden designer.

A Place to Enjoy the Stream

They studied the lay of the land and its location to plan the garden. Water is the life blood of dry land so they developed a stream, a pond and a waterfall. They planted trees, not just randomly, but with an eye to fitting in the varieties so they would blend creating a comfortable, peaceful place to walk, or sit and meditate about life.

Bushes and shrubs are pruned and designed to make a statement that this is a neat place to be. Flowers and walkways through them let you travel at your own speed. Paths are curved so that you never have a long view, nor can you see the rest of the park at one time. Benches are strategically located beside some thoughtful design, or near the splashing of the water on its way to the peaceful pond in whose middle is a small island shaped like a turtle.

A Time for Reflection

When you are making an authentic Japanese garden you need to use Japanese plants. Since many of these wouldn’t survive in Alberta, native species substituted for them. These were pruned and shaped as their true counterparts would be back in Japan.

The ceremonial Friendship Bell is struck frequently throughout the day by passing visitors. The structures of wood, the bridges, and pavilion, were built in Japan, shipped and reassembled on site by experts from Japan who ensured the final product would be perfect.

The Ceremonial Friendship Bell

This is a pleasant garden to visit, peaceful, yet in the city. During the year special events take place in the garden attracting regular visitors from close by.

Don’t wait for a special day. If this is your first visit it will be a special day.

 

Happy RVing !

This is in one of the tours in ‘Canada: Beyond the Far Horizons’ a Touring North America guide book).

For more than four decades James Stoness has travelled the roads of North America, photographing and writing about what he has seen. His travel articles and beautiful pictures have been published in several magazines and newspapers. He is also the author of five western novels.  Visit his website at:  www.stonesstravelguides.com

Zoo Sauvage de St. Felician

When was the last time you roamed in the woods hoping you could see some wild life but didn’t? Now is the time to place yourself among about 1000 wild animals on their own stomping grounds?

Contented black bear

Although many of us have never heard about it, the Zoo Sauvage of St. Felicien, in Quebec, has an excellent outdoor zoo that can give you the outdoor experience you’ve been looking for.

 

In addition to the walking trails you can hitch a ride on a screened ‘train’ for a 7 km trip through the North American large animal section of the park. The Nature Trail Park is a large area and designed so that you get the distinct impression that you are trekking through the northern forest a long, long way from civilization.

Here, the human animal is confined, and the wild animals run free. Run free of course is more of an exception than the rule. Loafing, or grazing, seemed to be what we saw most of the time.

A big rack

There’s nothing wrong with that, and you certainly get close-up views of some of Canada’s biggest mammals. When you are held back by bison crossing the trail, you might hark back to the days when buffalo herds were so numerous that they held up trains for a day or more.

Back on a nearby knoll you may see some wolves keeping an eye on you as they rest and the little ones frolick on the grass. The musk ox is an animal that few of us have seen, but here there are several of those huge lumbering beasts.

Close encounter with a polar bear

The walking sections of the zoo take you through the Arctic for a glimpse of a polar bear, or into the mountains with the Bighorn sheep, the cougar and the Canada Lynx. Another trail passes through Asia for a glimpse of the rare tiger. Visit Mongolia to see a two humped camel, and a yak. The mixed forest trail shows us the great bald eagle, beaver, and the fisher. The Mini farm is a special area for kids with domestic animals and fun with water fountains.

Tigers at rest

One adventure you might like to sample is Walking in the Land of the Caribou. A guide takes you deep into the forest where you can take the opportunity of canoeing as the sun goes down. To top it off you spend a night in the forest in a prospector style tent. You will enjoy a meal cooked over a campfire composed of the olden recipes of those who lived on the trail. Oh, did I forget to mention that the night stop is in the middle of a caribou compound?

A neat place to spend a night!

Well, it is, and the munching you hear just outside your tent isn’t the cook finishing off the remnants of the meal. It’s going to be several very large caribou who want to get to know you.

 

A visit to this zoo is a great way to spend a day or two.

Happy RVing !

This will be one of the tours in a Touring North America guide book about Eastern Canada.

For more than four decades James Stoness has travelled the roads of North America, photographing and writing about what he has seen. His travel articles and beautiful pictures have been published in several magazines and newspapers. He is also the author of five western novels.  Visit his website at:  www.stonesstravelguides.com