Prairie provinces full of 'bucket list' destinations, says author

Originally published May 2.

Have you driven all of Alberta's highway and trekked through the province's trails to your heart's content? If so, you may want to look to the east for your next roadtrip.

That's according to author Robin Esrock, who in 2013 released The Great Canadian Bucket List: One-of-a-Kind Travel Experiences.He's back again with two new books that focus on Canada's north and the prairies.

"There were so many experiences that I couldn't get into [the first] book," Esrock told CBC's The Homestretch on Monday. "Bucket lists are like whack-a-mole. The more you tick, the more you want to tick. So I discovered a lot more experiences, especially in the prairies, which is this overlooked part of the country."

• MORE PRAIRIE NEWS |Wildrose, PC leaders skeptical about new right-wing party
• MORE PRAIRIE NEWS |Bear cubs as small as kittens captured on video by man in northern Saskatchewan

When Canadians are looking for travel inspiration, they often look to the city, Esrock said. But he said the prairies have their own kind ofmagic.

"I personally find the prairies to be a really reflective part of the country and also perfect for roadtrips," he said."I know that some people find it to be kind of dull, but if you just stop and look around once in a while,just to feel the big sky, I find it to be really reflective."

Esrock, who was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, and is now based in Canada, said he still finds it a bit odd to have a best-selling travel book about a country in which he has only lived since 1999.

"The irony is not lost on me that a Canadian immigrant has written a best-selling book about things to do in Canada.It says a lot about Canadian culture, I heard this great quirk that Canadians are arrogant with their modesty," he said.

"When I first set out to do this book I was amazed that no one had written a book like this before.We know how to go to places, we just don't know why. My books are the why.'"

In his own words, here are three of Esrock's recommendations for prairie destinations:

Float on Little Manitou Lake

Located100 kilometres south-east of Saskatoon

"I've been to the Dead Seanumerous times between Israel and Jordan. Go to Little ManitouLake, you float on your back effortlessly, just like the Dead Sea. It's amazing that people don't come from all over the world, all over North America, never mind all over the prairies to actually float in Canada's dead sea."

Tour the Big Muddy Badlands

Located near Coronach, Saskatchewan

"I heard about this and I was like, 'badlands in southern Saskatchewan?'This is part of the Outlaw Trail that Butch Cassidy and the SundanceKid developed, where outlaws could go from farm to farm where friendly farmers would help them. It's just an interesting topography. It's not what you expect to see in the prairies."

Find culture in Winnipeg

Manitoba's capital city

"Churchill gets a lot of the attention [in Manitoba] with its polar bears and beluga whales. Winnipeg, to me, is the most cultural city in the country. It punches way above its cultural weight. The new Canadian Museum for Human Rights is phenomenal, very controversial but absolutely crucialthat everybody visits that place."

• Record heat prompts alert from Environment Canada
• Doggie eye exams offered free for service animals in training
• 'Animated light' redesign of 4th Street S.W. underpass to cost $6.7M