Introduction

As most of you already know I am in Saskatchewan working for the summer at the beautiful Prince Albert National Park. Things are going good here, well except for the weather, it has been a very cool wet summer, (I feel like I am still waiting for summer to start and it is almost over). I have heard from my sister that it has not been the best summer in the Annapolis Valley either weather-wise, but I have to wonder as I am sitting here with a cold rainy day with a high of 14 degrees C and I see they are sitting with a high of 31 degrees C and sunny. Hmmm.

But in spite of the weather I have had a good summer so far. One of the highlights was when I was asked to go on a trip to Grey Owl's cabin with Tourism Saskatchewan. For those who do not know who he was, Grey Owl was a writer and Canada's first conservationists who became renowned for saving the Canadian beaver. He was born in Britain as Archibald Belaney but moved to Canada and adopted the ways of the First Nations and changed his name to Grey Owl. He was a trapper at first, but after marrying his wife Anahareo she convinced him to change his ways and views. They lived on Ajawaan Lake in the park here with their daughter, Dawn and two adopted beaver kits - Rawhide and Jelly Roll. He died in 1938 and is buried close to his cabin along with Anahareo and Dawn.

The trip up to his cabin involved a boat ride with a long portage along the Kingsmere River, then across the Kingsmere Lake followed by a 3.2 km hike around Ajawaan Lake to the cabin. The start of the day was rainy, but it came out sunny for the hike and visit to the cabin. The trip was filmed and will be posted on YouTube in the near future for those who may be interested in seeing it.

Our next adventure was a 5 hour trail ride on horseback into the wild bison fields on the west side of the park. This was a great ride, although after not being on a horse for several years I was walking a little funny for awhile. We did get to see the bison in the distance but did not get too close. We are planning to go again this fall and hopefully we will get closer to them then.

Other than that I have been busy fishing, walking the trails, swimming (when it is warm enough) and of course working. My son, Curtis and his family have been up twice for week long visits and we kept ourselves very busy. I am so blessed to be able to share all this with them and excited that they all enjoy it as much as I do.

However this Ezine is supposed to be about the Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia and not Saskatchewan, I just wanted to share some of my summer with you. I did, finally get my internet in my cabin and I have been watching how things are going both with my web site and in the valley.

I am excited to see my web site is still growing very fast, and that is mostly thanks to you who visit my site. Thank you very much; I really hope it is helpful to you and that you find it interesting. I have not had a chance to add much this summer, but I will be adding a lot again when I am back home this winter.

As for the Annapolis Valley, I see things are very busy down there. We are right in the middle of the festivals and exhibitions season there and from what I have been seeing it is a great time at all of them. They are holding some really great events along with fantastic entertainment going on throughout the whole valley. Not even the weather has put a damper on things going on.

As I mentioned before, I am really excited about the new form the tourist industry is going there with more and more adventure vacations offered. Now you not only see all that is offered in the valley, but you get to take part in it and learn first hand all we have to offer. I will be focusing my web site on these new adventures more this winter but until then you can find some really great ideas at Nova Scotia's Official Tourism web site or in any of the tourist guides for the area.

Upcoming Events

• The Annapolis County Exhibition is on right now! The exhibition runs until August 22 with plenty of livestock shows, exhibits, fair booths and rides and lots of entertainment going on daily. Two big shows happening at the Riverside Concert Stage will be the Stampeders on August 21 and Shane Yellowbird on August 22. Both shows start at 8:30 pm.

• Incredible Picnic In Annapolis Royal - This is the 2nd year for this great event which promotes "Buy Local". Make sure you attend this growing event which will be held at the market square and wharf on Sunday August 23 from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm. There will be lots of vendors providing local produce, lively entertainment and lots of information about supporting "Buy Local". This is a province wide event.

• Paint the Town Weekend - The weekend of August 22 & 23 will be a busy one in Annapolis Royal as the Annapolis Region Community Arts Council presents it's 14th annual Paint the Town Weekend. This event will feature over 80 artist located at different locations throughout the town. A silent auction will be held at the Community Center for the works of the artist.

• 3rd Annual Fundy Coast Classic Car Show - This car show will be held at 30 School Street, Parker's Cove from 11:00 am to 4:00 p, on August 29.

• Bridgetown Ciderfest - The annual festival will be held on September 10 -13 this year and promises to hold events to interest everyone.

• Wolfville's Gravely Ghost Walks - this is a 1.5 hour historical production of this area's most intriguing people and unexplained events. The walks happen every Thursday night starting June 25th. Meet Jeremy at the Clock tower on Main Street at 8:20 pm.

• Digby County Exhibition - Bear River Exhibition grounds from August 26 to 29.

• Wharf Rat Rally - Digby and area. Fifth year motorcycle rally will be held starting on September 2.

These are just a small part of what is happening this season in the valley. Please check my Annapolis Events page; your local papers or the AVR radio station to find out about all the other ways you can experience the events in the Annapolis Valley.

News From The Valley

• Bay of Fundy is in the top 28 in the Global New7Wonders of Nature Contest! We did it, we made it this far! This contest started in 2007 with more than 440 locations from over 220 countries trying out. At the end of 2008 there were 261 that qualified as natural & multinational nominees by popular vote. The second phase of voting ended on July 7th 2009 announcing the top 77. At first we did not make it, but after Alberta's Dinosaur Provincial Park was disqualified for not meeting all requirements we were back in. The next phase of the contest ended on July 21 when the New7Wonders independent Panel of Experts selected the 28 final candidates at a conference at foundation headquarters in Zurich. The winner will be announced at the Official Declaration in 2001. So vote now, just go to the New7Wonders Voting Page.

• The Oaklawn Farm located in Millville, Nova Scotia celebrated it's 25th year in operation this summer! The farm was started by Gail & Ron Rogerson in 1984 when they had their first busload of school kids visits their farm. Soon they were visited by hundreds that came to see their array of animals and they opened up as an official zoo. Since then their unique blend of barnyard and exotic animals have made them the largest zoo in Nova Scotia. This is a great place for the whole family to visit and see and mingle with the animals.

• Graveyard Messages Found on Kings County Graves - Again this year there have been unexplained messages left on several gravestones in graveyards throughout Kings County. These unique messages usually tell the story about the person buried there and are very informative. You can find these messages at the Auburn Cemetery, the Oak Grove Cemetery along with the Willowbank Cemetery.

That is just a little of what has been happening in the Annapolis Valley this past month. I will keep you updated on these and other issues.

Updates & Changes to Annapolis-Valley-Vacation.com

If you are interested in getting involved in the new craze of Geocaching visit my page on Geocaching in the Valley here.

I also recommend a trip whale watching this summer. This is the prefect time to observe the playful humpback whales playing in the Bay of Fundy. You can find a whale watching adventure for you on my Whale Watching page here..

This is a great summer to do some hiking in the Annapolis Valley. I list some of the best hiking trails in the valley on my Walking and Hiking Trail Page. I did find a new blog that also features walking and hiking trails in the Annapolis Valley area. The writer provides some great hikes and provides maps to help you find your way. You may check out this blog by clicking here.

Well that is all for this month. It has been a busy month for me, but not quite as busy for my web site.

If you are visiting the Annapolis Valley this summer I wish you a great trip and the best of weather while your there. Check out my web pages to see what is going on and what there is to see while you are there.

I hope you have found something interesting or informative in this issue of Annapolis Valley Updates. If you have any comments, Ideas, or other feedback I'd love to hear from you. Just reply to this Ezine and tell me what you think!

Until next month, have fun, live good and love hard!