CALGARY - How does a city go from “cow town” to “boomtown” without getting rid of its hitching posts?

BANFF, ALBERTA - Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer were once asked to design a golf course combining the best 18 holes they had played around the world.

VANCOUVER - The gentle swaying of the rail car that lulled us to sleep just a few hours earlier had stopped. The clickety-clack sound steel wheels make when they meet steel rails had been replaced by an eerie silence.

WHISTLER, B.C. - It’s officially known as the Sea to Sky Highway, but many people call Highway 99 “The Great One” – and it has nothing to do with Wayne Gretzky, who wore the No. 99 during his Hall of Fame hockey career.

The sun tanned locals in this beautiful British Columbia outpost offer us a complicated explanation about why they call this area of the province the “Sunshine Coast.”

TERREBONNE, QC - The street names in this sleepy little bedroom community located about 25 kilometres north of Montreal awaken my curiosity to its past.

MONT-TREMBLANT, QC - Caroline bent my leg and with the weight of her own body pressed up against it, pushed it back until she introduced my knee to my nose.

MONT-TREMBLANT, QUEBEC - A visitor bellies up to the Whisky Bar in the lobby of Le Grand Lodge and is greeted by reflections of the past. Under a glass panel that runs the full length of the bar rests images of sports personalities who made Mont-Tremblant famous around the world.

QUEBEC CITY - Off the beautifully ornate lobby of the famed Fairmont Chateau Frontenac Hotel sits a dimly-lit area with a few chairs, a small chest and a portrait of a man dressed in the robes of a Cardinal.

MONTREAL - From the famed bagels to the dozens of eclectic festivals, there are numerous reasons to visit Montreal. But here’s one that’s probably not on your radar: River surfing.