My kayak and I tip the scales at about 70 kilograms.

A humpback whale? Well over 25 tonnes.

Yet it was far more exhilarating than frightening to have one suddenly pop up 10 metres away while I was kayaking the Broken Group, in Barkley Sound off Vancouver Island, earlier this month.

For half an hour, my group — Janie Tyerman, Sandy Ferguson, David Bonner, and Al Stockwell — and I enjoyed watching several humpbacks breach dramatically in the distance in the rough waters of Imperial Eagle Channel.

Then we decided to continue our paddle, closely rounding the east side of Dempster Island, where we saw another humpback approaching. We held our position for several seconds until small fish began to dance on the surface, then, watched in awe as the humpback broke the water surface, jaws wide open, in a dramatic display known as lunge feeding.

Another kayaker coming in the opposite direction, Laura Lavine, of Ladysmith, managed to snap this photo just as the whale was going back down.

“Out of the water the Humpy exploded 30 feet from our flotilla” she recalls. “Amazing and exhilarating!”

Despite the recent strike action at Canada Post, the Summer 2011 issue of British Columbia Magazine is now sitting snugly on newsstands and should have arrived at all Canadian subscribers’ doorsteps. So tell us what you think! Did you love our special parks feature? Hate it? What would YOU choose as your “ultimate B.C. park”? Share your thoughts — whether complimentary or critical — for the chance to see your name in print. All letters received prior to August 8, 2011 will be considered for our Fall issue Mailbox. Please send to editor@bcmag.ca.

In May, Associate Editor Shanna Baker and I took a road trip to the Tofino/Ucluelet area, travelling up over the beautiful ‘Hat (Malahat) on Hwy 1 from Victoria, then over to Port Alberni and onward to the west coast of Vancouver Island.  As we drew closer to Ucluelet, a relentless rain began, forcing us to slow down and enjoy the drive on the winding mountain roadway. To our left, vestiges of the winter’s snowfall remained, while streams rushed with spring runoff to our right.

Our first stop was the new Kwisitis Visitor Centre at the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve of Canada. If you are in the area, I encourage you to stop in and check out this facility, formerly known as the Wickaninnish Interpretive Centre.  The timber structure, which also houses the Wickaninnish Restaurant, is perched on the edge of the Pacific Ocean, on one of this country’s most beautiful white sand beaches.

Writer Elizabeth Nolan profiled the centre in our Summer 2011 issue, but we wanted to show it to you in one of our Editor’s Videos. Interpretive designer Donald Gunn trekked over from Saltspring Island to show us the 20 brand-new exhibits, most of which were developed in close collaboration with the Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations.

Click here to watch the video. Note: Keep your volume on high: the sound quality isn’t the greatest, and our outdoor scenes are pretty windswept!

We hope the video will give you a taste of the beauty of the park and a preview of the interesting new exhibits on display at the Visitor Centre.

Looking for a new ditty to sing around the campfire this summer? Well, you’re in luck. CBC Radio 2 Morning commissioned songstress Sarah Harmer to create a new tune to commemorate Parks Canada’s 100th anniversary.

I heard it this morning on my way to work, and it’s fantastic.  You can download the video and the sheet music here.  

Don’t forget to join magazine staff on Parks Day, Saturday July 16, in Vancouver’s Stanley Park (near the totems).  We’ll be there with BC Parks, Parks Canada, and others (including musical guest K’naan, who will be part of a free concert, beginning at 4 p.m.). See our blog post below for full information about the event.

If you can’t make it to Vancouver, take advantage of free admission to any national park this Saturday and try out Harmer’s new Canadian campfire song for yourself.

Some people like new car smell; personally, I’m fond of new book smell. So it was with delight that I opened up a box this week from Harbour Publishing containing 10 advance copies of James D. Anderson’s new book British Columbia’s Magnificent Parks: The First 100 Years. This lovely 259-page coffee table book was written by a parks insider who spent 30 years of his professional career creating and managing B.C.’s provincial parks.

We are giving away copies of the book along with a single copy of the Summer 2011 special parks issue of British Columbia Magazine on our Facebook page throughout the summer.

Our first winner was Lotte Sonne Nielsen from Denmark, one of the magazine’s many international readers. Congratulations, Lotte!

Keep your eye on our Facebook page for the next random drawing — and while you’re there, please “like” us to receive regular updates about the magazine. Now, back to that new book smell….

British Columbia Magazine will be at Stanley Park’s Brockton Point in Vancouver this coming Saturday, July 16 for Parks Day.

Parks Day is a celebration of the 100th anniversary of both BC Parks and Parks Canada. The event includes a free outdoor concert beginning a 4 p.m.; instructional demonstrations on how to camp, hike, surf, climb, fish, and geocache; the opportunity to meet Olympic gold medalist Maelle Ricker; plus free hugs from Parka the Beaver and Jerry the Moose!

Visit us at the British Columbia Magazine booth to try your luck at spinning our prize wheel.

Festivities run from noon until 8:30 p.m. For more information, visit the Parks Canada website: www.pc.gc.ca

Celebrations in honour of the BC Parks centennial are also taking place July 16 at Fintry Provincial Park in the North Okanagan, with an inaugural Fintry Fair, featuring arts & crafts, musical acts, outdoor activities, and more, as well as at Squamish’s Alice Lake Provincial Park, with cake and a scavenger hunt. For more BC Parks-related events see www.bcparks.ca.

The Summer 2011 issue of British Columbia Magazine has hit B.C. newsstands (and once the Canadian postal strike ends, subscribers should begin receiving their copies too). Our featured contributor for the issue is photographer Byron Fry:

At age 23, Fry is already pursuing a second vocation. Call him a Renaissance man–or simply a photographer who discovered that he loves baking bread in a wood-fired oven.

Fry, also a vintage motorcycle aficionado, is now spending his days building a farm-based artisan bakery in his hometown of Metchosin, outside of Victoria. Both of Fry’s grandfathers were bakers, which may explain his affinity for kneading dough.

But before Fry became a baker, he travelled to the Broken Group of islands in Barkley Sound to bring us images from an exciting archaeological dig (”Secrets of the Sound”). Fry had first noticed the project mentioned on a University of Victoria website and was eventually invited to photograph the dig. “The work they were doing was so fascinating, and the place itself, the Broken islands, was so captivating.”

The highlight for Fry was walking around rarely visited islands on old lookout trails, the paths worn from centuries of First Nations’ habitation.

“I’m just happy to have been part of that project,” says Fry. “And I am really happy for people to see what was going on up there.”

Check out Fry’s six-minute long slideshow in which he shares additional images, as well as sound recordings, from the assignment.

Visitors to Gowlland Tod Provincial Park in Saanich on southern Vancouver Island can now take a break, on us.

British Columbia Magazine recently became the first organization to sponsor a bench in BC Parks’ “100 Benches for 100 Years of BC Parks” program. Our park bench, complete with commemorative plaque, overlooks the beautiful Tod Inlet.

Fun facts about the bench:

-it looks like it’s made of wood, but the “cedar” planks are actually comprised of recycled plastic.

-the planks are ergonomically arranged for optimum relaxation.

-the first 50 people to visit our bench will win a lifetime subscription to the magazine. (Just kidding, but we do hope you’ll visit).

To sponsor your own bench see the BC Parks website. Benches are available at various parks around the province and cost $1500.

Did you know that there are more than 25 island wineries to visit and discover? A new book, Island Wineries of British Columbia, explores the unique flavours, grape varieties, and terroir of this emerging wine region.

Covering Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands, the book delves into the history of the region’s wine production and provides up-close profiles of individual wine producers, from Alderlea Vineyards to Vigneti Zanatta. The 230-plus pages are enhanced with colour photos, maps, and info boxes.

The guide was edited by Gary Hynes of EAT Magazine and written by contributors. Not surprisingly, one section provides tempting recipes from local restaurants, such as Cafe Brio’s Braised Pacific Halibut with Spring Vegetable Ragout in a White Wine and Golden Beet Sauce–a mouthful in more ways than one. Each recipe is paired with a recommended wine varietal, such as Ortega–”the premier white grape for the islands.” (Who knew?)

Expect to discover some new wineries and even novel groups of wines to enjoy. As Hynes writes, “Blattner, anyone?”

Our covers often feature photos of our province’s amazing wildlife. Our Winter 2010 issue, for instance, showcased the cougar.

But with our Spring 2011 issue, we feature a creature never before seen on our cover–an Albertosaurus dinosaur. The cover story, by Vancouver-based writer Daniel Wood, zeroes in on a big find in Tumbler Ridge–British Columbia’s first complete dinosaur skeleton. (Hint: It’s not an Albertosaurus. Our cover model is on display at the Peace Region Palaeontology Research Centre in Tumbler Ridge.)

Pick up a copy to read more about the fascinating discoveries in this remote Northern B.C. community.

Also in this issue:

Travel through the Rockies on B.C.’s most luxurious locomotive or enjoy local excursions around the province.

Enjoy hassle-free hiking in Wells Gray Provincial Park.

Dare to get up close and personal with B.C.’s carnivorous plants.

Get away to historic Powell River.

Plus: two brand-new pages: Day Trip Diary and Person & Place. This issue, broadcaster Vicki Gabereau shares her favourite B.C. getaway.

It’s all inside the Spring 2011 issue of British Columbia Magazine, on newsstands now until early June.