Northern Lights are viewable most clear winter nights from Fort McMurray

Ft McMurray, Alberta - The mysterious Aurora Borealis/Northern Lights have fascinated man throughout history. Early cultures thought they were spirits. As I watched, Mother Nature's incredible show started with a dim arch of light suspended above the horizon, which slowly gained intensity and height, eventually rippling into light green transparent folds covering the northern sky like a wind-blown curtain. Small shoots of red light lapped the bottom hem like little flames. My viewing was over in 20 minutes, but the memory will last a lifetime. The lights are caused by a solar wind of electrons and protons, that comes from the sun collides with gases in the upper atmosphere. Colors can range from green to blood red. Because Fort McMurray is located on the 56th parallel (within what is known as the auroral band) this spectacular light phenomena can be seen from Ft. McMurray on many cold, clear nights between October and March. The lights can appear at other times of the year, but the long daylight hours make viewing more limited. Fort McMurray photo by Lucy Izon

Where: Fort McMurray is a 4.5 hour drive from Edmonton, Alberta. You can travel 280 km on to Fort Chipewyan during summer by air or river, during winter a frozen road is created.

Canada’s Coolest:

Welcome to a new feature on Canada Cool. I'll be presenting different 'Coolest' lists with my favorites and I encourage you to nominate suggestions from your own experiences. You can Twitter @CanadaCool or email [email protected]. Let me know what makes your suggestion exceptionally cool. Remember, by contributing your comments you are giving Canada Cool permission to quote you. Only a selection of submissions will be included, but all comments and submissions are greatly appreciated!

The first feature is: Canada's Coolest Single Day Scenic Drives

Here are some of my favorites...

The Icefields Parkway, Jasper National Park, Alberta - This 229 km (142 mi) Rocky Mountain route from Banff/Lake Louise to Jasper passes 100 frozen rivers and nudges the base of the Athabasca Glacier - the most accessible glacier in the world. You can stop and explore it. It spills down from the Columbia Icefield, an area of ice so massive that you could fit the entire population of North America on it with each person getting at least a square metre of space.

The Corridor, Algonquin Park, Ontario – this 56-km stretch of Hwy 60 cuts through the southwest section of Algonquin Park. Less than three hours north of Toronto the park is a nature-lover's paradise with 7,725 km of lakes, rivers, forest, trails, camping, comfortable lodges and 2000 km of canoe routes. Offers hiking trails to stop and enjoy, but what makes it really cool is that it’s one of the best places in North America to spot moose (especially in May and June). And, on Thursday nights in August up to 600 cars will gather to listen to wolves howl.

The Cabot Trail, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia – Driving this 303 km (187 mile) route is like riding a roller-coaster: the road snakes around hairpin turns, rises to heights over 365 metres (1200 ft), weaves around headlands revealing spectacular coastal scenery, and plunges down to sea level taking you into the heart of small fishing communities. The most dramatic scenery is between the Cape Breton Highlands National Park entrance near Cheticamp and Pleasant Bay, so go slow. And, plan some flexibility into your schedule, so you can drive it on a clear day.

And here are some of your nominations for 'Canada's Coolest Single Day Scenic Drives'...

More from Canada’s Coolest

'Canada's Coolest' topics we'll be publishing in the future:

• Golf Course Features
• Haunted Hotels
• Hotel Special Services

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