Boasting some of the warmest waters on B.C.’s coast as well as pristine wilderness, Desolation Sound should be on everyone’s bucket list. Here are five ways to explore the region, all offered by Pacific Coastal Cruises Tours and Homfray Lodge.

On a visit to the small Texas town of Amarillo last year, I attended the World Championship Ranch Rodeo a global gathering of the nation’s best working ranch cowboys, and as I strolled through the sea of competitors and their families, something stood out for me when it came to the children that the ranchers had in tow: none of the kids had phones in their hands. Instead of sitting in solitude, hunched over devices with their eyes glued to screens, I saw clusters of children huddled together on the floor, playing with horse figurines and toy trucks. I watched on as they trotted and teetered their trinkets along surfaces, completely immersed in imaginative play while their parents chatted nearby.

Acommunity within a community – that’s what Oxygen Yoga and Fitness has created in their Columbia Street location since opening three years ago. Oxygen has fast become a favourite home-base for yoga and fitness enthusiasts of all ages in the Royal City, which itself has a special place in the hearts and lives of its owners.