Holiday. Vacation. The mere mention of the words conjures up images of white sandy beaches, palm trees, hotel rooms with ocean views and postcards to make the friends back home drool with envy.

#But, recently, more and more people are packing their bags and getting back to nature and to tradition in Canada's north country.

The end result is still a vacation you won't soon forget and, of course, there's still the pictures and stories to make friends wish you had packed them in your bag and taken them with you.

Holiday. Vacation. The mere mention of the words conjures up images of white sandy beaches, palm trees, hotel rooms with ocean views and postcards to make the friends back home drool with envy.

#But, recently, more and more people are packing their bags and getting back to nature and to tradition in Canada's north country.

The end result is still a vacation you won't soon forget and, of course, there's still the pictures and stories to make friends wish you had packed them in your bag and taken them with you.

Holiday. Vacation. The mere mention of the words conjures up images of white sandy beaches, palm trees, hotel rooms with ocean views and postcards to make the friends back home drool with envy.

#But, recently, more and more people are packing their bags and getting back to nature and to tradition in Canada's north country.

The end result is still a vacation you won't soon forget and, of course, there's still the pictures and stories to make friends wish you had packed them in your bag and taken them with you.

The sky is a light concrete grey, the water several shades darker. It's a day of steady drizzle and gusting winds. But Robin Greene is not inside his cozy home. His wife Kathleen sends a grand-daughter out to find him.

The sky is a light concrete grey, the water several shades darker. It's a day of steady drizzle and gusting winds. But Robin Greene is not inside his cozy home. His wife Kathleen sends a grand-daughter out to find him.

The sky is a light concrete grey, the water several shades darker. It's a day of steady drizzle and gusting winds. But Robin Greene is not inside his cozy home. His wife Kathleen sends a grand-daughter out to find him.

In wine-making circles, the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia is known as Napa North, after the famed wine-making Napa Valley in California. And one Aboriginal band is taking full opportunity of the fruit basket of Canada.

Visitors to the lush Okanagan Valley can stop at the Osoyoos First Nation and tour wine-making facilities and taste wine produced from the only Aboriginal-owned and operated wine-grape vineyard in Canada. Tours are scheduled every Monday to Friday between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. from May to August.

In wine-making circles, the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia is known as Napa North, after the famed wine-making Napa Valley in California. And one Aboriginal band is taking full opportunity of the fruit basket of Canada.

Visitors to the lush Okanagan Valley can stop at the Osoyoos First Nation and tour wine-making facilities and taste wine produced from the only Aboriginal-owned and operated wine-grape vineyard in Canada. Tours are scheduled every Monday to Friday between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. from May to August.

In wine-making circles, the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia is known as Napa North, after the famed wine-making Napa Valley in California. And one Aboriginal band is taking full opportunity of the fruit basket of Canada.

Visitors to the lush Okanagan Valley can stop at the Osoyoos First Nation and tour wine-making facilities and taste wine produced from the only Aboriginal-owned and operated wine-grape vineyard in Canada. Tours are scheduled every Monday to Friday between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. from May to August.

Organization seems to be the key for this year's National Aboriginal Day activities planned from coast to coast in mid-June.

This year's events are expected to draw more people, feature more culture and be better organized than previous attempts at celebrating this new, federal government-endorsed day of recognition.

While small communities, First Nations, Inuit communities and Metis settlements across the country may be planning their own events, the larger centres are planning large-scale activities for those who can't make it out to the rural areas.