Author Archives: Jennifer Smith Nelson

About Jennifer Smith Nelson

I am a freelance travel writer/blogger/photographer who is a sky lovin’, prairie wanderer at heart. I seek to explore, capture and promote the natural beauty of local and travelled destinations and share it with those who are curious to learn more.

Dispelling the stigma of a home spa experience

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Is there a stigma out there with visiting a home spa business? I am pretty sure most people are wary of home spas as one can really never know what they are going to get. But what if someone told you they had a really great experience at a home spa? Would you give it a try?

I am not really sure how home spa based businesses are perceived in the marketplace or if if they are even considered competition to trendy, state of the art spas. They may not be able to meet the complexity or variety of treatments high end spas offer, but are they worth a go for traditional treatments? I wanted to find out. Continue reading →

I kissed a fish and I liked it

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Is that wrong? Well, my lips didn’t actually make contact but it nearly did happen. This little dogfish was cute, at least in my eyes. So cute in fact that I promptly returned him back to his icy cool water. Just thought you might enjoy some insight into my crazy animal loving nature.

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The photo above was taken during my time discovering a beloved Saskatchewan pastime.

Saskatoon festival hotter than ever

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Saskatchewan seems to be on a hot streak with music festivals and events popping up province wide. Case and point this year’s recent Juno Awards in Regina and the upcoming slew of spring and summer festivals. But festivals like the Saskatoon Winter Meltdown Blues Festival which has been around for 11 years now, shows no sign of slowing down; in fact, the dynamic music event is hotter than ever.

Although this festival has passed the experience is still worth sharing and there are several reasons for keeping it top of mind for 2014. I had the great fortune of attending my first Blues Festival cabarets in early March. And, I can honestly say that as a result I am regretting the years past where I didn’t take time to appreciate a blues music festival, especially this one.

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Steve Strongman, 2013 Juno Award Winner (Blues Album of the Year) rocked the Odeon’s Cabaret stage in Saskatoon.

Continue reading →

Stepping in front of the camera for Uganda

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More coverage for Uganda! Although this was painful for me as I prefer to be behind the camera I lent my side of the story to Pink magazine for their April issue. Here you will get to learn a little bit more about me, how I got into storytelling and of course my great adventure in Uganda. Enjoy!

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Read the full story here: Cover story Pink.

Co-operating for change

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In my ongoing quest to share the story of how Ugandans lives are changing for the better as a result of the partnership between the Canadian Co-operative Association and the Ugandan Co-operative Alliance, I made this video.


I hope that it provides clarity on the purpose of our mission and just how much can be accomplished by communities when they work together within a credit union and/or co-operative.

5 lessons learned from spazzy travel incidents in Uganda

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Some of my experiences in Uganda are still to this day hard to describe. But simply put, it was an incredible adventure and one that left me wanting more. Uganda is extremely beautiful and the people and culture are truly inspiring. Moments like having a Nile Special on the Nile, enjoying freshly picked bananas and learning from the amazing people make up a few of the fond recollections I have.

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I enjoyed a few of these fine local beers.

But, beyond the beauty of the land, the incredible sound of children’s laughter and the many other great experiences, there were quite a few moments in Uganda I would rather forget. Or, in this case look back and laugh at. Oh well, lessons learned. Here are a few ‘funnies’ to share with you and proof as my husband would say that I have worked hard to earn the nickname “Spazzy McGoo”.

Lesson 1. If you have a squirrel sized bladder and are travelling the bumpy roads of rural northern Uganda for days on end don’t drink too much or learn to hold it!
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Event site aims to make finding city events easy

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I want to share a new event website with you that a local Reginan friend created and shared with me, www.canadalive.ca/.
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Right now the site which points users to events happening in their cities is currently up and running for Regina, Saskatoon and Calgary, with Edmonton coming next week.  An anticipated launch to other major Canadian cities is slated for later this year.

So why am I sharing this? Continue reading →

Remebering Waskesiu

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The trek up to Prince Albert Park to explore Waskesiu was a memorable one. As you will recall I blogged a while back about wolf trekking and dog sledding.This month’s article I wrote for Pink goes into more detail on how I went about finding winter in Waskesiu. And I sure did find it. It was -20 to -30 all weekend long! Read the full article here.

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The intention behind the travel spread I write for Pink (and for my blog in general) is to inspire exploration, whether that be in your own backyard or beyond. You won’t regret it.

Personally speaking, travel truly nurtures my soul and provides me with constant inspiration. I have also learned that travel with children proves not only to be fun, but such an amazing opportunity for little ones to learn.

Beyond sharing and writing about these experiences capturing them is a great way to look back and remember how much fun was had. If you are interested, I have  just posted more photos from the beautiful Waskesiu region on my Facebook page. Here is a sneak peek at one of the very lovable sled dogs from SunDogs.

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Always an opportunity for birding in Saskatchewan

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With over 350 species of birds, Saskatchewan is a solid destination for birding activities. That seems to be ringing true throughout the chilly winter months and is evident even in my backyard. As I learn more and more techniques for attracting certain types of birds into my yard, they seem to come a ‘flocking’. And they bring their friends.

I think I have even been able to get my neighbors on the bird train and there may even be some friendly competition going on for the most attractive yard for the feathery visitors.

At any given time I can see large families of sparrows can be spotted nestling contentedly in the pine tree; juncos cleaning up the fallen seeds in the snow; a downy woodpecker rapping on the maple tree; house finches hopping along the fence link; beautiful red polls who pose for me; and of course nuthatches and chickadees who have fierce speed competitions through the branches. Those are the most common yard visitors this year but certainly not the full extent. Winter birding in Saskatchewan has not disappointed.


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9 tips for the tube on the other side of the pond

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Navigating London underground

This post is not meant for seasoned travellers who have many times over had to discover how to figure out big city underground transport, nor those who live in cities with subway systems, but rather for those like me who are new to the game and may want some navigational pointers. As well, for us overly polite “sorry abusers” and space sensitive types (yes Canadians I am looking at you), this post should better prepare you.

This wasn’t my first subway. No, I was introduced to my first underground system in New York years ago, which admittedly I found quite simple. And this too was not a complex system to understand. But, I found there was definitely a protocol in London.

Below are tips based solely on my first time visit to London and how it could be made easier for new travellers to quickly acclimate to the tube system, with a few simple considerations.
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Continue reading →