by Julia Kuo I spent my childhood reading storybooks about places where the snow never melts and where huge beasts rule the land. Narnia’s centaurs and talking foxes filled my days with magic, but they existed firmly between the ends of these books. …

by Emily Dove As a freelance illustrator, naturalist, and dog owner, escaping my home office and exploring beautiful (and dog-friendly) hiking trails is high on my list. I’m lucky to live in Oakland California, which is home to incredible, diverse landscapes that I can reach in under 20 minutes. One…

Emily and I arrived in Banff National Park on January 31, 2017, just one day before the bison were airlifted into the park. After more than a century of absence from Banff, 16 plains bison were reintroduced by Parks Canada into a small lot on the eastern edge. The possibility…

Nestled in a valley of the snow-capped Canadian Rockies is the small town of Banff, a place where humans and wildlife coexist. Early in February, Julia and I had the opportunity to document our travels during a stay at The Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. Below are my observations from our wintry explorations, and my humble attempt at sharing Banff’s natural beauty with the rest of the world.

Welcome to Banff, Alberta / For two weeks, Emily and I lived out a fantasy winter life in the Canadian Rockies, hiking and drawing all day long, perpetually putting on all our winter gear, and sweating profusely whenever we got inside.

We have recorded three stories of our time at Banff National Park. We found that we couldn’t describe our experience in just one way, so we decided on a mix of nature observations, travel notes, and editorial — all with plenty of illustrations, of course!