Nova Scotia has long been a favorite escape for savvy Canadians and Europeans, yet few Americans live or retire in this secretive outpost. Why? Well, perhaps it's because Nova Scotia isn't a destination you stumble across by accident. Almost completely surrounded by water, it lies hidden between Atlantic Ocean, Bay of Fundy, Northumberland Strait, and Gulf of St. Lawrence.

Canada’s second-smallest province (21,425 square miles), Nova Scotia is about half size of Pennsylvania with a population of just under 1 million people. Its craggy 4,600-mile coastline is dotted with quaint fishing villages, lighthouses and working seaports. Over 3,800 islands lie off its shores (some are for sale); largest being Cape Breton, which is nearly a quarter size of mainland Nova Scotia. Most of Nova Scotia’s population is concentrated along coast. The largest city is capital, Halifax, in which about 40% of province’s population lives (much of interior is heavily forested and sparsely populated). The area's most famous part-time residents are Jack Nicholson, Demi Moore, Paul Simon, Billy Joel, Roger Moore, and Alan Arkin, all of whom have summer homes here.

Bryce is famous for its worldly unique geology, consisting of a series of horseshoe-shaped amphitheaters carved from eastern edge of Paunsaugunt Plateau in southern Utah. The erosional force of frost-wedging and dissolving power of rainwater has shaped colorful limestone rock of Claron Formation into bizarre shapes including slot canyons, windows, fins, and spires called "hoodoos." Tinted with colors too numerous and subtle to name, these whimsically arranged rocks create a wondrous landscape of mazes, offering some of most exciting and memorable walks and hikes imaginable.