We have really enjoyed BC and Dawson Creek was definitely a highlight of the trip. As it is right on the border with Alberta, we hopped onto Hwy 2 East and headed out through Pouce Coupe (remember it?) for our first stop in Fox Creek about 200 miles away. At the border the road changed to Alberta Hwy 43 and would be the route all the way to Edmonton.
My notes about the RV park in Fox Creek said, “first come, first served” and call ahead. We had called several times and were always told to call back the day before. They said don’t worry there is plenty of room. But when we actually arrived, they only had overflow pads with no hookups. Ugh!
Because of the time zone change at the border, it was now already 3:00. Our planned stop for the next day was about 180 more miles. But we still called to see if we could check in a day early and were told to “come on down”! So, we did. That would make it a 380 mile trip and the longest one day drive for us to date. It was a good time for Gail to do her annual driving. She took the wheel for almost 2 hours to give me a little break. (We have a few more long drives, so she might get to drive again.)
There was no real reason to stop anyway. The landscape had changed to almost 100% farming with huge fields of Canola, wheat, alfalfa, and other crops that all looked about the same. So, for another 4 hours, we passed more and more fields! The canola is very impressive to me. Especially when the sun is shining at the right angle, the fields are just a brilliant yellow as far as you can see. We had experienced this last year and now we were back driving across the prairie seeing them again!
The town we were staying in was Leduc, AB, just south of Edmonton and near the airport. The reason we picked that RV park was that we had planned to fly back to Miami for 10 days at this time, but the schedule got changed. We switched the flight departure to Saskatoon but didn’t change the RV park. However, it was a good KOA park and right on the main highway into downtown Edmonton. Just a bit longer drive.
We had a free day since we had driven two days’ worth yesterday, so we slept late, did laundry, did some maintenance (or tried), went shopping for something to complete the maintenance, got the Jeep washed AGAIN, and a few other things.
The next morning, we finished our projects and headed downtown to be touristy! We parked in a lot by the Marriot that was just a block away from the famous Fairmont Hotel. Gail’s brother and his wife had just been in Edmonton and stayed at the Fairmont, so it was fun to see it in person. It sits on a hill looking to the south over the North Saskatchewan River and the multiple bridges that cross it!
There is a free (yes, free!) funicular (an outdoor, glass elevator on an angle) that takes you down the hill to the Frederick G. Todd Lookout platform and a closer view of the river. After some quick photos and thanks to the funicular to take us back up, we began a walk around town.
The Taste of Edmonton food fair was happening in Churchill Square which blocked off several streets. And it was very busy with long waiting lines for a Wednesday at lunch time. So, we skipped the food and continued our walk around the city hall area. Unfortunately, there was a lot of construction, barricades, and noise. We did make it into the Citadel Theater to see its indoor garden. And we saw the CN Tower, Royal Alberta Museum, and Art Gallery of Alberta but just didn’t go inside. But we did make time to stop at Fawkes Coffee for an unusual BLT on focaccia in an old refurbished historic building that started out as a Saddle Company!
We also made it to the Alberta Legislature Building and got there just in time to go in the last tour group. There was no session, so we had a quiet and quick tour of the chamber and the floors surrounding the rotunda. It is very similar to another government building we toured in Regina with a lot of larger pictures of the past key representatives and leaders hanging outside the chambers. Interestingly, like in Regina, there is only one chamber with movable desks. One side is the majority party, and the other is the minority. And they move the desks around as things change. In fact, there is only one member of the third party, and his desk is separated from all the others!
Made it back to the car and got into the afternoon rush hour traffic leaving town! Haven’t seen this for some time. But got back to Leduc, stopped for some groceries and gas and headed back to The Boat!
The next morning and to miss the traffic, hopefully, we waited a bit longer to go back into downtown to the Muttart Conservatory. This indoor garden is comprised of 4 glass pyramids which house thousands of species of plants. Each of the main 3 pyramids represents the different biomes of the world: Tropical, Temperate and Arid. The 4th one houses a special exhibit which is changed during the year. While we were there the theme displayed was Winnie the Pooh and friends in the Hundred Acre Wood. We started at the Tropical pyramid which of course reminds us of home. We have a number of these plants in our tiny yard at home. Then the Arid, which with my Texas roots is always interesting. The Temperate is also very lush and has more flowering plants than the tropical one. Winnie the Pooh display was quite fun and colorful with yellow and orange flowers throughout and topiaries of some of the characters. And of course there were lots of bee hives throughout. (Sorry for so many pictures – Gail just wanted to share them)
It was a very enjoyable few hours. Gail got some ideas of more plants to get for our own Tropical garden when we get home!
On the way “home”, we stopped in a suburb called Old Strathcona to visit the Farmers Market but it was not open on Thursdays. Historically it was a town across the river from Edmonton in the late 1800’s but was incorporated it the larger city in 1907. The old buildings still exhibit the charm of the old city. So, we walked down Whyte Ave, the main street, and then back to the RV and a quiet afternoon.
We packed up and left the next morning headed to Saskatchewan with two stops planned along the way. The first was just about 20 miles east of the loop at Elk Island National Park to see its famous buffalo herds. Founded in 1906, it was first wildlife refuge in Canada and home to a large herd of elk. The park purchased one of the last herds of plains bison in 1907 and moved them to the park. They also purchased a herd of wood bison in 1965 but keep them separated in the park. Historically, they provide buffalo to other parks in Canada, the US and even countries like Russia.
We got a map, unhooked the Jeep, took off the tops, and headed out on the plains buffalo side of the park. Almost immediately there was one “posing” for the cameras along the road and several more in the distance. Gail used the no-top access to stand up in the Jeep and take some photos! We drove on to the north end of the park and went on a walk to see Astotin Lake. Didn’t see much wildlife but a few ducks paddling around!
Back on the road we came across two more groups of the buffalo. One group on the parking lot and one along the road. We pulled into another area that was supposed to have a view. No animals and not much of a view, but we did find 2 of the Red Chairs. These are what we would call Adirondack chairs in the US vs the Muskoka chair in Canada. They both derive from the same origin and design. And the National Parks place them in out-of-the-way places with scenic views! We saw them back in Newfoundland as well.
On the way to the visitor center one guy was just moseying down the road as we passed! He didn’t even wink as we went by. But this was our first encounter close up with one.
Back to the RV and hooked up, we headed to our last stop in Vegreville to see the giant Ukrainian Easter egg or a Pysanka. FYI, a Pysanka is egg shaped in a complicated jigsaw puzzle containing 524-star patterns, 2,208 equilateral triangles, 3,512 visible facets, 6,978 nuts and bolts, and 177 internal struts. This one measures 25.7 feet long, 18 feet wide, and stands 31 feet high. And was installed in Vegreville in 1973 to commemorate the Royal Canadian Mounted Police 100-year anniversary and the Ukrainian heritage of the area. It is pretty much a “must see” attraction along this part of the trip.
We continued on Hwy 16 east to Lloydminster, AB, and the Saskatchewan border. And this is a good place to end this blog. A quick note though as we thought we would also change time zone but Saskatchewan had a no daylight-saving time change policy and so it is the same as Alberta this time of year! So, let’s see what else they might have in common. Follow along in the next adventure!
Grove Yacht 