So since we only had to drive 3 hours from Calgary to Edmonton, we got to sleep in. Curt’s idea of sleeping in and my idea of sleeping in are different. So I woke up at 0800, made my cup of tea and took Daisy out for a walk. (that is our routine). Curt finally rolled out of bed at 0900. We ate breakfast and packed up and we were still on the road by 1100.
I can’t believe how well Daisy has taken with our new nomadic life. She sits on “her seat” (the single seat behind me in the truck when we are driving in areas that we can put the windows down and then when she gets tired of that or the windows go up, she has lays down in her bed on the floor next to her chair. With the exception of our Playmate cooler, that has a stash of snacks and drinks, she has the whole back seat area to herself.
The drive to Edmonton was uneventful because I paid more attention to the GPS directions and refused to follow the directions that sent us into the city. We were not going to have a repeat of Calgary. I found some county roads that bypassed the city and got us into the Diamond Grove in Spruce Grove, just outside of Edmonton without any stress of traffic. The campground was well kept with a cement patio and large patch of soft green grass (may have been recently sodded/seeded), but there was not a tree in sight–so the sun just beat down on us. We always seem to face the wrong way and get afternoon sun. And with the long days, it makes it hard to enjoy the outdoors with the high temperatures. The one good thing about this campground was the adjacent city off leash dog park. Daisy is usually a little skittish at dog parks, but she was quite bold and went up to quite a few dogs to say hello, played and ran around with them. By the end of our stay she had enough of that and made her high part of the dog park laying down and rubbing in the grass.
Setting up the camper at a new spot has become a well-oiled machine we can knock it out in about 10 minutes for an overnight stay and about 15 for a long-term stay. It of course did not start out that way. We had a few disagreements early on, but we worked it all out. We work together, Curt does one thing, I do the another. Once the slides come out after all the outdoor hookups are completed, we hit a button and the camper levels itself. This is the best part of this new camper, no more cranking down the levelers, it is now all automatic. It takes all of 5 minutes! We then both jump in the camper and take out the cooler and grill. Lay down the area rugs that makes it more comfortable for Daisy, who doesn’t like to walk on the floors. Turn on the ice machine and air condition and we are good to go!
After set up and taking Daisy for a walk to the dog park, we settled her in a cool camper and we headed out to see the Largest Mall in North America– West Edmonton Mall. It was a short ride down the highway from the campground. By this time we were very hungry and were looking for a place to eat. There were many restaurants to choose from but most were crowded and loud. We were looking for a place that was a little quieter, and not too expensive. We chose a bar and grill called Hudson’s at the end of the hall where there were lots of other choices. We lucked out with happy hour choices and some really good halibut and chips.
After dinner we checked out the Mall:
An Aquarium complete with a sea lion show, and of course a huge cinema with IMAX.
Well we can now say that we have been here. Check that box. The next day we headed to Fort Edmonton.
Fort Edmonton was a living history park, reminded me of Old Williamsburg, where volunteers dressed in period costumes walked around and told their stories.
The Park is divided into four distinct Eras:
· The Fur Trading Era as represented by the Hudson Bay Company Trading Fort (circa 1846)
· The Settlement Era as depicted on 1885 Street
· The Municipal Era (post railway) brought to life on 1905 Street
· The Metropolitan Era portrayed on 1920 Street and the Johnny J Jones Midway
We started by riding a trolley car back to the 1885, then walked further back in time to 1840 to tour the fort. Not a military fort, but a fur trading fort. We were brought back to present day when we had to evacuate the fort because the fire alarms were sounded. It took about 30 minutes of standing outside for the fire department of 2017 to decide the alarm was a false alarm and all was clear to re-enter the fort to finish exploring 1846. One of the fur traders stayed in character and did his best to entertain us during the delay.
We then strolled over to 1885 and explored farms, houses and businesses. One gentleman was cooking bacon on his grill right outside his covered wagon. He invited us to breakfast, but we passed on this. The farm has hogs and sheep and reminded us of our good friends Chris and Jason and their farm. We also took a horse and carriage drive around the city, an aromatic and bumpy journey!!
Next we headed to 1905 where we stopped at a hotel and found a bar, of course, and had ourselves and adult beverage…period martinis. It was nice to sit in the air conditioning. It was a long hot day and those costumes were all made of wool, so I knew the volunteers had to be hot! Most of the stores sold goods that looked like antiques that belonged to that year (or so I would assume) and they also sold lots of candy!!
In 1920 we also visited the County Fair and Midway.
We did the funhouse, train ride and Ferris Wheel, but then Curt dragged me onto the Swings. Used to like swings back when I was younger and rode them on the Wildwood Boardwalk; but not today, they turned me “green”. Good thing we saved that til last. Because after that I was done!!! Time to go home.
So back to the car and the Air Conditioner blasting, I was revived a bit. So feeling a little better, we headed to the Beer Hunter, a sports bar for early dinner/happy hour. The waitress gave us the best service ever! She had several tables, but was very attentive to keep our food coming (we had several different appetizers) and of course the beer (for Curt) and the wine (for me). So checking out at the restaurants in Canada are a bit different than in the states. They bring this machine to you to swipe your card and add your tip. So you have to look them right in the eye when you hand the machine back to them for them to complete the transaction. I am sure this gets them better tips. They say it is safer as you always keep control of your credit card.
The next day is supposed to be a rest and relaxation day. We headed home and watched TV for a relaxing night. TV, that is a funny thing. None of the campgrounds have cable and most have limited internet, so even though we upgraded before our trip to unlimited data (Don’t tell Malissa and Justin), we still have trouble getting Netflix using our data. So we usually have to watch either PBS, Fox, ABC, CBS or NBC, so normally have 4-6 channels at the most. But in Canada there are usually only 3 stations, so we didn’t do a lot of TV watching. Curt plays his games on his ipad and I read a book.
So after sleeping in til 0830 for me (that’s really late for me!) the next morning, Daisy and I head down to the dog park and walk around, then come back to sit outside and read my book. It is nice to sit out in the morning as we get morning shade. Curt finally rolls out of bed around 1000 and decides he is going to make breakfast: bacon and egg sandwich. After that we decide to head downtown to ride the street cars, (no it wasn’t named desire). It was a short ride downtown we thought until we couldn’t find the place. After some googling and research, we headed down to the other end of the track and found it. We were a little bit early so we strolled around Old Strathcona, a cute little neighborhood with some cute stores and cafes. We eyed a Starbucks and ordered super large (larger than venti) Shaken Lemon Iced Tea to split. It’s nice to have something familiar once in a while. Our first Starbucks since Banff.
The streetcar came along in about 30 minutes and by the time we walked around the block exploring Old Strathcona sipping our Iced Tea, there was a crowd of folks waiting for the streetcar under the shade of a building since there was nowhere to sit. Not afraid to stand in the sun, I went and stood in line by the sign and we were the second group on. The High Level Street Car takes you from the heart of Old Strathcona and downtown Edmonton across the world’s highest streetcar river crossing. The streetcars are owned, operated and maintained by volunteer members of the Edmonton Radial Railway Society.
This mural was right where we got on the Streetcar. I thought this was a cool picture.
View from the bridge of downtown Edmonton
View of the new bridge they were building next to the street car bridge. The street car bridge was on top and the cars drove under the bridge. Sorry, didn’t get a picture of the bridge we were riding on.
It was a nice ride and an easy ride back to the campground, for our relaxing day. Salads for dinner!
Leaving for Malmstrom tomorrow with a stop on the way.