Continuing exploring Alberta
Since the day we climbed Garibaldi, this was the first time we got to rest in a comfortable home. Edmonton has been surprisingly rainy but still welcoming. Two things I learned about Edmonton:
- There are highways everywhere and drivers are chill.
- There are two seasons in Edmonton: winter and construction.
At the Art Gallery of Alberta.
On a few separate days, we toured the Legislature, went to the Art Gallery of Alberta, walked along the North Saskatchewan River, met friends from UBC and NU, attended a show by the Royal Canadian Circus and went to THE mall. In case you didn’t know, Edmonton is home to the largest shopping mall in North America. This mall has everything, even a waterpark and a golf course, it’s ridiculous!
Just a ship at the West Edmonton Mall, nothing special…
From Edmonton we drove to Calgary. As both of us have been to Calgary in the past, our main destinations were the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller and Banff.
Surprisingly, the museum is open till 9 pm, so if you prefer to explore in more peace (that is with less children, and visitors in general), come later in the afternoon. The museum’s fossil collection from different eras is truly impressive and the giant original dinosaur skeletons left me in awe. We had a bit more time till the evening, so we drove up to see Drumheller Hoodoos, stone columns of various shapes, not too far away from the museum.
At the Royal Tyrell Museum.
A cute old couple at the Moraine Lake.
In Banff we went to the lakes that are not very accessible without a car (since last time we were car-less). We drove up and walked around Lake Louise and Moraine Lake. Having seen the Garibaldi lake and a few small lakes along that same hike, five lakes (named First to Fifth) in Jasper, Lake Louise and Moraine Lake, all within a couple of weeks, I felt like a true blue-lake specialist. I award a gold medal to Moraine Lake for being the bluest out of all blue lakes I’ve seen.
Me pretending to be Ashe, and Bob.
Although we didn’t exactly plan to be exploring Calgary, it happened that Calgary Stampede was happening at the time of our visit. We did not go to the shows but we did get a free stampede breakfast, caught a glimpse of the parade and got into the park for free (apparently, the admission is free for a few hours right after the parade on the first day). It reminded me of the Richmond Night Market, except grander, with more rides and mostly overpriced European fast food options. Here, please enjoy my terrificble photoshop skills as I imagine myself being Ashe (from Overwatch), leaning against the strong metallic body of my favorite omnic in the whole world, Bob.
The skyline of Calgary
Alberta was fun. Next stop - Winnipeg!