Day 28-33~ Alberta Part 2

 Day 28 – 31 ~ EDMONTON

Dave made an online appointment at two different Ford dealers in Spruce Grove. Unfortunately, the first available appointment for both places was on our last day in the Edmonton area. We tried calling this morning before leaving. No answer, but left a message. We will keep trying.

We will be in the Edmonton area for 4 nights and have plans for all 4 days. We will have to see what happens.

 July 9th: After 211 miles and 3.5 hours, we arrived at Diamond Grove RV Campground in Spruce Grove. This is a large campground with 240 sites. We are #143. Our site is spacious as we are on a curve and our space is fanned out. So, we are not too close to our neighbors. The whole campground is out in the open, so no shade. There are trees, but they are not grown yet. Lots of grass with a picnic table on a cement pad. There is no cable TV and the WiFi is weak.

Bam, bad luck #2: When we were centering our trailer on our site, the staff person that led us to our site pointed out the back tire on our trailer was out of alignment. Dave checked under the trailer and bam, the axle was badly bent. The same axle that we replaced 10 years ago. We called about 3 mobile repair services and left messages. One called back and said he is not equipped to repair axles and recommended a place who can. We called two places and left messages. It is a Saturday and the places are probably closed. So, we have to wait until Monday. ☹ ☹ ☹

After we set up camp we drove into Edmonton and looked for a place to eat at Edmonton Mall. I believe this mall is bigger than our Mall of America. There are 800 stores and 11 world-class attractions; ice skating rink, life size ship on a lake, aquarium, bumper cars, miniature golf, and so much more. You can get lost navigating this mall. Found a great place to have dinner.

Underneath the lake is an aquarium

         This pool has waves. It was closed when I took this    picture.

Yumm. Hard to resist. But we were on our way to dinner, so turned my back to it and walked away ...uggg

Bam, bad luck #3: The power was out when we returned to the trailer. Dave messed with the trailer circuit breaker and got the power back on. The next morning, the power was out again. Messed with the circuit breaker, power came on, then off, etc. We needed a new circuit breaker. Nearby was a Home Depot and a Lowes. Got a new breaker, problem solved. One down, two to go. Bad luck comes in 3’s. So, this is it. No more problems on this trip…please.

FORT EDMONTON HISTORICAL PARK

July 10th: This is a heritage park with recreated architecture from 1885 – 1920, plus a fort from 1846 and a street car and a steam train. It’s a living museum. There are supposed to be people in period costumes, but due to staff shortages, there were only a few. We spent the whole day here, but didn’t see the whole thing. There is a nature center next door. Didn’t have time to see that either. It was hot and we were stressed out.

                   Did you see Slowpoke??

While driving back to the trailer we passed an interesting sculpture near a highway overpass. It's called the Talus Dome. It's a pile of 1,000+ gigantic handcrafted stainless steel balls. Upon further research; it's fairly new, very expensive (public money) and evokes strong feelings of love and hatred. Two weeks after being set up, it was defaced (someone poured green paint on it). It's been compared to a bag of marbles, or a mound of rabbit poop. But it's probably the most exciting thing that's happened in Edmonton. It was designed by someone from Los Angeles. It is a "sculpture in the landscape and a mirror to the landscape". It caught my attention when we passed it. I found it different and fascinating.

July 11th: First thing in the morning we called City Spring and Axle and convinced them to just look at the trailer and advise us the next step. We packed up the trailer and towed it into Edmonton. We had two cars honking their horns at us, pointing to the trailer tire. When we got to the place, the tire was just hanging on and upon closer inspection, the axle was broken. That trailer was not going anywhere. City Spring sprung into action. Because we were traveling and actually living in the trailer, they accommodated us and promised to replace the axle today. In fact, this place also manufactures axles. So they can make an axle to fit right on the spot. No waiting for parts. They were very accommodating. 

We went to a nearby IHOP and had a leisurely, belated Sunday breakfast (on a Monday). We left the car running because we had Crystal (the cat) inside the car. We had to stay near the car and could not go to any attractions. We drove around until we found a small park. Parked in a shady spot, found a nearby bench and just relaxed and read. We returned to the axle place at around 4:00 and was told the bad news. They close at 4:30 and we're still not done. We will have to find a motel for the night. But wait! One employee was willing to do overtime to finish the job. Canadians are the best. That’s why we love Canada! We got them a $25 gift card from Tim Hortons (donut shop). We were told the staff loves donuts. This day was killed, but two down, one to go

July 12th: This morning Dave took the car to Zender Ford in Spruce Grove (where the campground is) to get the AC fixed. A shuttle took him back. Now we sit and wait.

The car was ready around 1:30. The shuttle picked him up and he was back in ½ an hour with the car. Now we have AC. Finally, all is well. And we are right on schedule. Tomorrow we leave for Jasper National Park.

UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA BOTANIC GARDEN

We still had time in the day to visit this botanical garden. This garden is open until 6pm and it is about 15 minutes down the road. It is senior day today, so all seniors get a free cup of coffee. Yep, hot coffee on an 86 degree day. It was free, so yeah, we had the coffee.

Day 32-33 ~ JASPER NATIONAL PARK 

July 13th: We got on the road and drove west to Jasper NP. The trailer rode smoothly. The back end is a bit higher than the front now. There was an adjustment needed with the new axle as it ended up rubbing against the sewage tank. And we had AC so we didn’t have to drive with all the windows open and our hair flying all over the place.

After 173 miles and 3 hours we arrived at Jasper Gates RV Park in Folding Mountain Village; about 2 miles from Jasper NP entrance, and about 35 miles from the town of Jasper.

This is a small, rustic campground with 75 sites in a forest. There is also a motel (they call it a resort) and cabins on the property. They are paving the road between the campground and the resort and cabins. So, there is machinery noise and the smell of tar. Our site is close to that road. Our site is also narrow with neighbors on both sides. And there is no TV and no WiFi at the site. You can get WiFi at the office though. We should have stayed at the KOA. But that is even further away from Jasper. We are only here for 2 nights.After we set up camp, we drove into the national park through some beautiful scenery and a herd of mountain sheep crossing the road. We saw the same herd at the same place on the way back. The town of Jasper is smaller than the town of Banff. It’s mostly restaurants and lots of tacky tourist shops. The view of the surrounding mountains from Jasper is not as spectacular as it is in Banff. We strolled the streets anyway just looking in windows. We had dinner at Earls, a restaurant franchise all over Canada that has good food.

            I left behind 2 "Cotati Rocks" that I found in Cotati.

July 14th: Today we had a long drive (about 100 miles) on Icefield Parkway, south into Jasper National Park. We made stops at Maligne Lake,  Athabasca Falls, Sunwapta Falls and ended the drive at Columbia Icefields. Another 100 miles beyond that you will reach Lake Louise, and further is Banff.

                      Icefield Parkway scenery.                                    

Mountain Sheep.  See the sheep below?

 

MALIGNE LAKE

 

We had a nice lunch on the outdoor patio at the "View". We had a beautiful view of the lake.

 

ATHABASCA FALLS

At 75.5 feet high, it is not the tallest waterfall, but it is one of most powerful due to the volume of water flowing into the gorge from the Athabasca River, fed by the massive Columbia Icefield. Views of the falls is a short walk from the parking lot.

Continuing on to the next falls, we viewed more beautiful scenery and saw wildlife.

Mountain Sheep

Black Bear

SUNWAPTA FALLS

These falls are a pair of waterfalls, fed into by the Sunwapta River. There is an upper fall and a lower fall. Viewing of the upper falls is a short walk from the parking lot. It’s a bit of hike to view the lower falls. We only saw the upper falls.

Dragon Peak

COLUMBIA ICEFIELDS

This icefield is the largest icefield in the Canadian Rockies, covering 89 square miles to a depth of 1,200 feet. There are several glaciers in this mountain range. Athabasca Glacier is the most famous and well-known as you can take a tour and actually walk on it. We’ve visited this site several times and it is always heartbreaking every time we visit. The Athabasca Glacier keeps receding. Soon it will totally disappear. Not in my lifetime, I hope.

In past visits we did the tour of Athabasca Glacier in an all-terrain vehicle that takes you right onto the glacier. This time we just viewed the icefield from the parking lot.

You can also view the glaciers and Sunwapta Valley from the Columbia Icefield Skywalk. It’s a glass-bottomed observation platform where you can see waterfalls and wildlife below. Nope, you will never see me on that platform. But it perfect for the brave thrill seekers.

Found some beautiful waterfalls at Tangle Creek on our way back to Jasper. 

Tomorrow, we leave Alberta and enter British Columbia again.