After taking Winnie for a run in a nearby dog park it was time to get out and explore Edmonton. One of my favorite ways to explore a city is to purposefully get lost, wandering about appreciating all the new things you haven’t seen before. I arrived in the city with no real location in mind to aim for, I chose to simply just drive about and see what I could find.
With such an open day I found myself in all sorts of random places, admiring buildings, finding the perfect lookouts which showcased the landscape, venturing across all sorts of bridges and getting into conversations with the locals. Many of the places I wanted to explore further but with Winnie accompanying me I was unable to do so. I decided to make a list of all the places I couldn’t see today such as the Royal Alberta Museum and the Muttart Conservatory, then went about finding a dog sitter to watch Winnie for the day tomorrow enabling me to take my time seeing all the places on my list tomorrow afternoon.
Having spent my afternoon exploring it was time to start heading out to meet a family friend I hadn’t seen in a long time. It’s always nice meeting people from the same home town and hearing what brought them out west, everyone has their own unique story that’s worth a listen. We chatted for hours, sharing all sorts of stories together, it turns out I probably skateboarded with her husband a few times back in Brantford. The sun had gone down and dusk was shedding its final remnants of light, it was time to bid my farewell. Cheers to you Natalie and Shane, you were great company.
I was back on the road heading to my campsite, as I drove along I couldn’t help but feel a bit lonely. You meet wonderful people as you travel and one of the hardest parts is saying goodbye, not knowing when/if you’ll see them again. I arrived back in camp and set up my tent in the moonlight, a friendly gesture by mother nature to illuminate my final workings before heading in and calling it a day.
