What a completely packed and yet incredible day! I awoke to what felt like a sauna, though still fairly early the sun was beating down relentlessly on my tent, a fiery motivator to get up and start the day. My first initial stop was a doggy day care center where I dropped Winnie off in the morning before venturing downtown.
I started my tour with the Royal Alberta Museum, a place I walked about for hours, with so much to see it would’ve been easy to spend an entire day there. They had a special exhibit on vikings which was quite interesting, all sorts of items from swords and armor to boats and fancy gold ornaments, there was enough content to keep oneself entertained for hours.
The next exhibit was human history, it had a surprising amount of war displays, showcasing a range of weapons, uniforms and medallions. Mixed in with all this was a blend of native culture, with it’s intricate artwork ranging from colorful clothing to towering totem poles.
I walked into the final exhibit, natural history. This was my favorite area by far, displaying all sorts of wonderful things from the various gems and rocks found in the earth to fossils and preserved animals in creatively artistic poses. I could have spent my entire day analyzing all the rocks and minerals, the gemstones alone were enough to draw me in for countless hours.
As much as I wanted to stay longer I realized my parking was about to expire, with much of the day still ahead of me I decided to bid a farewell and take a journey to my next destination, the Muttart Conservatory. Upon arriving I noticed there were construction gates around the entrance, curious I asked a man standing nearby, he informed me that they’d closed down for heavy construction starting just 11 days ago, darn! Already being there I decided I’d take pictures of the buildings outside and try to peer through the glass as much as I could to view the various plants that grew about. I ended up meeting a pretty friendly man named Will that was doing a personal training video on the terrace and soon found myself in a great conversation, ah the wonderful strangers you encounter. It was time to bid farewell, we said our goodbyes and I was off to the next spot on my list.
It wasn’t long before I arrived at the West Edmonton Mall, my dear friend Danny had recommended this place and I took him up on it, what an immensely fascinating building it turned out to be! The amount of attractions was staggering, it had an ice rink, wave pool with massive winding slides, pirate ship, it even had a sizable theme park equipped with some pretty epic roller coasters that weaved throughout the area. I was fascinated by the mind-boggling amount of attractions spread throughout the shopping center, it was as though someone got the idea to not only raise the bar, but to put it on a rocket ship and send it to the moon.
I looked at my phone and realized time was flying by, it was time to leave the mall and go pick up Winnie. I arrived back at Waggytails where they shared with me the stories of Winnie having the time of her life playing with all the other puppies, a complete social magnet. They brought her out to see me and she went crazy with excitement, hopping all over the place with exuberant joy.
I wanted to get a little closer to Jasper for tomorrow so I started venturing west towards a campground two hours away. Rain clouds were gathering in the distance with an occasional light shower as the sun shone brightly, I found myself eagerly investigating the surroundings for rainbows, I wasn’t disappointed, I looked out my car window and I could hardly believe what I was seeing, it was a triple rainbow! Immediately I found the quickest road I could turn down to fly my drone. When I was able to get in the air one of the rainbows had already disappeared but I was still able to capture the double rainbow.
The rest of the way to camp was a wonderful experience, I kept randomly bursting into a joyful laughter as I thought about the sight I had seen, as though God himself had blessed me with seeing such a rare natural display of vibrant colors bursting fourth from the darkened clouds. I arrived in camp a bit later than I had planned but the lady at the desk had been kind enough to wait for me, filling the last spot they had available. What will tomorrow bring I wonder? I find myself going to bed with eager anticipation.
So glad you enjoyed your day. And that Winnie had so much fun at daycare! I enjoyed meeting her (I work at Waggytails), she is a sweet girl!
I look forward to reading all about your adventures!
Love sharing your adventure with Winnie.