Favourites.....

We had a fantastic time in Alberta - every Canadian should visit and and experience the beauty of our Western lands - plus we have relatives here who are incredible!

Here is a collection of favourite moments, places, and experiences listed in no particular order.

Mikhaila

·         Seeing all the animals

·         Explorer activities

·         Hiking

·         Lighting the campfires

·         Making and eating s’mores

·         Sleeping in a tent

·         Uncle Stan’s house - wrestling with Josh and talking with Tasia - we like your hair!

·         Kitty

·         Glacier

·         West Edmonton Mall

Zoe

·         Seeing the Bears and Elk

·         The boat cruise

·         Uncle Stan’s house - playing with Rachel and sleeping in the guest rooms!

·         Kitty

·         S’mores

·         Sleeping in the tent

·         West Edmonton Mall water slide

·         Puppet Show at Fort Edmonton

·         Sleeping in the guest room at Uncle Stan’s house

·         Explorer activities and dogtags

Oliver

·         Eating Alberta steaks

·         Gondola Ride at Sulphur Mountain

·         Taking the snowcoach up to the Glacier

·         Camping at Jasper  - programs were great

·         Grizzly bear adventures

·         Seeing the beautiful vistas around every corner

·         Stan’s cool pop-up tent

·         Cooking over the open fire

·         Spending time with Papulkas and our family

·         Film at Fort Edmonton on the city’s history

Katina

·         Spending time with the Western Papulkas family

·         Fort Edmonton journey – great place to start the adventure

·         West Edmonton mall – so many fun things to do!

·         Jasper campgrounds

·         Geocaching

·         Seeing all the animals – bear accident was scary but memorable!

·         Glacier water – cold and refreshing

·         Campfires and S’mores

·         Hiking in the Rockies

·         Sharing our wonderful country with our kids

Last Moments....

This morning we woke up to cool mountain breezes so a fire was a must to keep us warm and feeling dry.  We packed up our gear and said thank you to the sky for holding back the rain.  We went into the city of Banff so the girls could get Banff dogtags for the Explorers program.  It was fun to see how the city has grown since we were here last.  It’s a beautiful and charming city that certainly caters to the tourist dollars while still having the outdoor rustic air to it all.

We’ve just driven through the downtown of Calgary to take a closer look at the Tower and some of the city sites. We should arrive in Edmonton in the late afternoon so we can prepare to fly tomorrow – we have lots of laundry to do!

Banff, Alberta

Today we were able to get up at a leisurely pace as we were staying for a couple of nights.  The weather has been great – although the forecast was calling for rain – we’ve only had a few drops here and there.

After roasting a few marshmallows for an after breakfast treat, (I know, I’m going soft in my old age), we headed off in the direction of Sulphur Springs Mountain to take a gondola ride and hike.  We saw some amazing storms happening in the mountains, but where we were was bright and sunny.

The ride of the gondola was about 10 minutes and our ears popped like crazy!  At the top we had an incredible view of the Rockies and Bow River, another turquoise body of water.  We hiked up to the weather station that Norman Bethune Sanson maintained for a number of years and along the way saw tonnes of chipmunks, squirrels an big horned mountain sheep.  There were also beautiful and tame birds  -Whiskey Jacks that loved to come and feed from the tourists.

Later on in the day we went for a boat ride on Lake Minniwanka.  It’s the largest lake in the national park – but was actually 3 separate lakes that were merged into one through some dams in the area.  We were able to enjoy some great views of the mountains, water, and all kinds of nature.  Our tour guide Tanya was great and shared lots of different stories about the spirits who lived in the mountains along with the lake monster – if you were fishing and didn’t make peace with the spirits, the lake monster would circle around your boat to create large waves and then pull you into the water by your feet.

Tanya was originally from Ontario but came to Banff for a vacation and has never returned.  It’s interesting as we’ve met a number of people who are not locals but just love the park so much – they now call it home.

We returned to our campsite for a nice relaxing evening around the campfire.  There was a chill in the air, but Oliver – the firemaster – did a great job keeping us warm.  After a healthy dinner, we were back to the S’Mores and our final bits of chocolate and gramham crackers.  There’s a quiet time curfew in place so all fires and conversations have to be out by 11:00.  The warden came around to enforce this curfew so it actually encouraged us to get to bed and have a good’s night rest.

Lake Louise, Alberta

We arrived at Lake Louise visitor centre and reported the accident to Parks Canada so they investigate it further.  Thanks goodness no people were hurt – we just hope the bear was okay too.  We drove up to the lake and just marveled at the beautiful colour of the water.  Mik found out that the reason the lake is turquoise is because the sun’s rays are bounced back by tiny particles of rock sediment in the water. The water was icy cold – but sooo stunning.  We hiked around the perimeter and just took in the scenery.  Oliver was happy it was too late to hike up to the tea houses; something we did last time we were here and he really didn’t want to do it again!  I told the girls when they are older and come out West again – hiking to the tea houses is a must!  The Fairmount Chateau Lake Louise is gorgeous and hopefully one day we’ll have a chance to stay there and just take in all the stunning exquisiteness of the area.  But for now, we will stay in the campgrounds and hike.

As we are driving towards our Tunnel campsite we’ve gone under a number of wildlife overpasses.  The park has built up overpasses strictly for animals to cross the road so that the chance of them getting hit by a car is less.  There are also underpasses – or tunnels underneath the roads so smaller animals can cross from one area to another.  According to the literature, Canada is a leader in wildlife protection so we hope it works out in favour of the animals.

Elk, Bears, and Squirrels oh my!

The wildlife has been amazing thus far.  We’ve seen over 40 elk and too many ground squirrels to count.  There are also marmots who stand tall at attention and then scamper into their holes when you get too close.  We’ve seen bears throughout our drive to Banff – even a mom and a cub – but we weren’t getting too close to them.  One time, a grizzly bear lumbered across the road in front of our car and then casually ate berries in the ditch.  We were the only ones around so we were able to sit in our car with the windows open and snap lots of great photos.

Scary Stuff…

As we continued our drive to Lake Louise – a bear ran out in front of the traffic…cars swerved to avoid it, but unfortunately, the bear was hit by a car and went up on the windshield.  It rolled off and then ran  into the bush. The car spun around and Oliver quickly braked and moved out of the way in case they came across and hit us.  Once everyone had stopped, we checked on the people in the car.  Luckily, nobody was hurt, but they were in total shock as were we.  From then on we all watched the road attentively and hoped the injured bear was not hurt too badly.

Icefields Parkway

The morning was beautiful – not a cloud in the sky.  Everyone kept telling us that it’s the best weather they’ve had all summer – so we’re pretty happy to hear news like that!

As we left the campgrounds to go to the city of Jasper we were lucky enough to pull over and see a bear feeding on some berries.  We were all super excited, but it wasn’t long before the Park Rangers asked the growing crowd to get back in the cars for the safety of everyone.

We did a quick tour through the city of Jasper and were pleasantly surprised by the growth and change since we were there back in 1999.  It’s nice to see franchises like McDonalds and Tim Hortons haven’t moved in and changed the culture of this rustic and beautiful city.

As we drove down the Icefields Parkway we played a Bingo game given to us by Parks Canada.  As we made our way South, we were able to mark things off like waterfalls, sedimentary rock, avalanche paths, mountains, wildlife, and of course glaciers.

We just returned from the Columbia Icefields – it was really cool, well actually cold!  Oliver and I had been there before but only to walk on the base of the glacier.  This time we decided to take the full tour and go up to the top of the icefield.  It was fun to ride on the Brewster buses that had wheels around 5 feet tall!  We could use snowtires like that for some of our winters.

At the top of the glacier, they let us out on the ice where we could walk around and take photos.  The water was beautiful and looked blue because of the refracted light.  Mik filled up our waterbottle with some of the glacier water – it tasted delicious but was extremely cold – teeth freeze!

We’re now on our way to Lake Louise and then for a couple of nights of camping in Banff.

Jasper, Alberta

Today we started our adventure to Jasper National Park– we tried to convince the others to join us camping – but no takers.  The ride was uneventful and we arrived in Jasper shortly after lunch.  We stayed at Whistler campground which, when at full capacity, can hold up to 3500 campers.  We had a beautiful site close to the comfort stations – so that was a huge plus! 

After we set up our campsite we went geocaching for a good part of the afternoon.  Parks Canada has a great program set up for kids and gave us a handheld GPS and the coordinates to find a number of different treasures.  The kids did a great job working together to find the caches.  Zoe loved to take charge of the GPS and Mik is strong at finding the boxes once we are in the area.  They don’t do the trading tokens in these caches as Parks Canada wants to make sure that everything is healthy for the national parks.  But we were happy to enter our information in the log books and let others know we found the treasures.

While on our search we met up with a park interpreter who took the time to explain all about the different horned animals that could be found in the Jasper park area.  From caribou, sheep, elk etc…there is lots to look for.  In fact, on our first day we saw 32 elk roaming through the campgrounds.  We could get within 2-3 metres, but supposedly in a months time they become more aggressive as it’s mating season.

In the evening we went to the park amphitheatre where the interpreters put on a show about poaching animals in a national park.  The show borrowed a lot from Highschool Musical – Zack Ephram, and the different characters on Miami and Las Vegas CSI.  It was good fun and showed how game wardens are tracking all of the animals with RFID tags which is a GPS device along with all the information about the animal.  The technology replaced tranquilizing and branding or tagging the animals.  It’s a little more than a bee sting to the animal.

With all the activities the kids did throughout our time at Jasper, they both received certificates and Jasper dogtags to indicate they were Young Explorers.  Supposedly every park in Canada is running this program – it’s fantastic for everyone to take part.  They had a special ceremony where they had to take an oath to protect nature in Canada and around the world.

Our night finished off with building forts, starting a fire, telling stories, roasting marshmallows and eating S’mores.  The night was chilly, but we were cozy with all the equipment from Stan and Eileen’s family.

Edmonton, Alberta

At the Papulkas ranch on Sunday, Stan and I went for a nice neighbourhood walk and to compare prices at the local grocery store.  The cost of living is quite high in Edmonton, although the gas is much cheaper in price.

We heard a lot about the Papulkas wall of fame from cousin Mike.  The legend says that when anyone visits the Western Papulkas clan their pictures go up on the wall.  Since only a select few have attempted this venture, there are pictures of jazz musicians waiting to be replaced by us better looking Papulkas’! I highly encourage you to come and become part of the legend!

Afterwards, we headed out to the West Edmonton Mall and were blown away by the sheer size of it.  Besides all of the stores, we couldn’t believe the fun things for people to do.  There’s a midway, skating rink, waterpark, and much more.  The girls decided on the waterpark so off we went.  I thought it was going to be like the splash pad at the Toronto Zoo, but it was way beyond that.  There was a huge wave pool, and tonnes of waterslides that twisted and turned.  Some were like funnels, while others were like corkscrews.  One of them had cars that went down a steep slide and drove on top of the water. It was a great afternoon of fun…the girls were exhausted but we didn’t leave until the last whistle blew.

Zoe had so much fun at the mall that she has decided to have her next birthday party there so everyone can go skating first and then on the midway afterwards.  She better start saving now!

Stan and Eileen prepared a beautiful dinner for us when we returned.  It was great to sit out on the patio and enjoy the fresh air and big beautiful yard.  Uncle Peter and Uncle Nick would be very impressed by Stan’s grass!  It was nice to relax with the family and chat about all the good times.  More people need to come out and visit….it’s a beautiful place for a vacation.  Great company and hospitality!  Thanks Stan, Eileen, Josh, Tasia, and Rachel – it was great to spend some time with all of you!  We hope to be able to do it again soon.

Emonton Alberta

Today Josh and I went running around the neighbourhood in the early morning.  There was a light misty rain which is perfect for a run - it felt good to stretch my legs after the flying.  Josh has long legs like a gazelle – but he’s very gracious and slowed down his pace so I could keep up - ahh youth!

Later on the whole group went to Fort Edmonton – it’s really cool place that tells the history of Edmonton.  It starts with the a fort used during the fur trade by the Hudson’s Bay Company and then walks you through a timeline of history and how the city changed.  We wandered through 1885, 1905, and the 1920’s.  It was really well done…it kind of reminded us of Avonlea in PEI.  There was even a real wedding taking place at the chapel and a reception at the Selkirk hotel for afterwards.  At the end there was a great movie in an old style cinema.  It was really interactive as there was snow (foam) that fell on us at appropriate times.  The film told the story of how Edmonton moved from the buffalo hunt, to the fur trade, and then how it became more of a settlement and city with ice hockey and shops etc….

Another neat special moment was one of Josh’s friends was an interpreter and played the role of a North Western Mounted Police officer – he was really great and gave us all the tips on the best places to visit.  He also helped us play the player piano.  The girls loved all the horses, the midway games of the 20’s and the Punch and Judy puppet show.

Later in the evening we went for dinner at the restaurant where Josh works called Formosa; it’s a really nice pizza place with a cool atmpsphere.  The food was great and we think it’s a place that would be great for Toronto.

Afterwards Stan and Eileen took us for a drive through downtown Edmonton to see the sites such as the Legislature, U of Alberta, Stan and Eileen’s work and many more.

For a fun treat we went to Marble Slab Creamery for ice cream where they mix ice cream with all sorts of toppings – the girls loved the experience.  We continued our walk around town through the club and theatre district – we couldn’t believe it when the Power Rangers showed up for a special appearance!  It was a cool night in Edmonton!

Edmonton Alberta

First impressions of Edmonton

Relaxed and open spaces – I started to take really big breaths and totally felt like I had started a vacation.  There is hardly any traffic and everything seems to go at a much slower pace than Toronto.  The temperatures are great and the air is so fresh…no pollution at least in this end of town.

Stan shared how each neighbourhood is designated to be within a walled community.  There are no gates or anything, but each section has their own colour of fencing and a management company takes care of all of the maintenance for that community.  I would compare it to something like the Guild in Scarborough.

Stan and Eileen’s house is huge – similar to Aunt Mary and Uncle Peter’s. 

Friday night we had a chance to experience some Western hospitality.  Stan and Eileen cooked up a treat while wearing their cowboy hats.  Our Alberta fantasy was coming true!  We enjoyed some Alberta steaks barbequed on the grill.  I never eat red meat, but I thoroughly enjoyed the treat – it was delicious!  Oliver was hoping I would take my usual 2 bites and then pass it on, but no such luck for him.  I finished it all by myself and it was worth every bite!