Wednesday, May 29

We got up early and found some WiFi at a Tim Horton’s. Bought some coffee to ease our guilt. We left Drumheller and headed on to Edmonton! But not before driving through and enjoing the local wildlife…

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We made a stop at Ponoka, AB for a farmers market, which ended up being a craft fair with folks selling Papmered Chef and many crocheted items. We were across the street from the Ponoka Stampede, a local rodeo site, but it was quiet so we moved on.

And then… Edmonton!

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Such a cool city! It is very much like Minneapolis, so Sarah felt right at home! Lots of biking, many Viatmese restaurants, ease of access to food, shoping and entertainment! We finally made it to our friends’ house and camped out front.

We spent the next three nights with them and had so much fun! Smiles, laughter, food, drink – amazing time spent!

Thursday, May 30

The fires made their presence known today. We awoke to a yellow haze and the smell of camp fire, which developed to a white dense fog of smoke limiting visibility to a block or two. Air quality was horrible and left a layer of ash all over the inside and outside of the rig. We stayed low key and just spent the time with our friends, most of the time in thier house for filtered air.

We had planned on moving on today, but we were enjoying our visit so much that we shifted our entire schedule by a week! This is actually better all around so we can travel a little slower and enjoy the trip. Ah… breathing room! Just don’t breath in the smoke…

See our other fire update here.

Friday, May 31

The smoke is still present, but not as bad as yesterday. Beyond that, another day of visiting and laughter. There may have been bubble tea and steaks at some point. We were told that we had to have Alberta beef, because those cows are all free range grass fed. And yes, they are happy cows! The steaks were amazing, and so was the company!

Again, we tried to move on, but nope. Not today!

Saturday, June 1

Slept in.

Drank coffee.

After that chaotic start, we got dressed and took a trip to the Edmonto zoo! A super nice zoo with great exhibits. They are currently doing a lot of updates and it is well worth the visit!

After the zoo, we finally said our tear filled goodbyes, packed up and moved 15 minutes away to a camp ground. We successfully avoided overstaying our welcome (always leave wanting more instead of wanting them to be gone) and let them get on with their own plans. We are stopped at Rainbow Valley Campground in Edmonton to catch our breath and recooperate a little. Sarah has been fighting with a sinus infection from the stress and fast food diet on the road, so a little respit is appreciated.