Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Operation Relocation - Day 5 - Saskatoon to Edmonton to Jasper
The original plan for today was to go to Edmonton and stay there for the night. You can see from our route today that we ended up in Jasper. I think this may have been the most eventful day of my life!
Once again, we spent most of our journey under clouds. As we continued driving we started to notice accumulated snow on the ground.
When we entered Edmonton, we proceeded directly to the Muttart Conservatory across the river from the central business district. I took a few pictures of the skyline and then we moved on to the Conservatory. It was divided into four separate pyramids including an arid climate, temperate, tropical, and one filled with blooms that change depended on the season.
From there we went straight to the West Edmonton Mall. There was a bit of construction but we figured things out and ended up there relatively problem free. It's definitely a large mall but neither one of us are mall people and we don't enjoy making purchases on a whim (excluding food of course). We didn't buy anything but walked all through the mall and took a bunch of pictures.
We had planned to stay at the mall all afternoon but left after a few hours. There was no point in wasting these extra hours so we decided to drive to Jasper City in Jasper National Park. This was definitely the right idea. We found a hotel for about $15 more and it has a pool and is surrounded by mountains! If it wasn't the off season, this room may have cost upwards of $200. Let's hear it for cheap off-season rooms!!
It's going down to -7C (19F) tonight so I had to bring in the plants. The morning glory seedlings are also doing well! Tomorrow there should be many more mountain pictures and this time with sun. We'll probably end up in Kamloops in the centre of the Rocky Mountains. I hope you enjoyed this post!
Bringing in the plants reminds me of driving home with my husband last fall from San Diego. I bought a ton of cacti and succulents, totally forgetting that we were going to Yosemite—in November! Some people didn't notice us hauling them up into the 100-year-old hotel, but a few did, and smiled. I love that about plant people. We are everywhere and no one knows! Good luck in the Rockies. When we crossed to Wyoming a few years ago by car from the West they were breathtaking.
ReplyDeleteI am so jealous! That road trip looks to be sooooo fun! I'd love to have an arid garden with cacti and such. I love the woman laying down, too. And, who puts a beach in the mall?! Looks pretty cool! I love driving thru mountains, but not in an 18 wheeler. I did that in the Sierra Nevadas with my brother. Breath-taking, but nerve wracking...especially in several feet of snow. I love morning glories. Are you gonna plant them when to get to the wild west? I'll be looking for your moon! LOL
ReplyDelete~Randy
Holy heck! You're still on the road??? I didn't realize you had such a long journey to take. Nice to see that you're taking in the sights though.
ReplyDelete@Ficurinia, It's good to know that I'm not alone. The Rockies were amazing. It was really odd. Some valleys had trees with leaves other only coniferous, some snow, some rain, some sun. The city of Kamloops has a Mediterranean like climate. It's almost a desert with dunes to the south.
ReplyDelete@Randy, I'm here!!!!!!!! The mountains were truly amazing. I'll keep the morning glories going for sure. I'm really tired and will try for the moon tomorrow.
@Thomas, We've finally arrived! It could have been done more quickly but we took the road trip route. Yeah!
Great scenic shots! I love the wildlife. Are they watching you or are you watching them?
ReplyDelete@Laura, A little of both. We ended up seeing deer, moose, foxes, wolves, bison, and mountain goats. I'm finally here!
ReplyDeleteLove the moss (?) lady!
ReplyDelete