Edmonton

From Sudbury, we headed west and 8 days later we reached the capital of Alberta, Edmonton. Edmonton was another big city like Montreal and Halifax. Edmonton has a total population of 730,372 which is the fifth largest in Canada and a populaton density of 1,067/km².  I have been to and driven through many different ecozones, such as the Atlantic Maritime, Mixedwood Plains, and Boreal Shield, but Edmonton is located in one of the most peculiar eczones yet! Edmonton is located in the Prairies Ecozone, the land in Edmonton is flat and the soil is very fertile. Almost 95% of the Prairies Ecozone have been converted into farming, but despite the huge amounts of land for farming, most of the people in the Prairies live in urban areas like Edmonton. After we had checked into our hotel, we decided to have some fun and go to the West Edmonton Mall. The West Edmonton Mall was masssive! At the mall we separated and did our own things. My mom went on her own shopping spree, while my dad and I went to GalaxyLand, which was inside the mall. GalaxyLand was amazing! The roller coaster is a must, if you ever go to the West Edmonton Mall. We also went through the indoor Tropical Rainforest and we went bungee jumping! The tropical rainforest was very realistic and entertaining, but the bungee jumping was terrifying. Before we went to the West Edmonton Mall, I had never been bungee jumping before and I never had wanted to go bungee jumping, but my dad talked me into it. All my fears seemed to disapear once I got to the top, but as soon as I jumped, a cold chill went down my spine because I thought the cord had snapped. Once my horifying bungee jumping experience was over, we reunited with my mom and went back to our hotel. We could have spent days at the mall, but sadly we only had one.

After we had breakfeast the next day, we decided to spend the day at the Servus Heritage Festival. The  Servus Heritage Festival celebrates the many different cultures of the world and is exclusive to Edmonton.  The festival was amazing! I got to see many different performances, artwork, crafts and clothing. I also got to talk to many  people who told me stories about their cultral roots. The only bad part at the festival was the weather. The day we went to the festival it was 32°C and I was perspirating a lot! The summers in Edmonton are very dry and warm with the average temperature ranging from 20° to 25°, with some days reaching up to 30°+, like today. The winters are very cold with the average temperature around  -11°C. The Rocky Mountains to the west of Edmonton block most of the percipitation. Edmonton only recieves 447mm annually.

The next day we attempted to go camping in the nearby national park Elk Island National Park. My family has never been camping together and the only one of us who had been actually camping before was my dad. Unfortunatley for us, we only lasted a few hours because we forgot to bring sleeping bags. In the end, we drove back to Edmonton and we went to the Interlude Skin Care and Massage, which is the #1 tourist attraction in Edmonton. After we got massages, we went back to the hotel and went to sleep.

Today was our last day in Edmonton and we had not taken a tour of the city yet, so we decided to today. First, we went on the High level Bridge and StreetCar. We went over the river, which I felt like I was on a roller coaster. Also, I had a beautiful view of the city. Next, we went to the Old Strathcona Farmer's Market, where we feasted on Canadian grown vegetables, sausages and chocolate. The food was overpriced at the market, but enjoyable. I would have liked to go there again. While we were at the market, a surveyor came up to my parents and asked them on their opinoins about the a new oil refinery near Edmonton. I thought the situation was hilarious, since my parents are not residents from Edmonton. After my parents told them their opinoins on the refinery, I was intrigued to find that was the main industry in Edmonton. Edmonton has a wide variety of main employment centers. Edmonton is a staging point for large-scale oilsands projects occurring in Northern Alberta, large scale diamond mining operations in the North West Territories and also an educational center. After we were finish our tour of Edmonton, we had dinner and a movie at the Mayfield Dinner Theatre. After our dinner, we checked out of our hotel and headed for our final destination of Vancouver.