From Prairies to Peaks: Alberta's Wild Rose Personality

 

Our first trip through Alberta three years ago? Let’s just say it was more of a scenic flirtation than a proper visit. Sure, we marveled at its majestic Banff and Jasper National Parks, but we barely scratched the surface of the rest of the province. We totally missed out on its prairie roots, agricultural spirit, and buzzing city life. This time, true to what Alberta’s license plates promise, we came to experience its full ...

“Wild Rose” Personality.

From prairie plains to mountain peaks, Alberta is colorful and hardy. Like the wild roses that adorn the countryside, Alberta's charm and resilience shines through no matter what nature throws its way ... be it blizzards, heatwaves, or wildfires.

Lloydminster, Saskatchewan and Alberta

... depending on which side of the main street you live on.

It was kind of confusing when we entered the town of Lloydminster on the Saskatchewan side and soon found ourselves in Alberta. It happens that the city of Lloydminster was established long before the provincial boundaries were formed. When it was decided that the 4th Meridian would be the new border between the two provinces, the citizens of Lloydminster had to figure out what to do when the border ran right down the main street in town. Today they have a shared city government, but they each follow their own provincial laws depending on what side of the road they live on. Thankfully they did decide to follow Alberta's time zone, because there is a time zone change (from central to mountain time) at Alberta's eastern border.

Our overnight Harvest Host stay at 4th Meridian Brewing had my chauffeur smiling with delight as he enjoyed a tasty IPA along with some very good sushi. Canada's international personality and culinary talents shine through even in its small and remote communities.

Elk Island National Park

Our next destination was one of Canada's smallest national parks that plays a big part in wildlife conservation. Elk Island National Park is famous for saving the plains bison from extinction and helping to reintroduce them to the wild in other areas of North America. While the entire national park is fenced in order to help encourage the successful growth of the bison herd, it didn't take away from the natural beauty that we found there.

Astontin Lake lies in the middle of the national park, and is a haven for frolicking wildlife and vacationing humans.

As we walked across the Living Water Boardwalk, we enjoyed watching a hungry beaver chow down on his tree bark dinner.

Despite a few trips around the Bison Loop, we only caught a distant glance at these giant prairie icons. But a hike on the Beaver Trail showed us the handy work of some timber-chewing creatures ... and reminded us of why our friends that have lake cabins don't appreciate "Mr Beaver's" tree trimming skills.

Edmonton

As we continued across Alberta’s plains, we noticed the familiar grain storage bins gradually give way to oil storage tanks.

While Edmonton is a major hub for Alberta's oil and gas industry, it was the city’s sprawling urban green spaces that left the biggest impression on us.

The Edmonton River Valley urban parkland adorns both sides of the North Saskatchewan River and boasts of being 22 times the size of New York's Central Park. Many kilometers of walking and bike trails as well as gardens and parks welcome Edmonton's hardy citizens to embrace the great outdoors no matter what the season.

Situated on the east side of the river, Muttart Conservatory and Gardens was where I found my "happy place".

As I wandered through the four different pyramid sections, I was drawn into the beauty and serenity of ...

The arid biome

with its blooming cacti.

The temperate biome

 with its flowing water and wide range of colorful and familiar blossoms.

The tropical biome

whose flowers and plants brought back fond memories of our travels to the tropical forests of Colombia, South America.

And the frequently changing but ever so special ...

"Special" exhibit biome

which currently is geared toward the blooming imaginations of all the children that will be visiting during the upcoming summer months. 

Of course, the other "obvious" reasons to visit Edmonton included ...

another provincial legislative building photo op,

craft brewery visit #700,

a desire to check out Minnesota's Mall of America's "rival" ... the West Edmonton Mall with its amusement park, skating rink, water park, and around 800 stores, services, and restaurants,

and to experience one of the reasons Edmonton is known as the "Festival City".

The music was lively, and the empanadas were delicious at the Latino-themed Edmonton Carnival that took place at a community center near our boondocking spot.

Alberta's Agricultural Scene

After leaving Edmonton, we had the pleasure of spending the night at a very memorable Harvest Host location.

Cory and his family allowed us to camp under the shadow of their giant storage bins on their 3000 acre dairy, grain, potato, sod, and strawberry farm. And much to my delight, the strawberries were at their peak, and I was able to pick my own.

Doug had his doubts that I could find room to store my five pounds of sweet berry delight, but I accepted the challenge. Let’s just say short-term storage wasn’t a problem ... they disappeared fast!

Jasper National Park

Last summer we were saddened to hear about the wildfires that had destroyed a significant portion of one of the gems of Alberta ... Jasper National Park. But we were also encouraged to hear that they were making great strides towards recovery. So we heeded the call of the mountains and, along with our tourist dollars, headed to Jasper.

And while it was sad to see so many acres had burned,

and portions of the townsite were gone,

there were also signs of community recovery as they warmly welcomed back the tourists with a lively Canada Day parade.

 At the foot of the charred landscape, delicate flowers and a blanket of green plants are emerging,

and the Canadian Rockies rising in the distance seem to shine just as magnificently as we remember.

While the town of Jasper and its surrounding area were hit hard by wildfires, other areas of this vast national park remain as breathtaking as ever.

We enjoyed hikes and scenic parking spots along Pyramid Lake and the Sunwapta River.

Glacial runoff provided a magnificent show of force at Sunwapta Falls.

And a drive up the ultra-scenic Icefield Highway led us to the spectacular Columbia Icefield where we got to experience what it is like to walk on a glacier

and sleep in its shadow.

During our travels around Alberta, Canada, we saw that ...

from its sweeping prairies,

to its towering peaks,

Alberta's Wild Rose personality

is as diverse as it is resilient, 

and it invites everyone to come explore, connect, and be in awe of nature's beauty.

Saskatchewan: Land of Living Skies

As we crossed into our final "new to us" Canadian province, I knew that I would have a heck of a time learning to spell it correctly. But it didn’t take us long to understand the meaning behind the motto that is stamped on every license plate. With puffs of cotton candy clouds dancing across the deep blue horizon, Saskatchewan truly is ...

The land of the living skies!

And as we drove on, we figured that the animated celestial scenery would have to make up for the miles and miles of flat grasslands that lay before us, but we were happily mistaken.

From rugged badlands that looked like they could serve as a western movie set,

... to neon yellow-green fields of canola so bright they could double as highlighters,

... to glistening lakes that provide refuge to a diverse wildlife population,

... to birch forests that house a magnificent chorus of songbirds,

Saskatchewan’s living skies, shining over its ever-changing landscape, has a way of reviving even the weariest highway traveler and encourages them to discover some of central Canada's hidden gems.

Regina, Saskatchewan

Our first stop was Regina, Saskatchewan's provincial capital and major cultural/economic hub.

Highlights included:

 ... another legislative building photo op

 and a stroll through the beautiful gardens that surround it,

... a beautiful walk through a section of Wascana Centre, an urban park and lake in the center of town that boasts of being three times the size of New York City's Central Park,

 providing many cultural and recreational opportunities.

... a rainy day visit to the Royal Saskatchewan Museum, home of Scotty, the largest and most complete T-Rex skeleton ever found, 

as well as a fascinating lesson of Saskatchewan's Indigenous history and culture.

... and a pick of local craft breweries,

as well as an overnight stay at a garden center and farm just outside of town that served as a Harvest Host. 

Grasslands National Park

After Regina, we ventured south to check out the only place in Canada where bison can still be found in the wild ... Grasslands National Park.

Grasslands National Park lies just 20 miles north of the United States border, and the landscape was similar to the arid, windy, and hot environment that can be in the western Dakotas and eastern Montana. The huge park actually has two separate areas,

the East Block with its impressive badlands,

and the West Block where its grasslands and valleys are home to bison and prairie dogs.

We spent one day in each "block". A paved park road led us through the badlands of the eastern block, and it was nice to sit a spell and admire the landscape.

A hike on the Old Wagon Trail

... rewarded us with up close peeks of prairie treasures,

... and a beautiful sunset view.

 Unfortunately, rain prevented us from venturing into the section of the park where a herd of about 300 bison roamed freely.

This is as good of a photo op as I got.

Fun Fact: Grasslands National Park boasts of having 69 different kinds of grasses. Imagine having the job of figuring that out! The one grass that I actually thought was kind of pretty, the crested wheat-grass, is actually considered invasive.

We spent the rainy day in the small village of Val Marie that lies at the western entrance of the park. A walk around town revealed the stately structures that remind us of the importance of agriculture in this province.

Prince Albert National Park

After our dip into southern Saskatchewan, it was time to head north to an area that was reminiscent of our beloved lakes and forest area of northern Minnesota.

Prince Albert National Park, located four hours north of Grasslands, is where the prairies give way to boreal forests and glacial-formed lakes.

Like many of the Canadian national parks that we have visited, this national park has a small townsite (village) located in the southern part of the park. Here one can find many of the services that make it easy for tourists to come relax and enjoy the beautiful sights that surround them. Because so many lodging options, gift shops, and restaurants are found in this and many other national park towns, Canadian national parks seem (to us) to have more of a "resort" feeling than their counterparts in the United States.

We stayed just outside of town in the national park's Red Deer Campground. Once again, we found these national park campgrounds to be quite different from the ones found in the US national parks. While campgrounds in US national parks most often have minimal services available, all these sites were full hook-up on a large, wooded site with modern bathrooms and showers nearby. To sweeten the deal even more, Parks Canada is waving the entrance fees to their national parks and giving a 25% discount on campsites from now until the end of August.

So this beautiful "home" with everything a van dweller could need, cost us only $22/night (USD),

 

... and it was only a 15 minute walk into Waskesiu for Doug's morning latte fix and an evening ice cream treat. Nothing says "summer in Canada" quite like enjoying ice cream while wearing our winter jackets, eh?

We enjoyed the "up North" vibes during hikes along a river trail, through the boreal forests, and on a boardwalk over a sensitive bog area,

... where a variety of dainty treasures were just waiting to be admired.

While the wild life was playing "hard to get" on the trails, they seemed happy to greet us as we walked around our campsite and into town.

A few elk even joined us for lunch when we were parked by the lake.

Sure, Saskatchewan might look a little plain at first, but give it a minute. There are hidden gems everywhere and

living skies

that turn the grasslands, forests, and lakes into a front-row seat for nature’s ever-changing light show.