Now in Edmonton, Alberta

Well, it has been a little more than a week since our last post, and we have to apologize. Getting reliable WIFI access is problematic, and as we chat, I am sitting in a scrungy used-to-be-a-cafe place at the worst RV park we have encountered since last winter in New Mexico. But that's okay; it just means we have been spending our time in all the fun places.

During the past week, we have traveled across Manitoba, Saskatchewan and now Alberta and will meet up with our Alaskan tour group next week. We have made it a point to check out some touristy places, but have also taken a couple of detours worth writing about. One of our favorite drives is the Qu'Appelle Valley, just south of Yorkton, SK. We had parked the motorhome so were driving a 3-hour detour to this wonderful little valley on a two-lane road. Dean remembered crossing through it on his way to see his grandparents when he was young, but had never had the chance to drive the length of it which we did. We've also enjoyed these bright yellow fields which have covered all the provinces we have been through so far. Turns out, it is Canola. That's right - Canada + oil is where the name comes from. They've had a lot of rain up here and things are either bright green or bright yellow. I'll try to attach a picture that aptly represents what we are seeing.

Other stops have included lovely provincial parks and a couple of musuems that were very interesting. We have tons of pictures but they would require way too much explanation. The one stop here in Edmonton that you HAVE to see is the "West Ed" or the West Edmonton Mall. It is the largest mall in the world and it has the largest waterpark in the world located inside of it. It has tons of kid-friendly play areas and attractions, let alone hundreds of stores. We walked for about 4 hours; only spent a fistful of bucks and had lunch there but seems like we probably missed a lot. It would be a destination for a week if you have kids. Even if you don't have kids; ya gotta go. It is just amazing.

We will close for now and hope you guys had a great 4th of July. We celebrated Canada Day with our friends up here, but it is just not quite the same. Talk to you next week!