Rob-n-Hild, oot and aboot eh? Sorry - 2022
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Edmonton |
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After most of yesterday spent working we were ready for some exercise
again today. Mary Jane had had the whole day so she was up for a
drive. What started off as a drizzly and wet day ended up as a sunny Saturday.
We set off to explore Edmonton by heading for the North Saskatchewan River. Saloni had suggested several places to go and we started off by driving south on Groat Road. This is a fun road that winds itself down a ravine and ends up in Victoria Park near the Alberta Legislature Building. We tried to get a good photo of the Legislature Building but it was wrapped in a sheet and access was blocked by several renovation projects. |
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So we failed at our first goal so we went on the our next goal - visiting the Muttart Conservatory.
Of course we showed up at 9 and it opens at 10. So that meant we had time for a walk around the river which was
really good - about 3 km with a about 160m climbing (and descending,
of course!), a lot of that stairs to see a lookout point - 94 stairs
to be exact! (counted by Rob, or course).
The lookout is also accessible via a funicular and a pedestrian bridge - or an elevator for those unable/unwilling to take the stairs. |
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When we returned to Muttart and paid our fee to enter, we discovered what a lovely place
it is. Thank you, Saloni, for recommending this! In the conservatory they have 4 pyramid shaped
glasshouses with a separate climate each so they can have a lot of
different kinds of plants. One for tropical, one for arid, one for temperate, and one
currently stuffed full of hydrangias.
A fun walk around trying to find plants that were on their "bingo list" - but we didn't get them all even if we went through two of the pyramids twice. I mean, we should have been able to spot English Ivy and Azalea and Aloe Vera! There were all kinds of other ivys and aloes. Hrmpf. Good game, though. Without the bingo game it would have been quite hard to stay focused throughout. We figured that the it would be best to deal with the humidity in the tropical, then dry off in the arid pyramid and then enjoy the temperate one at the end. Worked out beautifully. Still, we shant bore you with too many plant photos - just giving you a flavour. If you are ever in Edmonton, this is a great attraction. |
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Tropical Pyramid 
Arid Pyramid 
Temperate Pyramid 
Hydrangia Pyramid 
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| Then it was time for lunch and we went with another of Saloni's suggestions - the India Garden Restaurant. We had a goat curry and a potato and cauliflower dish - that was a lot spicier! Luckily we were able to get a Lassi (yoghurt drink) to calm things down, but we struggled to finish everything and had some pakora and naan to bring home. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Afternoon walk along North Saskatchewan River (11.7 km. 3 hours. 300 m climbing up and down between 600 and 680m altitude). Rob was not going to be turned around by yet another flooded path. Enough is enough. Challenges helps us grow bravery! 
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| We figured the best way to recover was to have another walk so we drove to Sir Wilfrid Laurier Park and walked along the river to a footbridge, back down the other side and around the outside Fort Edmonton park (which we thougt was closed) and back over Whitemud Drive bridge (see the picture for the route). This was lot longer than anticipated - 11.7 km in a bit less that 3 hours - with a lot of ups and downs 300m according to Max (the GPS). But it was a fun walk with a a lot of doggies (some of which gave us a cuddle) and a new species - a woodpecker! | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| On our way back to the car we stopped to take photos of a giant pile of large, shiny baubles. We marveled at it, but were unsure what the significance was of the art installation. As one does, we asked a local person nearby. He announced that it was "a giant waste of tax payer ($600,000) money"! That is very honest and funny. It turns out the installation is called the Talus Dome and was built in 2012. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Today we spotted two new species: gold fish in the tropical pyramid at Muttart Conservatory, and a woodpecker
in the park along North Saskatchewan River. We also started off counting how many dogs we saw
(we do this every morning in Ottawa), but we gave up at 40!! So much fun for doggies swimming in the river
and running around in the many off-leash areas available to them.
That did pretty much finish us off for the day so we drove home - via Walmart as we were running short of tea and that would be a disaster! |
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Coming up: Off to Jasper tomorrow - in the middle of the Rocky Mountains. We are looking forward to some different scenery as there had been a lot of sky so far on this trip! | Start | Nerdy | The Largest... | Ornaments | Go To Previous Day | Go To Next Day |
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May/June 2022