Our Adventure - Day 5

Our Adventure - Day 5

Today was part two of the Edmonton mall. Since we had arrived so late yesterday we had decided to give ourselves until 2pm today before we moved on to Jasper which was only a 4 hour drive away. We also decided to "sleep in" which was us getting up at 8 am which felt late since we had been getting up at 4-5 every day.  We had leisurely showers and I actually took the time to put make up on! We checked out of our little inn and were given complementary breakfast coupons to the sister hotel Fantasyland which is physically attached to the mall. We made our way to the restaurant, it was trendy, beautiful, and a massive Buffett! Since it was free and a bit of a surprise we went a bit nuts filling our plates. 

❤️yum❤️

We found that all of the "staff" in edmonton were very funny in the sense of them not wanting to be there! We are eavesdroppers and couldn't help laughing at many of the conversations we heard. The waitresses in particular were very strange. Either way it was a great (and free) breakfast with entertainment!

Then it was off to the mall to explore some more. We came across the hockey rink which startled us being so big and cleaned by a zamboni!

❤️ice❤️

We really didn't buy much, a shirt for jer and the shoes from yesterday was pretty much it. 

❤️jers new shirt❤️

We did go to Galaxyland which was the theme park in the mall. 

❤️Galaxyland❤️

We didn't do much in there except go on the biggest roller coaster indoors in the world! It was good. Scary but good. I screamed a lot and my belly was a bit upset after but it was good. 

❤️roller coaster❤️

❤️We did it❤️

There was so much more to see and do but I'm not a shopper and started to get a bit grumpy and tired of looking at stuff. I was happy to hit the road again. I knew jasper was going to be beautiful and wanted to see it! 

❤️excited❤️

❤️Saw this on the highway❤️

As we continued to drive all around us got hillier with denser forests. It was looking more and more like my beautiful British Columbia. When we finally saw the wall of Rockies in the distance it took my breath away. I was smiling sillily from ear to ear. I couldn't believe we had made it this far! I was so excited and so was Jeremy. We stopped at the first look out we could find to take a picture. 

❤️first gilipse of the rockies❤️

❤️Lookout❤️

❤️love❤️

Then we were off to wind our way to the Rockies. We paid our dues at the entrance to Jasper National Park. Almost as soon as we entered we came across horned sheep! (Kristina and I had seen a sign on our own BC adventure years ago for big Horney sleep, but we never actually saw them! And someone had added the y to the sign, it's just big horned sheep). 

❤️Horney sheep❤️

 

We watched them for probably 20 minutes. There were babies and teens up higher on the side of the mountain. Can you spot them?!

❤️Horney sheep❤️

After that we took another pit stop in the park and couldn't resist taking a little nature walk to a lake about 10 minutes away. Jer had on his hiking boots but I was not dressed for nature. My hair kept getting tangled in branches and I stepped in wild animal poo with my leather shoes!!! I enjoyed every minute of it!

❤️nature❤️

❤️Nature walk❤️

❤️Nature walk❤️

❤️Nature walk❤️

As you can see it was amazing. We were close to the town of jasper at this point so we hopped back in the cars and made our way. Jasper is a little tourist town so we decided to stay at the smallest cheapest (still$) hotel we could find. The Astoria had the best reviews and price so we stayed there. We were not disappointed by its charm. We were given real metal keys for our room! That was a first! Also very friendlypeople working there!

❤️hotel❤️

❤️Room❤️

We dropped our stuff and went out to forage for food! We knew this was the last of our adventure (and we hadn't had lunch) so decided on one of Jasper's top restaurants called Evil Dave's. It was increadable. Very high end but delicious, Local, organic and sustainable. Just the way we like it!!!

❤️evil Dave's❤️

❤️Evil Dave's❤️

❤️Evil Dave's❤️

❤️Hells chicken❤️

❤️Malice salmon❤️

Literally some of the best food we have ever had! We then made our way back to our room and within 10 minutes were out like a light. 

Tomorrow I get to see my family. Tomorrow we make it to Terrace!

❤️wish us luck in our final chapter❤️

❤️S&J❤️

Our Adventure -Day 4

Our Adventure - Day 4

Today I'm going to start at the end of the day to explain the delay in my post! We are official in edmonton. This is the crown jewel of our trip, jer has been looking forward to shopping and adventuring in the west edmonton mall more than anything on this trip. We didn't arrive until 7 and the shops close at 9 so we had to make it count. By the time we finished shopping we were starving and decided to swing by Burbon st (a section of the mall open late with restaurants). The old old spaghetti factory was the winner and they had a special on Caesars! This was our down fall. I literally had one but they were doubles and I believe the 5 am mornings and huge drives etc caused that drink to go straight to my head!

❤️reason for my early pass out❤️

But let's go back a moment. This was a huge day for us. We started in Russell Manitobia, blew through Saskatchewan and ended in Alberta! We woke up very early again today in our adorable little inn that we came across (and that was also 50% off!). 

❤️Russell❤️

 

❤️breakfast❤️

 

We refilled our gas tanks and bellies and headed on our way. We were really only about half hour away from Saskatchewan at this point. The landscape stayed pretty flat but the scenery went from bright green and gorgeous to an over worked yellow land. It was very much a farm land province. The most impressive thing about Saskatchewan was the birds! We saw hawks, ducks, ravens, and a million red winged black birds. We called these last ones dive bombers since they would continually fly right in front of our cars! We literally had maybe 20 almost collisions with these birds. They were feisty little buggers battling with massive ravens all along the way as well!!!

❤️brave bird❤️

❤️Farm land❤️

❤️Yellow fields❤️

Our first major stop on the way was Saskatoon. We ended going to a bit of a rougher area since we were recommended a burrito place by our food expert Gianni. We did not take the time to fully explore this little town since we had so much ground to cover. The drive in was very pretty though. 

❤️saskatoon❤️

❤️Lunch destination❤️

 

The food was amazing. Probably the best burrito combo we have ever had. I was trying desperately not to lick my plate!!!

❤️yum❤️

❤️Yup that happened❤️

Again just outstanding! We then Refilled the cars and headed out. We planned a Timmy's run in lloydminster Alberta for our next stop. Another quick pause on our way to our main destination. The biggest thing we noticed as we crossed into Alberta was all the damn trucks! I don't think one person living in the surrounding area of Alberta owns a car! I felt pretty special in my economical little Astra!

❤️alberta❤️

At one point the weather changed and rained so hard I thought we would have to pull over. Lucky for us that only lasted for 20 minutes and then the sun came back to us. More fields, factories and cattle passed as we continued to buzz through Alberta. We were almost there!

❤️Edmonton❤️

We had decided to spend the night at the west edmonton mall inn which was literally a 30 second walk to the mall. This would allow us to maximize our time there! So far the nicest hotel we have stayed at! And we got two beds!!! Haha. I guess because we are not quite married yet?!

❤️inn❤️

❤️double beds❤️

 

❤️made a friend❤️

 

Even though we were exhausted from our early morning and crossing 3 provinces we were more excited to be at the mall...finally. So we crossed the street and blew through the mall. 

❤️mall❤️

There was so much to see and do! We made a list of what we wanted to do the next day and bought a few items including some wine (burrowing owl jers dad's favorite) and hiking boots!

❤️mall sights ❤️

❤️Mall sights❤️

❤️Mall sights❤️

 

❤️mall sights❤️

❤️Mall sights❤️

 

Yes this is us all the way across the country in a pet store. We were missing our little Monty so had to get a kittie fix. 

❤️kitties❤️

And now we are back at the beginning. What a day!!!! We plan on taking it a bit easy on Tuesday but will still put a dent in our kms. Should be in terrace by Wednesday!

❤️wish us luck on the roller coasters❤️

❤️S&J❤️

Our Adventure - Day 3

Our Adventure - Day 3

We started our day early again this time making sure to stop for a breakfast of champions at Timmy's. 

❤️yum❤️

The only real sight seeing that we got to do in Thunder Bay was driving up top to a lookout point where we had a gorgeous view of the "sleeping giant". 

❤️can you see it?❤️

❤️Love❤️

Then we were off like a shot winding our way through the rest of Ontario. What a massive province. We had another wild life sighting chain of events starting with another 3 moose sightings. I got a chance to watch the below beauty wandering about on the side of the road. I have to admit their noses wobbling as they walk make me laugh. 

❤️moose friend❤️

I keep forgetting to mention my travel buddy! No I'm not talking bout Jeremy, I'm talking about my skully friend who dances by my side. Also makes me laugh and smile while driving. 

❤️skully❤️

We stopped after several hours of driving... Still in Ontario at a little truck stop for more nutrients determined to keep our energies high so we could make a nice dent in our trip. Second breakfast was delicious and happened to be across the street from another gem... Tacky statues! How could we resist pulling over and posing with them?!

❤️spidey❤️

❤️Mousey❤️

As we were pulling away nature man spotted a coyote! He was running on a dirt road beside the highway. We quickly veered off and "chased" him down trying to get a photo. Of course he was as sly as a fox so we missed the photo opt but it was fun!

❤️the almost shot❤️

 

After that close encounter... While STILL in Ontario we saw two bald eagles soaring above us and a magpie flying beside us. It was interesting to watch the scenery change around us as we drove through the final windey streets of our home province. At some point we noticed the trees where a bit different and that the hills were smaller. The time change was weird to drive through as well. We suddenly gained an hour which made us feel like we could go forever! When we finally passed kenora which is the last main town in Ontario I started to finally feel the excientment of seeing a new province. Manitoba was around the corner. 

❤️around the corner❤️

When we did finally cross the border we were so excited we stopped at the tourist center to take a peek!

❤️manitoba❤️

We used the rest room, signed the guest book and chatted with the lady at the front desk. Then we hopped back in the cars and headed to Winnipeg! It was only about an hour and a half until we got there. The roads were wide and flat and a hugely better driving experience. The speed limit was 100 instead of 90 and because everything was so flat you didn't feel like you could hit an animal at any moment! Freedom to buzz through! Another huge difference was that gas was crazy expensive in northern Ontario. We are talking anywhere from $1.45/$1.55! As soon as we crossed over to Manitoba we were seeing gas at $1.24! Filling up two cars for a cross country road trip... That kinda thing makes a huge difference. So of course we filled up and decided to eat some dinner. Humpty's restaurant, which was attached to the petro would have to do! We had fun but jer gave me the giggles and im sure our waitress thought we were crazy. 

❤️yum❤️

❤️don't give him a laser❤️

This was around 5pm Manitoba time (6pm Ottawa time). We were toying with the sea of calling it quits for the day but the idea of having so much more driving to do tomorrow spurred us on to keeping going. I gave jer the deepak audio CDs while I broke out my audio book Pillars of the Earth by ken foillet. We were determined to keep going! Manitoba was increadably beautiful. You could see for miles but everything was so rich with bright greens and fresh lookin fields. We were making incredible time so kept driving and driving and driving. We had this burst of excitement to keep going. 

❤️beauty❤️

❤️Flat❤️

We noticed a little town close to Saskatchewan named Russell...too good to be true! 

❤️our way into town❤️

We decided that would be our resting place. I am now laying in the most adorable hotel in the most adorable town! I am so happy with our progess today and that we ended up in an amazing place to rest our heads! I'll post pictures tomorrow so you can see what I mean. 

❤️wish us luck❤️

❤️S&J❤️