Last Day in Edmonton

We started with a few hours at the Alberta Aviation Museum.  This was the former Edmonton City Centre Airport which operated for more than 80 years.  Now the hangar is a museum and the runways are being developed into housing.

Frankie crashed a plane:

Our favourite part was getting a private tour of the restoration area.  The restorations are all done by volunteers:

This was the Avro Anson Mk.II they got before they restored it:

After restoration:

We're very glad that passenger planes have improved since this one:

We spent the afternoon at the Telus World of Science:

Right away we noticed that it was more meant for kids.  So we became kids:

Another dinosaur exhibit!

These ones were animated!

Waiting for the IMAX show on volcanos to start:

The Zeidler Dome was very cool.  The seats laid all the way back and you watched a 360° film. 

 This one was on auroras:

This is the last blog, we fly home tomorrow.  Goodbye until our next trip!

Elk Island

And now for something COMPLETELY different from yesterday!

Today we took a day trip (45 minute drive) to Elk Island National Park.  We're not sure why it is called that, because it is neither an island NOR did we see elk!

Elk Island National Park is 194 square km.  It is a refuge for bison and elk.  It is home to the smallest and largest land mammals in North America (the pygmy shrew and the wood bison). There is a nice scenic drive and 11 trails to choose from.  It is Canada's only fully fenced national park.

It did not take long for us to see some bison:

The seasons seems to be mixed up here:

Frankie got to wear her new boots today!

We walked parts of most of the trails and did the entire Amisk Wuche Trail (Cree for "beaver hills).

The great thing about the weather was that we were the ONLY ones on the trails today:

Parts of the lakes were already frozen over:

Frankie decided NOT to have a seat!

Some animals have been very busy at this crossing:

Could it be whoever lives in this den?

We saw a lone bison grazing at the picnic area:

We wondered if this path was made by him?

Yup!

More hiking:

 

Frankie sat on the same bench that Pope John Paul II sat on in 1984:

Someone else was wearing much more stylish footwear than Frankie:

For one of the trails, Anton decided to nap while Frankie hiked alone.

So she had to try to take her own selfies.  Oops!

Oh, that's better!

Anton woke up from his nap and followed Frankie's boot prints to find her:

This was the closest thing to a snow angel that Anton wanted to make:

One last bison herd before we headed back to the bnb:

West Edmonton Mall

Bucket List:  West Edmonton Mall.  You can easily spend one or two whole days here.  It is the largest mall in North America and was the world's largest mall until 2004.  It is 5,300,00 square feet.  

Some of the attractions at the mall (besides shops!) include 2 mini-golf courses, an amusement park, a waterpark, an indoor shooting range, a bowling alley, a dinner theatre, an Escape Room, a chapel, a comedy club, a 9D virtual reality ride, a replica of the Santa Maria, an IMAX theatre, a casino, the world's largest indoor zipline, and themed streets.

We drove around and picked a random place to park.  Lo and behold, we entered the mall right where the escape room was.  It fits up to 6 people at once, but we were the only ones there, so we had it all to ourselves.  Our mission was to figure out what happened at the moon base before our oxygen ran out in 45 minutes.  Needless to say, we died.  And that was with them coming in to help us a few times.  

We think we got eaten by aliens:

This guy caught our attention:

World Waterpark is the 2nd largest indoor waterpark in the world, and has the world's largest indoor wave pool.  Watched some people getting wet:

Frankie was so stoked to see the Ice Palace where WORLD CHAMPION figure skater Kaetlyn Osmond trains!

We decided to try pairs skating:

We didn't do very well, so we switched up our routine:

Inside West Edmonton Mall is Galaxyland, the world's 2nd largest indoor amusement park, with 24 rides and attractions.  The Mindbender is the world's largest indoor triple loop roller coaster (it derailed in 1986 and killed 3 people).

We played some glow-in-the-dark mini golf but we didn't glow very much:

Then a mirror maze:

We got to try the Playstation 4 VR for free.  Anton went for a luge ride and Frankie opted for the calmer underwater experience.  All until the shark attacked her.

We found a chocolate shop.  FINALLY!

Frankie wants more kittens:

We watched a sea lion show in the middle of the mall:

The Sea Life Caverns is an underground aquarium that has more than 100 species of fish, sharks, reptiles, penguins, turtles, etc.  

We got to pet a white-spotted bamboo shark:

Frankie ended the day with an aqua massage.  Here she is about to disappear: