We booked in and stayed for 4 nights (we actually stayed 5 but I will get to that later) at Glowing Embers Campground. We got a 10% discount because we were Sam’s Club members. It was incredibly hot outside (high 20s) so set up quickly and settled in to cool down with the air conditioning.
The next day we visited West Edmonton Mall. It was great to see, but it really is just a mall. Just some of the chain stores are bigger than usual. The ice rink, rollercoaster, casino, and wave pool make it stand out a little, but still a mall.
Wednesday we headed to downtown Edmonton. We walked around for a couple hours exploring the above ground shopping (like the Calgary +10), walked to the parliament building and visited the Rotunda.
Thursday was a work day to get caught up on outstanding items.
Throughout the week, I was starting to experience a sharp pain in my upper back, close to my armpit. The pain was inconsistent, and I couldn’t say that a certain movement caused it. Googling my symptoms gave me nothing and it was only getting worse. Once I had extreme stabbing pain by just putting my hand in my pocket. It really became unbearable and on Friday morning we decided to stay in Edmonton one more day and find a walk-in medical clinic.
We got lucky, and there was no wait as I was the first through the door when opening. The doctor diagnosed Shingles even though there was no redness or rash. I was prescribed an Anti-Viral medication to take for 10 days and a pill to lessen the Nerve pain to take for a month. I took the medication as soon as the prescription was filled. The pain has lessened a bit, but still there.
Saturday, we visited Elk Island National Park where we saw bison but no elk. We did a 4 km walk with a nice picnic lunch in the middle. Then it was time to head to St. Paul’s to visit Heinz. He has a large property, so we were able to stay on his lawn beside the house. It was beautiful looking at the lake and hearing the silence in the evening and birds in the morning.
Heinz treated us like royalty. We went out for dinner in town and visited the UFO landing pad. The next day he took us to Cold Lake to see the town and were privileged to see his plane (currently under maintenance). In the evening we cooked dinner together, Heinz cooked rice and Alaskan King Crab and I supplied a stir-fry and salad. The evening was topped off watching Avatar in 3D.
8:30 on Monday morning, Heinz waved us off down the road to Saskatoon.
The Itinerary for our Journey through Alberta
Day 7 (May 7) – Jasper AB to Edmonton AB – Total driven: 365km
Day 12 (May 7-12) – Edmonton AB to St. Paul AB – Total driven: 220km
Day 14 (May 14) – St. Paul AB to Saskatoon SK – Total driven: 503km
