We spent the entire day at the West Edmonton Mall which is the largest mall in North America. Nine hours of that day we played at World Waterpark located inside the mall. We had lots of fun and I was brave enough to go down some of the “faster” slides. I only got water up my nose a couple of times 😉
On our way to Edmonton we drove through the prairies with a stop at Elk Island National Park hoping to see a few wild animals. We spotted bison, a beaver, frogs, birds, and a white-tailed deer. The girls also had fun making bison magnets and dressing up as wild animals at the park’s learning center/theater.
Our next stop was to Drumheller, Alberta to see the dinosaurs! We toured the amazing Royal Tyrrell Museum, climbed 106 stairs to the mouth of the World’s Largest Dinosaur, hiked along Hoodoos Trail, then stopped for a quick walk across the Star Mine Suspension Bridge on our way out of town.
Ada is really into dinosaurs at the moment so we took the opportunity to learn more about them at one of the best museums in North America.
After leaving Banff we headed to Calgary and spent the rest of the day exploring downtown. I loved the architecture, sculptures and creative art throughout the city. Unfortunately the Calgary Tower was closed, but we had so many other things to see 🙂
Our first full day in Banff was a full one! We visited Cave and Basin Historic Site, Bow Falls, Fairmont Hotel overlook, Johnston Canyon Trail for a waterfall hike, took a walk around Bow Lake, hiked to an overlook of Peyto Lake, and finally hiked a short ways to Mistaya Canyon before heading back to our hotel (we also saw a black bear on our return drive). This was all made possible by Todd who organized each and every day! 🙂
We met up with my parents in Salmon Arm and from there caravanned to Lake Louise and then on to Banff for two nights. Beautiful mountains and scenery through Glacier and Banff.
Our second day consisted of driving a few hours to Salmon Arm. Along the way we stopped at DeMille’s Farm Market that had a fun petting zoo and then an afternoon at Shuswap Lake visiting with old college friends. That evening all of us enjoyed swimming in the hotel pool with multiple sections and water fountains.
At the end of summer we embarked on an epic two week road trip through British Columbia and Alberta Canada. My parents met us for part of the trip which was a lot of fun. We caravanned and/or carpooled for several days together seeing beautiful country.
Our first full day (just the four of us) was spent exploring the BC Wildlife Park in Kamloops. We enjoyed the animals, bird show, and riding on the miniature train.
Another fun day at the fair with the special addition of my parents. It is so nice having them close! The girls mostly love the rides, so we try to see the animals and booths in the morning and during snack breaks. The chickens and bunnies are always a favorite and the 4-H/agriculture exhibits were well done this year.
This summer we all got bikes. I have not had one since middle school, Ada was growing out of hers, and Todd needed one too. We are also borrowing a trailer-bike for Ruby to go long distances with us (5-11 miles is too much for her). We have enjoyed being able to explore our town and country roads as well as taking them to Bellingham. One of our documented adventures was the trail along Lake Whatcom. The girls swam and explored the creek after our warm ride 🙂
La Casa Blanca 
