Exploring Alberta

Jasper NP, Alberta to Edmonton, Alberta (sightseeing)

August 15 - August 19, 2016

So, what to see in Alberta???  We didn't know much about the province so we consulted our AAA travel guide and looked at their list of  Gems ("Great Experience for Members") - i.e. the places they think are the most outstanding for tourists to see.  We narrowed down the list to the places we were the most interested in then circled the locations on a map of Alberta.  That put us on the path to 9 different locations from Edmonton south to the US border.

Edmonton - We chose to visit 2 "Gems" in Edmonton.  The first was TELUS World of Science and the second was Fort Edmonton Park.  We didn't take any pictures at the World of Science but we spent 4 fascinating hours in two galleries.  One concerned environmental issues and the other demonstrated interesting ways our bodies work.  We found them to be very interesting and informative.

The next day we visited Fort Edmonton Park which is so big you simply can't see it all in one day unless you were to race walk through the place.  It consists of 4 sections, each depicting Edmonton in a different era.  We were there practically all day and we still only saw two of the 4 eras.  The first was the 1846 Fort established by Hudson's Bay Company and the second was Edmonton as it might have been in 1885.  Both were really interesting.  Throughout the park they have people in period costumes to help explain how life was back in those days.


Inside the fort.  The high walls were predominantly to keep the bears out. 
Relationships with the First Nation peoples was for the most part very good.

Inside the fort.  As you can see it's a big place with lots of buildings.

This is the "home" of the Fort's top man and his family.
It consists of typical rooms found in any house plus lots of guest rooms for visitors.  The place is huge



This was a typical room for married men.  They weren't allowed to marry back
east and bring their wives to the Fort.  As a result most married Native women.
This resulted in people of mixed blood who were called Metis people in Canada.

This is half of the kitchen where meals were prepared for the working people who lived at the Fort.
Everything was cooked in the fireplace.

This is the other half of the kitchen where food was stored, prepared, etc.

The storage room for Rum. 

The dining room in the "big" house where the boss and his family lived.

Guest room in the "big" house.

The trading store where furs were brought to trade for money or items.

Outside the Fort there was an example of the Cree Indian Camp.
The tripod of poles on the left was where they dried meat while
the tripod on the right was basically a sort of table.

 

A tipi at the Cree camp.

From the Fort we walked over to the 1885 Edmonton town site.

Looking down the street.  All the buildings were moved here from other places and
each building has a plaque describing the original Edmonton business and it's owner(s).

The buildings represent a wide variety of business from the 1880's including the ones shown below.

Typical one room school house.

Gift items.

Household items.

Hardware store

Fur Trader

General Store

Livery Stable

Saloon

Druggist

Doctor's Office

Doctor's tools.

Bakery

Harness Maker

Printers shop.

Unfortunately we ran out of time before we could see the other two sections of Fort Edmonton Park.  It also includes a versions of Edmonton in 1905 and 1925.  The whole place is wonderfully done and worth every minute you spend there.