Edmonton and Jasper Trip (June 18 to 23)

My parents and I went on a small getaway from rainy Vancouver to sunny Edmonton. People say that Edmonton is not a vacation spot but when you are stuck in a city that is always cloudy and rainy and you really want to go somewhere CHEAP, that is how I ended up in Edmonton. I was lucky enough to get sunny weather while I was there visiting friends and relatives. It was a very busy week filled with getting together with old friends whom we have not seen for more than 15 years!!! It's amazing how a network of friends can be that small in such a big world. I also went to the West Edmonton Mall and did some shopping. This was my third time to this mall. I never like going to this mall because it is huge and you can never find your way out to the parkade and your car :) My parents, my aunt, my uncle and I made a day trip to beautiful Jasper National Park. Even though it was about 8 hours drive in total, it was all worth it because we saw a lot of wild animals like a mountain goat, black bear and a deer.Check out my photos on Picasaweb.
As you can see the photo on the left, the goat wasn't afraid of us. It was wandering around on the road and came to our car looking for something to eat. It was a good shot while we were feeding the goat. We also had the privilege to go to Maligne Lake (see above photo) which was about a 45 minute drive from Jasper. This lake is not only one of the oldest attractions in Jasper but also the largest lake in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. The pristine natural beauty of the lake blew me away. I will make another trip back there to try out the hiking trails and guided tours like fishing and whitewater rafting.