Thank heavens for long weekends!

Especially long weekends where your plans don’t involve catching up on groceries, housework and outdoor chores. John and I would never get away if we worried about having everything done beforehand.

This weekend – after a lazy Saturday morning sleep-in and read of the newspaper, we’ll make our way to Edmonton. I know that’s  nothing to get too excited about but we do understand it has a lovely downtown. We’ll spend a night in a hotel – still not booked – enjoy a good dinner somewhere (suggestions anyone) and then the next morning we’ll head to Elk Island National Park for two days of hiking.

Sunset at Elk Island National Park

Why bother with a trip to Elk Island National Park?

I like to fill in the spaces on a map for one and Elk Island is a reasonable distance away; it’s only one hour east of Edmonton. The park protects aspen parkland, considered to be one of the most vulnerable habitats in Canada. Within the park we can expect to see both plains and wood bison – the most dangerous mammal in North America, as well as moose, deer and elk. According to my photography teacher, elk are the most photographed animals in North America  - and your bit of trivia for the day.

It’s also considered to be a birdwatcher’s paradise – boasting 250 species, including trumpeter swans.

We have a choice of 11 hikes – ranging in length from 2.5 kilometers to 16.5 kilometers. Some offer boardwalk walking and close-up of beaver dams while others take you through black spruce bog where boreal birds and moose can be found. We’ll decide which ones sound best when we get there.

Car camping is on for Sunday night – even though the temperature is supposed to drop to the freezing mark. Fortunately the daytime weather is predicted to be sunny with highs of 20, and that sounds pretty darned good to me for a May long weekend.

What are your plans for the long weekend?

Leigh McAdam

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Photo credit: Sunset, Bison