Edmonton

In theory, I spent the last 5 days in Edmonton. In reality, I pretty much spent 5 days at the West Edmonton Mall.

Last week was the CAZA conference - the Canadian Association of Zoos and Aquariums. This conference was unlike any I have ever been to before. From media training to outreach education, endangered species to climate change, animal nutrition and sea lion training - I learned a lot! Zoo people, for the record, are different than fundraisers, so it took some time to meet people. In the end, we met great people, made good contacts and I had my first meeting to discuss, umm, how should I put it.... extraction from a couple of our animals to help impregnate animals at a potential partner's facility. (the awe continues)

It was a busy conference, which fortunately included 2 field trips - one to Fort Edmonton and one to the Edmonton Valley Zoo. Thank goodness, or else I may not have ever had time to leave the mall! Honestly, it was really, really busy! The conference days were long, there were events in the evening, and in between I tried to keep up with the craziness going on at work. I barely even had time to shop! Sigh. (but not to worry, I managed a bit)

Walking through the WEM is like stepping back in time. I am pretty sure that nothing, except for the stores, has changed since I was a kid dreaming of going there. Awesome and cheesy. A pirate ship, an amusement park, a shooting gallery, an ice rink, a bingo/casino, aquariums, monkeys, and daily penguin/sea lion shows - and that is just the beginning! There is, of course, also the water park - water slides, wave pool, hot tub - yes, I went. Fun!

Aside from that, I got a brief glimpse of Fort Edmonton, which seemed nice. We were fortunate to get both a train ride and a hay ride in advance of a delicious dinner onsite. I also learned how to bale furs! The afternoon touring the animal exhibits at the WEM and the Valley Zoo proved to be interesting, educational, memorable and highlighted just how lucky we are at the Preserve.