I'm very annoyed because I just spent ages writing all this and I was literally on the last sentence when the internet browser closed and I lost it all. It was really long as well! Grrr!

Anyway so here goes take two! I arrived pretty late in Canada at 9.30pm to be met by my brother Ben and a delicious curry. I was pretty tired from a long day of travelling so we just chatted for a while and I looked at photos from his month-long ski traverse through the Rockies then fell asleep! I met some of Ben's housemates as well who are all very friendly and funny.

The next morning we went to the local farmers' market and ate all the free food samples that we could without having to buy anything! It was all pretty yummy! In the afternoon we went on a long bike ride into the Edmonton river valley which was also really pretty. It didn't feel like you were in a big city at all as it is quite quiet and secluded down there. It was a really enjoyable afternoon but I was pretty hungry by the time we got home as we hadn't had any lunch! We quickly rustled up some grub then went out to meet some of Ben's friends in town. We went to a bar called Blues on Whyte (the street is called Whyte Avenue and it is the main going out street in Edmonton) where they have excellent live bands every night of the week. There are some interesting characters in there and it is really funny people watching. A lot of harley bikers go in there need I say more... The beer in there isn't too great but the music and the dancing make up for it. Ben's housemates and friends are hilarious as well! We walked home at about 3am and decided to light a fire in the garden which we sat around until about 6am when it was already light!! Needless to say the next day we were pretty tired so we had a lie in and a bit of a lazy day! We watched the world cup final then went to the airport to pick up our cousin Thomas from California who was coming to visit for 11 days. It was really nice to catch up with him as we hadn't seen him for a while.

For the next 3 days Ben had to do a fair bit of work, so Thomas and I did a bit of exploring around Edmonton. We went to nice little tea houses, found the biggest candy shop I think I've ever seen, went to the cinema and to West Edmonton Mall. A lot of people go to Edmonton just to shop at the mall; it is one of the city's major attractions apparently, but we went there because we'd heard there was an indoor "theme park" there! It was a little expensive but they have the biggest indoor rollercoaster in Canada in there. It was pretty scary but awesome fun - it goes really high and fast and has 3 loops!

On Wednesday night we all drove over to a place called Elk Island, about 45mins or so east of Edmonton, which apparently has a large bison herd. Unfortunately we didn't see any which was pretty unusual and the first time Ben had been and not seen them. We had fun anyway though; we saw 9 beavers and lots of beaver dams, and we played frisbe (which is always fun) while the sun was setting.

On Thursday we made our way down to the mountains near the U.S. border. We would have gone further north but there was a bad weather forecast, which was confirmed by the huge rainstorm we drove through as we left Edmonton! We saw some of the coolest clouds I'd ever seen though! On the first day down in the mountains we did a 4 hour day hike up to a place called Bertha Lake which was stunning and went past a gorgeous waterfall. On Friday we saw a couple of grizzly bears from the car down in the valley as well which was pretty cool, especially as one of them had a cub with her! We started our main 3 day hike on Saturday morning. It was the hardest day of the hike as it was the longest, being 17km, and had the largest elevation gain; 1160m! I had a little bit of a slip on some ice and grazed, cut and bruised my arms and legs by sliding down the mountain 20m down a steep slope! Thankfully though I managed to stop myself, and am still here to tell the tale! I was a little shaken up though as I didn't think I was going to stop! Just adds to the stories to tell though haha. The views from our high point at Lineham Ridge were stunning; 360 degree views of raw mountains for miles in every direction! We were happy to see our campsite at Lone Lake for the first night and set up our 3 man tent. We saw a bald eagle circling above us which was really awesome to see because apparently it is very rare to see them anywhere other than Vancouver Island! We had to hang the food and anything else that had a scent up on bear poles so that bears couldn't eat it and wouldn't be attracted to our tent! We had a campfire that night which was really nice as it got rid of the blasted mosquitoes which were making my life a misery! Camping was really good fun as well and the food was nice! The second two days of the hike were a lot easier as they were shorter with far less elevation gain and lighter packs as the food was being eaten, but we were nonetheless exhausted by the time we got back to the car on Monday afternoon! All in all we hiked roughly 40km in the mountains, which I was pleased with myself about as I'm not usually much of a hiker! It was pretty tough going with a heavy backpack but I'm glad I did it; it was fun! On the last day we also saw a bear down in the valley adjacent to the track we were on, which was pretty scary and I was glad we didn't startle it! But it didn't realise we were there as it was searching for berries and we were downwind of it, so we just watched it with the binoculars for a while without disturbing it which was pretty cool!

On the way back to Edmonton we stopped at a little town called Drumheller in the middle of nowhere. All you can see for miles as you approach the town is prairies, then out of nowhere you suddenly drop down into this hidden valley which is really eerie. Everything in the town is dinosaur-themed and it looks like the town stopped still in time about 50 years ago! There are model dinosaurs everywhere through the town and we stopped there to go around the Royal Tyrrell Museum which is one of the world's best dinosaur museums as Alberta has a mountain of fossils and bones buried up north! It was very informative and interesting, with loads of huge skeletons everywhere of all the coolest dinosaurs! I don't usually like museums that much but this one was pretty cool. When we eventually got back to Edmonton we could wait to have a shower as there were no showers out in the middle of the Rocky Mountains! I don't think I'd ever felt so clean in my life!

Yesterday we had a lazy morning then Thomas and I went to the cinema and had a bike ride, then in the evening we had a BBQ which was really enjoyable in the sun and tasty - steak, mmmmmmmmmm! Then we took Thomas out for his first legal pint! He turned 18 a couple of weeks ago, so it is legal for him to drink here in Alberta, Canada, but not back where he lives in the States! We went to Blues on Whyte again where they had another awesome band from Louisiana playing. It was a really fun evening and we ended up walking home at 2.30am once again! A good way to round off Thomas' trip to Canada.

Today Ben and I took Thomas to the airport to catch his flight home, then I've just been doing bits and bobs since on the internet in Ben's office. Hopefully I'll be playing football with Ben and his team later this evening but it depends on whether it gets cancelled due to thunderstorms or not. There is a big one forecast and it looks pretty cloudy outside! Usually in England we'd just play anyway, but they get some pretty insane fork lightning here when there are thunderstorms so it's not worth the risk I guess!

Anyway, that is my Canadian adventure so far! Matt and Abi, my other brother and sister, fly out to meet us on Saturday and we start our 2 week road trip which I am really looking forward to! It will be so nice to see them both after 7 months away from home! Time has absolutely flown by - only 4 weeks until I get home now! I am still really enjoying it out here but I am definitely looking forward to seeing you all again now.

Until next time!

Joelle xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx