Need some help completing the #31daysofyeg challenge? In addition to a weekly Storify, the blog team is busy with their own adventures completing the list. Check back each week for updates!
No. 22: Have lunch or a picnic in one of Edmonton’s many parks or green spaces.
It’s funny how we relate to our personal, internal maps. My relationship with the Walterdale Hill is that I’ve driven down it; I’ve walked south over the Walterdale Bridge and up Fort Hill into Old Strathcona, and I’ve run along Saskatchewan Drive, heading down the river valley stairs onto 90 Avenue and Lavigne Road. But Queen Elizabeth Park, sandwiched in the middle of all that? Who knew that was there?
It turns out this was the perfect place to spend Canada Day — with a group of friends, we set up lawn chairs and plenty of snacks to while away the afternoon. All of the other picnic spots were in use, but the park wasn’t overly busy, and we could hear the occasional boat on the river, or the cheers from Telus Stadium and the legislature across the North Saskatchewan. And, from there, it was an easy, short walk back to Walterdale Hill, where we had a good view of the fireworks without standing shoulder-to-shoulder with everyone else.
No. 24: Explore our Aboriginal history by visiting an indigenous site, museum or event, and share something new that you learned.
Crossing this one off our list, at this point in the month, happened accidentally. In an effort to be tourists in our own town, some friends and I decided to go to to the Royal Alberta Museum — they hadn’t been in 15+ years, and I’ve never been to the museum, although I recently discovered the attached Government House grounds. One of the upstairs wings of the museum is dedicated to a gallery of Aboriginal culture, starting with artifacts and displays expected in archeology and fort museums, but then moves into much more recent history, with information about treaties and residential schools.
While it was really interesting to see the whole scope laid out like that, and designed with thought, my favourite piece of information was learning about the medicine wheels. Across southern Alberta, there are stone structures with (at least) two of the three criteria: a central stone cairn, one or more concentric stone circles, and two or more stone lines radiating from a central point. The designs can be classified into eight types, although each structure is unique, and the purpose for the structure isn’t always known. There are about 70 of these medicine wheels in North America; 50 of them are found in Alberta. Having just returned from Ireland, where passage tombs are everywhere — again, a very specific design with a not-always-known purpose — it was very cool to find out about our own Canadian version. And now we have to go on a road trip to southern Alberta.
Our weekly Storify captures what everyone else has been up to — compare your progress with other participants and steal a little inspiration, as the challenges are completed in no particular order:
The second annual #31DaysofYEG challenge is now underway! Spend July exploring and sharing Edmonton’s hidden gems with The Local Good’s list of prompts – and check out our weekly Storify summaries to compare your progress with other participants and steal a little inspiration.
The second annual #31DaysofYEG challenge is now underway! Spend July exploring and sharing Edmonton’s hidden gems with The Local Good’s list of prompts – and check out our weekly Storify summaries to compare your progress with other participants and steal a little inspiration.
https://storify.com/DebMerriam/31daysofyeg-2015-week-1
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