When planning our move, the choice was between Calgary and, three hours to the north, Alberta's other major metropolitan center of just over a million people, Edmonton. We knew Edmonton had what once was the largest mall in the world, that it was colder than Calgary (with no saving grace "chinook" warm spells in winter), that it was the home of Wayne Gretzky during his greatest hockey years, that mountains were three hours rather one hour away, that it had the province's legislature and its largest university, and that it was known as a "City of Festivals" (33 in a year?).

But we wanted to know more. What was it like? Why did a million people decide to continue living in what was a really really cold, northern place?

So yesterday we found out. Firing up the Accent, we set out at 6:30 a.m., with one of the aforementioned festivals (and a full breakfast for a mere two dollars) in our sights. However, after pounding up the boring, boring highway a while, we realized we weren't going to make it for breakfast, and changed the GPS to West Edmonton Mall.

The road between Calgary and Edmonton, like I said, is boring--straight as an arrow, with some gentle rising and falling. It's ranch land, with the occasional small city (Red Deer being the largest) or town in between. When stopping at an advertised "Rest Area" (which required following a series of signs and directions to a sort of park in a small town) we discovered something new: free showers as part of a "Rest Area." It also looked like there was a campsite nearby. I guess in that neck of the woods when you're coming out of the bush, or oil patch, or range, or what have you, the top priority might be to be able to "smell real purty" before getting back to civilization. (Or maybe local merchants demanded the showers be built after encountering one too many stinky cowboy.)

One thing that did strike us, once we passed Red Deer (the halfway point) were the trees. In Calgary, due to the unusual climate we think, there don't seem to be too many. But as we approached Edmonton, it all started to look, to easterners like ourselves, more "normal" tree-wise.

Anyhow, our first stop in Edmonton was the West Edmonton Mall and basically, we were not especially impressed. It was like a thousand other somewhat older malls we've seen, except much bigger--and it has an ice rink, a water park, a children's amusement park, 150 species in an underground marine life exhibit (which costs $8 to see), performing seals, a replica of the Santa Maria (which can be rented for corporate events) docked in a fake tropical setting, and so on. As you might have guessed, all the latter stuff notwithstanding, we decided not to spend much time there on such a beautiful day.

As we drove around the city, as I hinted earlier, we decided there was something that seemed more familiar. It seemed less like Dodge City and more like, say, Indianapolis. Neighborhoods had mature trees and homes with Victorian architecture. Quite lovely. Wending its way around the city were the brown waters of the North Saskatchewan river and, next to it, acres and acres of lush parkland where sparsely spaced citizens sunbathed, tossed frisbees, and fried hot dogs. The park (which includes campsites) is 40 times the size of Central Park in New York.

I'd read Edmonton was famous for restaurants and, looking into a tourist handout, came across a Thai establishment called the King and I, judged by Air Canada's En Route magazine as one of the best 100 restaurants in Canada. Timing it right, we hit the place mid-afternoon while lunch prices were still in effect, and it was great: great atmosphere (tasteful Thai trappings while in the background the Beatles White Album played softly) and the best Thai food I've ever had. (My beloved still thinks a place in Toronto was better.)

By 4:30 p.m. we decided we'd seen enough and, setting the GPS, aimed for home. Stopping at what Red Deer calls "Gasoline Alley," we had treats including a virtuous frozen Del Monte fruit bar and a thick, 200-gram, ice cream sandwich (guess who had which).

Then, motoring on, we watched rain clouds form in their western prairie way (dropping just a few drops on the windshield) before completing our journey at just about 8:00 p.m. While we had missed our usual 6:30 p.m. Saturday church service, we nevertheless were well in advance of the 11 a.m. Sunday service. (Which we did attend, by the way.)