The capital of Alberta, Edmonton's river valley offers the largest stretch of urban parkway at about 20 times the size of New York's Central Park. From late spring through summer Edmonton earns its reputation as festival city. Between art, theatre and night club venues, Edmonton has a thriving arts and culture scene. And there's plenty of shopping and sights to see that are actually fun.

For example, if you do want to shop, you should start in Old Strathcona. Voted one of the ten coolest places in Canada, Old Strathcona is about eight square blocks of dining, shopping and more centered around Whyte ave. and Calgary trail. www.oldstrathcona.ca will tell you all you need to know about this historic neighbourhood. For more shopping, dining, health and beauty needs, Kingsway mall will fit the bill nicely. www.kingswaymall.com will guide you to all your shopping needs.

If you're visiting anytime during the spring and summer Edmonton has plenty of activities to keep you out in the fresh air. The festival season kicks off on May 23rd with the rainmaker rodeo, so named because this rodeo has not been held without it raining. June brings us nextfest and the international jazz festival. Visit this site for all your festival needs.

All partied out at this week's festivals? Spend a Saturday at Fort Edmonton Park. For a $13.50 you get full access to North America's largest interactive historic park. At its heart is a full replica of the Hudson Bay fur trading post as it stood in 1845. Outside the fort is a small park and pond (stocked with fish for father's day) and a nearby amusement park. You'll also find three streets built to represent three eras in Edmonton's growth. And in case all that walking gets you tired you can take a load off in one of the restaurants or ride the streetcar, train, or one of many restored vehicles. This site will give you all the information you need.

Weather not so good? Get inside at the muttart conservatory. $9.00 buys you access to four glass pyramids featuring rare plants representing different ecosystems from around the world. The conservatory offers tours Sunday afternoons and behind the scenes tours at 1:00 pm the first Sunday of each month. Go to www.muttartconservatory.ca to find out more.

Come to the provincial museum to view impressive displays on aboriginal culture, Alberta's wilderness habitats and natural history dating back to the time of dinosaurs. Every season features new displays on a wide variety of subjects in science, nature and history. Admission to the museum is only $10.00. Go here to learn more.

Need more indoor fun? Visit the Telus World of Science for all sorts of science fun. The Art Gallery of Alberta has some beautiful exhibits by local and international artists and is located near downtown shopping and dining. Interested in aviation? Visit the Alberta Aviation Museum near Kingsway mall to see the history of aviation in Alberta.

I don't know about you, but all that walking around has made me hungry. One place I love to stop for lunch is Metro Billiards in downtown Edmonton. While on Whyte ave, the next act pub is one place I always like to go. Unfortunately, no website yet. If you're looking for more restaurant recommendations, go here.

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Let's Go!

There are lots of ways to get there, I am going to give you a nice circle route. Head south on Highway 2 to Highway 39, then West to Calmar. Calmar has a great little bakery on the north side of the road, and will make a nice stop to pick up a treat to eat in the car. Continue West, you will turn south at a point and pass through Thorsby. Continue south past the many farms and pastures. You will come to Highway 616, at which point you want to turn Right, or West. This will take you on a scenic trip around the lake and past some Bison farms. Unfortunately the roads were not designed with tourists in mind, and this will not be a completely lake shore drive. The 616 is a nice rolling drive, and you want to look for the South (left) turn to highway 771. Here is where you will get close to the lake and have a view. Follow the 717 as it heads south and eventually south east around the lake. At one point you will pass The Village Gardener Greenhouse on your left side. In the spring and summer this may make a nice place to get out and look around.
It is only a few more minutes south west on the 771 until you come to highway 13, turn left on this road, so you are headed east. In about 3 minutes time you will see "The Village at Pigeon Lake" on your left side. It is not a typical "village", nor is it on the lake, and by no means huge, although it is expanding. It is the name given to the development.

The Village

The Village consists of several stores, a grocery store, gas station and many others. The four most popular are in a row, starting with the Eco Cafe. This award winning restaurant is worth a stop just in time for lunch. The food is definitely high quality but not ridiculously priced. Their environmental philosophy, of buying local produce when available, shows in the freshness of the taste. Next is The Clothing Store, a place for womens fashions. The following store is very popular, The Country Sampler, an ever evolving store with pine furniture and home decor like you wont find many other places. Prices are excellent. The other noteworthy stop at the Village is Daisy McBeans, a good dessert stop before continuing on. They have ice cream and many other novelty treats, including home baked goods or incredible sandwiches. This is a good place to have a coffee and treat before heading onward. There is a Spa located in the Inn, and if you can get an appointment they are very good. If you visit the Village during the week, as opposed to a weekend, you should stop in to the ATB Bank to view their display of local artwork. In fact, I would say that coming during the week is better, since weekends are very crowded. The village is open year round, but no not expect late store hours in the winter.

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Continuing On...

From the Village head East, left, onto the Highway, about 1 mile down the road, on the right hand side, is Back Street Antiques, worth a stop, but I caution you that not everything is an antique and prices are a bit higher than in "The Village". Just ¼ mile south of Back Street is The Wilderness Store, another shop worth visiting as it has very unique wood furniture and other items. Phone ahead, often they are only open on Fridays and the weekends. Then head back on Highway 13, going east, which would be to the right. A turn north on Highway 13A will bring you to Ma-Me-O Beach, a man made beach where one can wade in knee deep water for ages. There is not much shopping in Ma-Me-O, but it is worth the stop if you have kids who want to play in the water, and they deserve it after allowing you to shop! You can follow Highway 13A which will loop back south to Highway 13, or can backtrack on Highway 13A to Highway 13, either way, continue East to Highway 2, where you can go North, back to Edmonton.

Trip Time

Traveling time from Edmonton to "The Village" is about one hour, I have suggested some good stops to break up the trip. There are a lot of people who have "cabins" at the lake, but a surprising number come as a day trip from the city. For those who don't know about this hidden treasure, I would like to encourage you to make a trip.