Day Trip - Elk Island & Ukrainian Village

Another day off and another quick trip to sites in Alberta that we've never ventured to before.  Started the day with a much needed 'sleep-in' session, got to have one of these once in a while, so we didn't get on our way until after noon but had a beautiful day for travel.  Sunshine, 30 degrees, and women dressed in full Ukrainian Garb from the early 1900's greeted us at the restored village about 1 hour east of Edmonton.  After a $7 bison burger with nothing to go with it we took a couple hours to tour the town site and soak up the history.  I just love this kind of stuff but did find the people acting the part of the towns people as if they were in the early 20's to be a bit difficult to communicate with and get straight answers.  Fun and worth the trip once in a decade to see what they've done.

Greek Orthodox Ukrainian Church - circa 1939

Holly at the Ukrainian Village

Dennis on Steel Wheeled Tractor

We were then off to Elk Island National Park just a few kilometers down the highway.  We were intrigued by the reports of bison, elk, moose and coyotes that roam the park.  Driving the roads of the park we did see a couple of very large Plains Bison but nothing else other than some Canadian Geese.  Looks like a fun place for a family picnic or hike without the worry of bears.  Again, don't know if we'll be back anytime soon but worth knowing about.

Plains Bison - Elk Island August 2012

One of the many islands in Elk Island National Park

Another powerful Plains Bison as opposed to the Wood Bison

Really fun to see bison in their natural habitat that are truly wild and not being bred for the dinner table.