July 9-19, 2013 Ultimate Northern Alberta Trip:

• Part 1: Edmonton & The Reynolds-Alberta Museum
• Part 2: Assumption & Extreme Mud ATV Riding

This week I finally got a chance to visit my brother at his home in Northern Alberta.  Steve moved away from Newfoundland when he began his career with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. His first posting is in Assumption which is in northern Alberta close to Rainbow Lake. During my visit we spent the first few days in Edmonton where we shopped at  the West Edmonton Mall & Cabela's, then visited with some of Steve's friends and finally the Reynolds-Alberta Museum.

(50 Photos)

50.   The pre-dawn hours of Tuesday July 9, 2013 found me at St. John's International Airport awaiting my flight to Toronto, then on to Edmonton Alberta. This trip had been planned for months and finally fly out day was here! The flight went well and I landed in Edmonton on time near noon where I was greeted by Steve at the arrivals gate.

49.   Not wasting any time we grabbed a quick lunch at Five Guys Burgers, then it was on to Cabela's for for some afternoon shopping, redneck style!

48.  That evening we met up with some of the guys who had been posted in Assumption Alberta with Steve last year. We enjoyed a few drinks and wings at the Tap House Bar and Grill, and later at the Great Canadian Brewhouse.

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46.   The next day we went shopping at the West Edmonton Mall, which was my first time there.  It  was quite an experience as the place is truly gigantic!

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34.   If you've never been there, its definitely worth a visit if your anywhere close to Edmonton. Of course not just for the shopping, but also the sheer volume of entertainment found all under one roof. 

That evening we met Steve's former Sergeant, Gary for supper at The Twisted Kilt. The food was awesome, beer even better, and our server self described "Crazy Amy" was top notch!

33.   The next day, on Gary's recommendation we went to the Reynolds-Alberta Museum. This museum started out as one mans private collection of cars, trucks, farm equipment and airplanes. It was later passed on/taken over by the province of Alberta.

32.   This beautiful facility sits on 223 acres just south of Edmonton near Wetaskiwin. It's an ultra modern 101,000 square foot building with hundreds of displays plus a full service restoration shop to maintain and add to the collection.

31.   Other buildings on site include a 19,000 square foot structure for the aircraft display, and another 109,000 square foot storage building for projects not currently on display.

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28.  Bare wooden frame for a 1930's Ford.

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19.   We were amazed at the quality, quantity and variety of the displays, there are examples of every kind of motorized vehicle imaginable on display throughout the museum. Many are in pristine restored condition while others are "as found" which I think is a great way to show the true history of automobiles & power equipment.

18.  According to the maintenance people in the restoration shop we chatted with, many of the vehicles including most of the ancient huge farm tractors on display actually run!

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16.  Many of the large tractors are taken out, fueled up and ran at Farm Shows all over the province throughout the year.

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9.   The restoration shop is a mechanics dream. It's a full service facility covering all disciplines of work, from wood working, mechanical, to metal work and paint.

8.   It's operated by some paid staff, but mostly highly skilled volunteers who put in hundreds of hours restoring additional vehicles and maintaining the hundreds of vehicles currently in stock.

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6.   It's truly an epic display and I highly recommend checking it out if you are ever in the Edmonton area. During the summer season you can even take rides around the outdoor test track in cars from many eras, including a 1930's Model A truck!

5.   We spent most of the day at the museum because it is huge and truly spectacular.

4.  The aviation display in the next building sure did not disappoint!

3.  At the rear of the property, there is a second building which houses the aviation portion of the museum. This is quite an extensive collection of really neat and some very rare planes, helicopters and flying machines.

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1.  After the museum we headed back to meet Gary for supper again, but not before stopping at Leduc Meat Packers. They are rumored to have the very best pepperoni and beef jerky ever to be sold. We confirmed this was definitely true, and bought an obnoxiously large quantity of both for our drive north later this evening. It is far and large the very best Beef Jerky I've ever had.