Calgary Stampede

The view of Banff from the top of Sulfer Mountain

Dave and Mel have spent the last three days in Calgary and it has been a blast!! We were lucky enough to be able to organise our days here so that they fell over the period of the Calgary Stampede, which is the 'Biggest Outdoor Show on Earth'. It's very similar to the Easter Show, except that the main shows are the rodeo and the chuck-wagon races. The local cowboys come out and strut their stuff in the arena, and there are thousands of dollars of prize money to be won.

Some cowgirl with her recycling wagon


Calgary comes alive during Stampede. All of the locals dress in their cowboy gear - hats, boots, belt buckles - the whole nine yards! It sounds tawdry, and it sometimes is, but mostly it's just a lot of fun and a great experience. Needless to say, Mel felt the need to fit it by buying a cowboy hat. She wore it everyday, everywhere!

The Stampede itself was very energetic. We went on the lamest ride that we could find - the chair swings. Some of the others nearly made Dave vomit just by looking at them. Unfortunately for both Dave and Mel, it went a lot higher, a lot faster, and had some kind of strange dropping moment at the height of your swing.



The chuck wagon races. In the past they had to light a fire after completing the circuit of the track to actually win.


There was a really great evening show after the chuck-wagon races: The Big Show. It had amazing singers and dancers, along with some very timely fireworks throughout. Dave's favourite part were the stunt motorbike riders, who defied death by leaping over ramps and doing tricks, occasionally letting go of the motorbike or completing 360s. Very cool.

We were also lucky enough to meet up with our friend Carl. He showed us a great time on Friday night, explaining the road rules we didn't yet understand (like etiquette at four-way stop signs), and which beers were the best. We like pints!



The colourful spectacle of the Indian powwow at the Indian Village at the Stampede. Even a few Mounties got in there and shuffled around!

On Sunday we all attended a baseball game. Here's the situation: it's the bottom of the ninth and the game is tied. The home team is up to bat, 8-8 after being down 6-0. Bases are loaded, three balls, two outs, two strikes. It's all down to this one hit. The crowd are on their feet clapping and chanting as the pitcher winds up. And then.... they win! Considering this was a third rate professional game, it couldn't have been any better. We now need never see another baseball game again!

Thanks to Carl and his friends for being so welcoming to us here in Calgary. We had an amazing time! Thanks also to Treeva who took us on a great walk and showed us the north of Calgary.

The photo at the top of the post is from our last day in the Rockies. Dave climbed to the top of Sulfer mountain, a 550 metre ascent but the view made it totally worth it. We also had another dip in some hot springs at Banff.

We are now heading out to the plains. We have at least a week of driving to cover 2,500km of road, where apparently you cheer if there is a curve or hill in the road.