Our tour had 2 days of tickets to the Calgary Stampede. We started on Tuesday morning with a bus ride downtown for breakfast in Rope Square. It is a tradition that “Traveler”pancakes be served during Stampede. A Traveler is a pancake that has bacon and syrup added as it cooks. It is then served in a simple napkin that serves the role of plate, cutlery, and finger cleaner! It was fun.
After breakfast our bus picked us up to visit the Calgary Tower. My height phobia just wasn’t going for that, so we just met the rest of the crowd after they went up. I did get an interesting picture of the contrast in Calgary architecture! This is a old bank building juxtaposed with a very modern apartment/office building. And yes, the new building really does look that angled! As the floors go up, the width of the building decreases and the window angles change.
We got to the Stampede in time for lunch before the rodeo, but it was miserably hot.We also had to walk well over a mile to get to the Grandstand, and my Achilles’ tendon and my scoliosis were both having a fit by the time we made it. To call the Stampede “just a fancy rodeo” does it a HUGE injustice. It is more like a major state fair with all kinds of vendors and a big Midway. They have all kinds of other activities too like Indigenous dancers and a pow wow, dog agility type displays, etc. However I was far too miserable, sore, and HOT to enjoy any of it. Our seats were good ones, close to the center and not high, but we were in full sun on a 90+ day. I gave up and found a shady spot to stay in. Sadly, even though the rodeo performers were top of their game, I am just not that fond of rodeo! I did like the entry though.
We got home, and I took some meds. I gradually began to feel a bit better, but Kevin had to work to convince me to go back on Wednesday. We did by-pass the main rodeo itself, but we took in the dinner, chuck wagon races, pony relays, and the evening Extravaganza and fireworks.
One thing I will say about Adventure Caravans is they get some outstanding buffets! We at at the grandstand, and this time the bus driver parked close instead of at the other side of the grounds! I would not have gone otherwise. It definitely was worth it, even in some pain. Note some of the pictures are taken in the evening, and the only way I could do it was to take a picture of the display screen.
Between heats they had other activities while they reset the track.
Finally it was time for the evening show. They bring in the entire set behind a huge tracked Case tractor. The wings with the screen expand. There are other screens on the far sides too.
After an opening ceremony (I am learning the words to “O Canada!”), a couple of country western groups played. Then they transitioned to a large number of dancers, some as young as 8-9.
There were drones taking pictures and they were projected on the big screens. I particularly like this backlit skyline showing a lot of the Stampede grounds lit up.
Prior to full darkness they had some other acts. I particularly like the rope tricks.
And then there were more dance groups trying to steal our attention but totally losing it to the fireworks! They were truly as spectacular as you can ever imagine. They went on and on.
When everything was over, it was 11:30 and I was dead on my feet. The bus picked us up and brought us back to the campground around 12:30.
Before I leave the Stampede, a few summary notes about Calgary. It is a very urban city with thousands of apartments and offices in massive towers everywhere you look. I always judge how urban a community is by the size of the parking spots at a store, and the ones in Calgary would have trouble with big SUVs let alone pickups! Traffic isn’t too bad (for a big city), and there are buses and light rail all over the place. It is an incredibly diverse place too. Bike and pedestrian trails all over, and a lovely river front is maintained nicely. If it wasn’t for the awful winter weather, I could be convinced to live there.