We drove from Jasper to Calgary on July 1 which we found out was Canada Day: their version of the 4th of July. For the most part this did not cause us trouble except in Banff where they were having a parade and street fair when we wanted to pass through. We also learned that pancake breakfasts are popular on this holiday.

It was odd being in a city again, but we were ready for it after so many mellow days in the countryside. We had time to do a little exploring on Canada Day evening. There was a concert in Olympic Park while people waited for it to get dark before fireworks. We walked to an area populated with bars and cafés. The lit up Calgary Tower made for a nice landmark since our hotel was close to it. The Fairmont

Palliser had a city view that was very different than each of our previous two hotels. Overall, we didn’t find the city of Calgary very appealing, but we were looking forward to the Calgary Stampede, the largest rodeo in the world!

The first day of the Calgary Stampede began with a parade that went right along the street our hotel was on. We were glad it started late in the morning. We caught a bit, but decided to head over to the stampede grounds early. The Calgary Stampede is a rodeo, yet it also has many of the elements of a large county fair: rides, food, games, junk food, animals on display, sweets, an exhibition hall, mini donuts, art displays, etc. Yes, Dan and I indulged more than we should have. Fortunately, we avoided the rides.

We watched the main rodeo events the first afternoon as planned with our advance ticket purchase. They started with bareback competitions with bucking horses followed by calf tie-down roping and more bareback. They had steer wrestling and saddle bronc which I learned was basically the same as bareback with saddles and is considered to be the “classic” rodeo event.

They had a Native American hoop dancer at intermission while setting up for the barrel racing, the only women’s sport in these events. They ended with bull riding and a special presentation of wild pony racing. The wild pony race had teams of three children working to tame and ride a small horse for the fastest time. It was a bit emotionally disturbing that we were all laughing so hard while these kids were being dragged around the field by the horse as they worked to catch and ride it.

Near the entrance there were bins for donating toys and we thought this was a terrific idea. Dan likes the games and won a little money. I threw a few balls at a sea of jars and managed to land the ball in the color to win a tiger. I didn't mind carrying it since I knew it would find a child who would enjoy it. Unless, hmm?, they just recycle them in the park. 

Around the stampede grounds there were venues where other competitions were taking place throughout the day. The first day Dan and I stumbled upon team cattle penning. This was interesting to watch. We found it again the next day. Three people on horseback have to separate three designated cattle from a herd of thirty and round them up into a small pen on the other end of the arena competing for fastest times.

The second day we learned there was actually a published schedule and we used it to find many more of these less-hyped competitions and events. We saw blacksmiths compete, miniature chuck wagon races, sheep shearing competitions, heavy horse shows, vaulting (ballet-type gymnastics on a moving horse), and Superdogs.

Superdogs was hysterical. It was set up like some cheesy reality game show with rock music and fancy lighting. The dogs were of various breeds jumping, wiggling, and racing through obstacle courses. The emcee dressed in a shiny, gold suit did a good job of getting the packed audience to participate. We found ourselves screaming and cheering for a bulldog named Pot Roast.

At the far end of the stampede grounds there was an Indian Village area. We missed the opportunity to go inside the tepees, but we did see buffalo meat cooking demonstrations and children competing in a tepee raising contest. For our second night of the Calgary Stampede we had tickets to the evening Chuck Wagon Races and Grandstand Show. Free programs, skyride tickets, and a red polo shirt were part of our package deal. Dan chose to sport his the second day. The programs were nice to help learn about the different rodeo events. It was a little scary to see how much Dan knew already. He was calling scores for bucking horses before the judges posted theirs.

The races were interesting at first, but it took too long to sit through all nine heats. It also started raining and we were happy to have seats under cover. The grandstand show was intense. There were dancers of all ages who always seemed to all be on the stage all at the same time. They had “famous” singers we did not recognize and a rather good comedian of Asian Indian descent. There were acrobats like a Cirque show and even motorcycle stunt men who did flipping jumps with ramps set up on either end of the stage. Between the singing, breakdancing, comedy, high wire acts, Bollywood-style group performances, and motorcross we decided that the theme of the show was that it was a really big show. In fact the recurring musical chorus line was “This is the Big Show!”

One night in Calgary we had dinner at the revolving restaurant in the Calgary Tower and visited the observation deck. They had one of those glass walking areas that lets you stand out of the edge of the tower and look down. I couldn’t step out onto it without literally feeling weak in the knees. Dan had a great time and eventually encouraged me to step out to take a picture. Even looking at the picture Dan took makes me tingle.

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