Stampede

We woke to clear skies and sunshine. When we had checked in, the lady at the campsite recommended we take the train downtown and arrive at the train station no later than 8am. Since it was the second to last day of the Stampede, she said there would be a high demand for free parking at the park and ride.

As usual I was first up and I enjoyed a cup of coffee while Connie and Zach got organized. I’ve been setting the pace on this trip…well at least the daily start time. I expect both of them will be happy to be home and not have me every morning, raising the stabilizer jacks, rummaging around in the storage beneath their beds, disconnecting the power and water too soon, and being an overall annoyance.

We left the campsite at about 815am and 35 minutes later arrived to a mostly empty park and ride. The early bird gets the worm! After purchasing a day pass for the train, we along with 4 or 5 others, who looked equally pleased to be there, began our journey into downtown Calgary. When we arrived, things were underway but far from busy. We stopped by an information booth, listened to the musicians playing in the park and then wandered around looking for a Scotiabank, so I could withdraw some cash.

At 10 am we sat down street side for breakfast and watched the mini parades pass by.

A group of young guys sat next to us getting an early start to their day, downing several caesars, mimosas, etc. The restaurant staff were getting ready for a hot day by loading up the washtubs with ice and beer and around that time the manager noticed Connie was without a hat and gave her this one.

After breakfast we made our way to the Stampede grounds. We wandered through the exhibits, listened to the performers and checked out the rides passing time before heading to the grandstand to watch the rodeo. It’s been years since I’ve been to a rodeo. I loved attending the Black Mountain Rodeo and Falkland Stampede as a kid and had always wanted to attend the mother of all rodeos in Calgary.

After the rodeo, we left the Stampede grounds to eat a little more healthy dinner. Once again we sat street side – this time under the shade of umbrellas because it was hot.

When we returned to the Stampede grounds, Connie and I decided to get a child sized ice cream for dessert. I don’t know exactly what this stuff was made of but I suspect there was little of what resembled ice cream contained within it. I ate a few spoonfuls and then tossed it.

We headed back to the grandstands to watch the chuckwagon races and met up with our friends Dave and Alice along with their son Jordan and his girlfriend Meg.

They’ve been to the Stampede many times and have a tradition of betting a twoney on every race. Zach and I ended up where we started but I think Connie walked away with a few more coins in her pocket.

After the races, we said our goodbyes and headed back to catch the train. While we were in the downtown area, a young guy and his friends jumped on. I said to Connie, “I know that guy. That’s Dylan Czink”. Dylan and Zach played minor hockey together a couple of years. He left West Kelowna to study engineering at SAIT. One he and I made eye contact, he recognized me and came over to chat with us. It was great to catch up.

Tomorrow is the last day of our adventure and will be my final blog entry. I hope you’ve enjoyed it as much as I have writing it. Until then, I will do my best to get us on the road bright and early tomorrow!