Stampede!!!
Because I like to see how much I can cram into my vacation week, I caught the first flight out of London on Sunday morning following Lindsay's wedding and flew to Calgary! Besides fulfilling my dream of going to the Stampede, Calgary is also home to a few of my closest university friends, Melanie, Jenn, and Pete as well as the recent Calgarian (?) transplant, Martha Peden!
Mom and Dad were also heading west on Sunday to Victoria to celebrate Great Aunt Reta's 100th birthday and do some touring around BC. A little side note story: Mom and Dad's flight was also early Sunday morning and was going to be stopping in Calgary on route to Victoria. I booked my flight after them and was pretty excited that we were all going to be on the same flight out there so I could have some more time with them. On the way to the airport on Sunday morning, Mom mentioned something about Air Canada and I said, "Well that doesn't matter, we're on West Jet". And she paused then said, "No, we're flying Air Canada." Uh-oh. A quick look at my ticket confirmed that I was in fact on a West Jet flight that left about 20 minutes earlier than Mom and Dad's Air Canada flight. "Uhh Dad, can you drop me at the door and park the car..." Luckily, security procedures aren't so stringent at London Airport but it was a little close for comfort. You know what they say about people who assume things...
I arrived safe and sound in Calgary around 9am and was greeted by Jenn at the airport. The first thing we did was go to Stephen Avenue and buy me a cowgirl hat (not the sexy pink one below...) then met up with the other girls. My other two friends from university, Leslie and Alexis were also out there and later in the week, Leslie left and we were joined by Liz and Diana. Melanie and Peter were super hosts all week, letting us sleep at their condo and taking us around Calgary and out to Banff and Lake Louise later in the week. We spent monst of Sunday, Monday and Tuesday at the Stampede grounds which were about a 5-minute walk from Mel and Pete's place, then we went to a Rodeo Round-Up party on Wednesday afternoon/evening at Fort Calgary and spent Thursday and Friday in Banff and Lake Louise.
I could get into a lot of detail but I will just mention some of the trip highlights and you can check out the pictures below:
- The Stampede was awesome! Once you're in the grounds, most of the buildings and events are free so we were able to see concerts, an ice skating show with Elvis Stojko, Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, a Cowboy skills competition, dog shows, etc.
- The Rodeo at the Stampede goes every afternoon from 1:30 til around 4 - we went Monday and about 15 minutes into the competition, a HUGE storm blew in compelte with thunder, lightning, pelting rains, hail, winds, which delayed the competition for about 20 minutes, then they started up again - we remained dry in our 300-level seats under the roof (it doesn't always pan out to have good seats...) and it was amusing to watch the competitors get muddy from head to toe after the storm.
- Rodeo Round-Up Party - 3 Doors Down, Lynard Skynard, lots of beer and a hearty cowboy dinner of beef on a bun, beans, and cole slaw -
- Banff! We rode up the gondola and took in some amazing sites and got awesome pictures! The weather was great and the views were spectacular.
- Lake Louise - another awesome site! Unfortunately the weather was rainy but we didn't let that get us down, we toured the Chateau and had some lunch until it cleared up enough for some drier pics.
- 3 deer sightings - two times when we were driving and then in downtown Banff, there were two deer just chilling in front of the local public school on Friday morning
- Spending time with my girls!!!!
I flew the red-eye back on Friday night - Wedding #4 on Saturday evening so I headed to bed the moment I walked in the door on Saturday morning and slept most of the morning. The lack of sleep was worth it for such an awesome week!
Thanks again to Melanie, Peter and Jenn for your chauffeur services and accommodations all week!
I will be back next year so be prepared!
Mom and Dad were also heading west on Sunday to Victoria to celebrate Great Aunt Reta's 100th birthday and do some touring around BC. A little side note story: Mom and Dad's flight was also early Sunday morning and was going to be stopping in Calgary on route to Victoria. I booked my flight after them and was pretty excited that we were all going to be on the same flight out there so I could have some more time with them. On the way to the airport on Sunday morning, Mom mentioned something about Air Canada and I said, "Well that doesn't matter, we're on West Jet". And she paused then said, "No, we're flying Air Canada." Uh-oh. A quick look at my ticket confirmed that I was in fact on a West Jet flight that left about 20 minutes earlier than Mom and Dad's Air Canada flight. "Uhh Dad, can you drop me at the door and park the car..." Luckily, security procedures aren't so stringent at London Airport but it was a little close for comfort. You know what they say about people who assume things...
I arrived safe and sound in Calgary around 9am and was greeted by Jenn at the airport. The first thing we did was go to Stephen Avenue and buy me a cowgirl hat (not the sexy pink one below...) then met up with the other girls. My other two friends from university, Leslie and Alexis were also out there and later in the week, Leslie left and we were joined by Liz and Diana. Melanie and Peter were super hosts all week, letting us sleep at their condo and taking us around Calgary and out to Banff and Lake Louise later in the week. We spent monst of Sunday, Monday and Tuesday at the Stampede grounds which were about a 5-minute walk from Mel and Pete's place, then we went to a Rodeo Round-Up party on Wednesday afternoon/evening at Fort Calgary and spent Thursday and Friday in Banff and Lake Louise.
I could get into a lot of detail but I will just mention some of the trip highlights and you can check out the pictures below:
- The Stampede was awesome! Once you're in the grounds, most of the buildings and events are free so we were able to see concerts, an ice skating show with Elvis Stojko, Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, a Cowboy skills competition, dog shows, etc.
- The Rodeo at the Stampede goes every afternoon from 1:30 til around 4 - we went Monday and about 15 minutes into the competition, a HUGE storm blew in compelte with thunder, lightning, pelting rains, hail, winds, which delayed the competition for about 20 minutes, then they started up again - we remained dry in our 300-level seats under the roof (it doesn't always pan out to have good seats...) and it was amusing to watch the competitors get muddy from head to toe after the storm.
- Rodeo Round-Up Party - 3 Doors Down, Lynard Skynard, lots of beer and a hearty cowboy dinner of beef on a bun, beans, and cole slaw -
- Banff! We rode up the gondola and took in some amazing sites and got awesome pictures! The weather was great and the views were spectacular.
- Lake Louise - another awesome site! Unfortunately the weather was rainy but we didn't let that get us down, we toured the Chateau and had some lunch until it cleared up enough for some drier pics.
- 3 deer sightings - two times when we were driving and then in downtown Banff, there were two deer just chilling in front of the local public school on Friday morning
- Spending time with my girls!!!!
I flew the red-eye back on Friday night - Wedding #4 on Saturday evening so I headed to bed the moment I walked in the door on Saturday morning and slept most of the morning. The lack of sleep was worth it for such an awesome week!
Thanks again to Melanie, Peter and Jenn for your chauffeur services and accommodations all week!
I will be back next year so be prepared!