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 The
Calgary Stampede is the world's greatest
rodeo, but it's a whole lot more besides. "The spirit of Stampede
infects the whole city," explained one native. "Even the bankers
wear boots and jeans. Everybody gets to be a cowboy for a couple of
weeks a year, even if it's only the urban kind." As you can see
from the picture, we succumbed to the Stampede siren and became fair-weather
cowboys, too. The hats came in handy on the warm sunny days. You won't
see us riding any bucking broncos, though. We're happy to sit in the
stands and admire the skill of the professional rodeo stars who've qualified
to enter "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth."
Chuckwagon
food is a big part of the Stampede scene. If you play your cards right,
you can eat breakfast free somewhere in Calgary every day for ten days.
On Monday, we enjoyed a neighborhood breakfast
complete with live country music sponsored by a shopping center in northwest
Calgary. Tuesday night found us at The Keg
steakhouse, where the Stampede special was barbeque prime rib.
After a day
at the rodeo on Wednesday, we spent
Thursday enjoying the animals on display
at Stampede, from miniature horses to a retired cow. On Saturday we visited
the authentic Indian Village, where we
watched the teepee raising competition, learned about the heritage and
culture of the Plains Indians, and met princesses Nicole Yellow Old Woman
and Lisa Starlight.
If you like
GIZMOS, we have a mysterious device
to baffle you from our visit to the Seattle area. We also visited M'Liss
Edwards (Megan's sister) and her family in Calgary.
On Monday,
we'll be bringing you one of the most remarkable Stampede events of all,
the Chuckwagon Races. These wagons, each pulled by a four-horse team,are
not designed for serving pancakes, but rather for running flat out around
a 5/8-mile track for a prize money totalling CDN$357,000. We hope you'll
join us for the ultimate in Stampede excitement.
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