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Published: August 7th 2007
Well firstly before we update you with this blog we should probably explain especially for those of you who subscribe to our blog, that the Travel Blog site went down last week and lost everyone’s blog sites- NOOO! Luckily we were able to do the time consuming process of recovering ours and re-post them so this is why our loyal subscribers would have received many emails notifying you of the re-posting (sorry if this was confusing for you). We are hoping that the problems with the site will not continue- fingers crossed.
Anyway this combined with our usual slackness have put a delay in updating the blog which was most overdue. Since our last blog we have been up to a few things. We went to the Calgary Stampede for the last four days (July 8th to the 12th) of the 10 days it runs.
Karl: The reason for my interest in the Calgary Stampede and my love of the country was largely due to my grandfather who sadly passed away recently and will be dearly missed. Throughout it all I was also thinking of my Grandmother and us not being able to be there for her.
We
Chuck Wagon Racing
Touring around before the race begins...had been really looking forward to getting away and see something different. Unfortunately we (well Karl) ran into some bad luck. He awoke at 2am the morning we were due to be flying out only to throw up. At first we thought this must have been a one off and from the Greek take-away we had enjoyed the night before down by the beach. But when Emma tried to wake him at 5am, as we had an early morning flight, he was no better. Oh no…what to do?! Emma was extremely worried, as this now seemed to be more serious. She thought if she could just get him on the plane safely and to Calgary that maybe he would improve within 24 hours. We did somehow manage to get there not with some ‘sick episodes’ along the way including freaking out the staff by running to the toilet whilst the plane was landing, but anyway we got there! Karl slept most of the day and Emma soon realized she was more of a disruption to him by being there so she decided to head to the Stampede to check it out.
It is such a huge event, the whole
Horse Drawn Carriages
These lucky people were able to score a ride through town down to the Stampede. town gets involved it’s a wonderful atmosphere. They do call it the ‘Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth’, quite a claim but it does live up to expectations. Along the way on the train you start to get a feel for how much everyone gets into the spirit with most people donning a cowboy/girl hat and every second person completing the outfit with the boots also. Apparently a lot of clubs and other business take in over 50% of the yearly income in the 10 days that the Stampede runs for! The actual Stampede is like a bigger version of the ‘ekka’ with a large Agricultural section and I got to see some exciting events such as the cattle cutting. There is also many other sections and events, loads of food stalls selling all sorts of yummy junk including mini doughnuts, fresh lemonade, frozen banana dipped in chocolate, deep fried coke and cheesecake, Alberta Beef on a bun and plenty more including the usual favourties like fairy floss, chips, corn dogs (dagwood dogs) etc. They had some free live music which was pretty good, on the first day I got to see the Dixie Chicks and Live played in concert in
the evening which was huge. They also have a huge section of different rides. Plenty of other things to see and do but won’t go into them all- Google it if you yearn to know more!
That night Karl started to feel a little better and was well enough to make it the next day to use our tickets for the daytime rodeo. It was great fun with plenty of events such as bull riding, barrel racing, steer wrestling, bare back bronc riding etc. They made it a really entertaining show and the place was packed out. Unfortunately Karl was not great the next day maybe from such a big day the day before so he stayed in bed again during the day and Emma ventured out to catch a free pancake breakfast (what a surprise that food took priority!!). The city puts on these free pancake breakfasts all over and they are great. They put their traditional bacon on top of the pancake but unfortunately no maple syrup on offer
: - (
I still managed to scoff a few and felt a little sorry that I had the last one after I did. That night Karl
was ok to come to the Evening Show, which we also had tickets for. The show starts with the Chuck Wagon Racing which we had no idea how crazy and fast that was until we actually saw it in person. They also had some great performers including a musical show, which finished with some motorbikes doing backward flips over the stage! They also had a really amazing ventriloquist who was really funny and then the big finale is a fireworks show.
The next day we had more of a wander around and bought some standing room only tickets to the finals for the Rodeo. It was really good to see some of the finalists and a good end to our experience of the Stampede. It was then straight to the airport back home to Vancouver. With Karl being sick we didn’t have as great an experience as we anticipated and did not obviously get to do all we hoped e.g. no true nightlife experience or an Alberta steak but it was a lot of fun and a great thing to do. It was amazing how hot it was most days were around 30 °C but a really dry heat
to the point where you have a dry mouth despite sculling water the whole time.
Since then we have been back at work. Em’s temp assignment has been extended until the 10th, right before we leave Vancouver. They tried to get her to stay but with no luck! She has really enjoyed working there and has made some great friends with a couple of the girls that work there, Ali and Jenn. In fact she invited them and their fellas along with some other friends around to watch the fireworks last weekend. They have a fireworks festival over here that is International and runs over two weeks. This year Spain, Canada and China competed and were spectacular. For those that don’t know Em LOVES fireworks and is always excited yet mesmerized by them so she had been looking forward to all the fireworks for weeks. The fireworks sure exceeded expectations, particularly China. I have never seen anything quite like it they were truly spectacular.
Karl has been continuing to work really hard. He thought the day he mentioned early on in the blog entries was the longest day in concreting history, but last Wednesday takes that award. He
Hula Hoop Dancing
This is a traditional Aboriginal dance within Canada and is amazing to watch. started at 5am and did not get home until 12 Midnight!! After such a long day in the 'mud' he ended up with second degree cement burns to the feet. Now he is getting called hop-a-long as he can not walk or wear shoes so he feels like a prisoner confined to the apartment. Needless to say this weekend has been a pretty quite one and we had to once again postpone doing the seaplane trip Karl got Emma for her birthday.
We are still going ahead with our plans to do the cycling trip of Vancouver Island. If Karl’s feet are still not good we will stay in a hostel in Victoria for a few days to a week depending on the healing. We will then hire bikes and ride around the Island, which is actually quite big and hopefully a cheap way form of travel, and also catch ferries and visit some of the surrounding Gulf Islands. We will be carrying all our gear on the bikes and then camp along the way. It will be quite an adventure as neither of us have ever done a touring cycle trip but we are really excited. After our
Traditional Pow Wow Ceremony
These ceremonies were traditionally used to celebrate particular events but now are used more broadly including entertainment to ensure the culture continues. time there we will be catching the Greyhound bus across Canada using a Discovery Pass, which makes it a really economical way to get around. We don’t have too many plans for this portion of our travels expect to focus on B.C, the Rockies and the east including Niagra Falls, and Quebec and in particular Montreal. It will be great to experience some other parts of such a huge and scenic country. Not sure for how long yet but maybe a month. We may see more or less, just see what happens. We are also really looking forward to catching up with Karl’s parents who will be having a holiday of their own over here. After our traveling around we plan to settle down somewhere (not sure where yet) for the next snow season and start earning some more peasant wages to replenish the diminishing funds.
What a long blog entry!! Enough from us, what has been happening over there? Fill us in (we have heard how cold it is over there, quite funny to hear)
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david jenkinson
non-member comment
hi karl
hikarl and emma what a great travel site. ive never seen worse concrete burns karl..give it up mate and take up ranching..heaps of work here..no rain..no fish either.sorry to hear about your grandfather karl.. take care dave