The Calgary Stampede

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July 18th 2008

Published: July 20th 2008

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cazngaz

Calagary Stampede

Chuckwagon races.

The trip from Glacier National Park to Calgary was a blur for Gary who was recovering from the hangover received by the mixing of cultures, the previous night, around a campfire outside Glacier National Park. The Canadian Border guards still let us both in so it was off to Calgary for the Stampede, which is described as the "Greatest outdoor show on Earth". It was an experience, a mixture of amusement rides, music , many stalls in which you can win unfeasibly large cuddly toys, food on sticks such as corn dogs and pizzas, a show where you can by consumer goods like the V slicer for vegetables, and carpet cleaners. It does really have everything. There is also a rodeo going on in the background, which is what we went for. We were there for two nights which would include the penultimate night for the chuck wagon races and the actual finals of the rodeo stuff. When we arrived we were very concerned that you could not buy a drink (alcoholic) whilst in the main park area. To get a drink you have to queue to go into one of the bar areas, but the queue was so long it

Calgary Stampede

It gets quite busy

had a sign saying "4 hours from here". Fortunately we had tickets for the Grandstand and could get beer (not cheap) at our leisure. The extravagant grandstand entertainment on the Sat night was an eclectic mix of weird stuff, finished off with brilliant fireworks. The final day rodeo was exceptional, but we stood out as we did not have a Stetson, Jeans or Cowboy boots. There were significant numbers there who did have all the gear and we certainly didn't mention Brokeback Mountain at any point in case they objected. The place is completely packed and there were over 150,000 people there on the last Saturday. Calgary was a really nice town and is a good place to visit in and out Stampede season, but if you ever get the chance to go the Stampede it is a must.

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