| Canada - Here We Come
We left Glacier National Park and St. Mary,
Montana and drove north on highway US 89 to the Canadian border crossing
at Port of Peigan near Carway, Alberta. The border agent asked for our
passports and a few standard questions and told us to have a good day.
The first picture below is of Linda standing in front of a "Welcome to
Alberta" sign. We normally don't take pictures of "welcome to" signs because
we would have hundreds or even thousands by now, but we stopped for a reason
and that reason can be seen in picture number two. While our border crossing
took only a couple of minutes, Rich and Diane Emond were stopped for a
search that took 20-30 minutes. They had to step outside while an agent
went through their motorhome and then the agent looked in the outside cargo
bays. Linda and I could have hightailed it out of there and claimed to
not know the Emonds, but we stuck around in case we needed to bail them
out of jail or call their children. Actually, getting inspected is the
luck of the draw and next time we may be the ones getting inspected. Both
we and the Emonds know the laws and rules of entering Canada and we never
break those laws so getting inspected is just an inconvenience.
Highway 2 from the border to Calgary is an
excellent highway and was four-lane most of the way. In Calgary we stopped
at Flying J to top off our fuel tanks and we paid $5.16 (US) a gallon for
diesel. Across Calgary we drove highway Canada 1 and what a disaster -
there was road construction and heavy traffic that had us inching along
mile after mile. We finally reached our destination of Bow Rivers Edge
Campground in Calgary's bedroom community of Cochrane.
Calgary Stampede At Cochrane we met an Escapees group for the Calgary Stampede HOP. (HOP = Head Out Program) There were 30 rigs at the campground for the Stampede and it cost $1,035 for each couple. As always, at Escapees RV Club activities we met a lot of nice people. Each rig had full hookups and there was free WiFi that worked sometimes. We had Happy Hours, continental breakfasts and two catered dinners. We had two bus trips to the Calgary Stampede - one was an afternoon trip and the other was a noon to 1:25 a.m. long day trip. We also had a narrated bus tour to Fort Calgary and to the Canada Olympic Park. We think it was worth the $1,035 fee. The Calgary Stampede is much larger than we thought. It is a state fair, Dollywood, a Superbowl half time show and of course, a championship rodeo, all rolled into one event. Our first day to the Stampede we watched a few hours of rodeo events and then took in some entertainment. We also ate hot dogs, drank Cokes and had other delicious and nutritious foods. Everybody at the Stampede wears western hats so we donned our finest head wear and we fit into the crowd. Come to think of it, I probably looked like a bad guy because I wore a black hat while most everyone else wore white hats. On our second trip we attended the final day of the ten day long Stampede and the rodeo show was outstanding. Competitors competed the entire ten days and only the best made it to the finals. Each event had the best rodeo competitors in the world and each category had a top prize of $100,000. During the proceeding nine day's events prize money was awarded and if a competitor won his/her event every day the total prize money was $240,000 for each event and the total Stampede payout was $1.8 million. We watched bronco riding, bull riding, calf roping, barrel racing and other events and at the end of each the winner was brought on stage and presented a check. Again we sampled hot dogs, poutine, beignets, Cokes, etc. We took in more excellent entertainment and visited the horse barns where draw horses and other fine looking stallions were on display. In the evening we went back to the rodeo stadium for the chuck wagon races. If you have never seen those races you have missed one of the most entertaining things in life. The wagons are pulled by thoroughbred race horses so they are fast. They begin with staggered starting cones and "outriders" on thoroughbreds guide the wagons around starting cones and then they throw items in the wagons before jumping on their horses and following the wagons around the track. The beginning of the races seemed confusing until we learned exactly what they were doing and then the race around the track and to the finish line was exciting. After an intermission the night's entertainment
began. A large stage was pulled into place and entertainers- singers, dancers
and musicians gave an exciting and entertaining performance. Motor-cross
bikes jumped across the stage, acrobats hung from suspended cables, and
the entertainment and light show went on for hours and hours. If you have
seen the opening ceremonies of an Olympics or a Superbowl half time show
you are aware of the type of entertainment we saw - except the Stampede's
lasted three hours. It was followed by a beautiful fireworks display that
ended at midnight and the tour bus got us back to the campground at 1:25
a.m. It was a long day and a day we will never forget. Here are some pictures
of what we saw at the Stampede.
Fort Calgary In 1874 the NWMP (North West Mounted Police) were sent to what is now Calgary to stop the illegal whiskey trade, to make peace with Indian tribes and to establish law and justice in the northwest. They chose the confluence of the Bow and Elbow Rivers to build a fort and the city of Calgary is now built around the old fort. In 1905 the name Royal was added to make RNWMP and in 1920 it became the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) which we know today. The Fort Calgary Interpretive Center houses
exhibits, audio-visual presentations and public programs about the fort
and the Mounted Police, and the history of early Calgary. Our tour guide
asked for three volunteers and Linda, Diane and Rich stepped forward. Each
wore a Mounted Police uniform depicting different eras of their history.
Canada Olympic Park The 1988 Winter Olympics were held in Calgary and Olympic Park is still active training future Olympic hopefuls. Our first stop was the Ice House where water is sprayed on tracks to make thin ice. Future Olympians train there launching bobsleds and riding skeleton sleds and luge. The Ice House is also a museum with a collection of sled type competition rides. I can't imagine laying belly down on a very small sled going down an ice packed track with twisting curves at 75 miles per hour. Our next stop was at the 90 meter ski jump
that is flanked on either side by a 50 meter and a 70 meter ski jump. The
elevator was broke so we walked 202 steps to the top of the 90 meter ski
jump and a beautiful view of the valley below and the city of Calgary.
A person has to be both insane and crazy to ski down that sharp slope,
fly into the air and try to land in the sloped valley below. Standing at
the top and looking down it seems impossible and I think anyone who tries
the jump and survives should be given a gold medal.
Our next travels will be in the Canadian Rockies. |
