Stampede Has Come and Gone

Before moving here, we had heard so much about Stampede, the ten-day festival that Calgary is famous for - ten days of partying, concert-going, rodeo watching, pancake eating and general mayhem! It arrived before we even knew what had hit us.

Ben and I did our best to jump right into the mix - I think we made it to at least one Stampede-related event every day. The city really came to life more than I've ever seen it. For the first time, there were lots of tourists around, and the streets and restaurants were overflowing. I hope the festive spirit carries into the rest of the summer! Here's the crew enjoying our $3 pancake breakfast on Stephen's Ave. downtown - for some reason pancakes are a major theme of Stampede!

Ironically, after essentially nine months of drought, the thunderstorms all rolled in over the Stampede celebrations. They still have not left entirely but are at least slowing down.

And as most of you probably would have guessed, the actual Rodeo was my least favorite part of Stampede. In spite of reassurance from people in the know that rodeo animals are happy and very well cared for, I still found elements of the show pretty horrible. The calf roping was one event that I had hoped never to witness.

And then there was the calf wrestling, which I had never known even existed: basically a 200 (often more) pound man rides out on a horse alongside a calf, then dives off the horse, tackles the calf and throws it to the ground by its neck. All I could think about was how those poor unsuspecting animals had no idea what was happening to them! And then they ran out of the ring with their tails between their legs, looking so traumatized. Poor cows have a bad lot in life, even though they're docile, sweet, and proven to be as smart as dogs! I later heard that one of the cows that had been wrestled at Stampede never got up, and had to be euthanized. Does it make you feel like a man to tackle an unsuspecting baby animal? Really?? But anyway, the photo below is from the Chuckwagon Races, for which we were up front and center and I actually DID enjoy :)

We also had a great time at the fairgrounds (imagine the biggest state fair you've seen in your life); at "Nashville North," a stage where various country music artists play throughout Stampede; and at the Grandstand Show, which was a massive Cirque du Soleil-type evening show that included acrobatics, singing, dancing, comedy and motorcycle tricks, and culminated in fireworks.

Phew! Now Ben and I are both just trying to recuperate. I'm so excited for my family to come in town this weekend, so am saving up my energy to party down with them. Calgary better watch out, the Kiilerichs are coming!!

Outdoors, Outdoors and More Outdoors

Once again, I have to apologize for being SO behind on my posts! It is not that I have nothing to blog about - quite the opposite, actually. Summertime in Calgary has transformed this city. We have gone from bundling up and drinking hot chocolate and brandy to stay warm, to the most spectacular weather imaginable for enjoying the bountiful outdoors all around us!

Since returning from our trip to Nashville, Calgary's days have been long (light until around 10pm), sunny and pleasant, with temperatures in the 70s during the day and the 50s and 60s at night. The climate is ideal for camping and all sorts of active pursuits, and we have spent every free moment this past month taking advantage of this fact.

I have to admit that I also feel a sense of urgency about the summer - I'm nervous about cramming everything in that we want to do before winter visits again!! I think the looming winter has stayed in the back of my mind all along, reminding me to get all I possibly can from these warm months.

Our first trip was a 14 km hike at Lake Louise. For the first time, we saw the lake in its element: the most indescribable glacial turquoise color.
We went as early as we could in the season, as this hike is popular and we wanted to avoid mass crowds. Luckily the trail was not crowded and we made the uphill hike to a tea house at the top of the mountain, where we sat and enjoyed killer scenery. Being the cashless wonders that we are, Ben and I realized after sitting for ten minutes that the tea house had no electricity, and therefore could not take credit cards. Our waiter was so kind - he snuck us a huge rice crispie treat, and when I asked to refill my water bottle, he ushered me quickly into a small kitchen. Turning on the tap, he joked, "We never saw you here!" Apparently they are not supposed to give out water, so I felt honored - especially since he told me it was fresh glacier water, simply the best. We hiked a bit further beyond the tea house, where we were able to see several glaciers and even tromp through a bit of left-over snow.

The following weekend we headed with Almudena to Dinosaur Provincial Park. Ben and I have often discussed how we both loved dinos as children, although I think Ben was a bit more fanatical than me! With Bosco in tow, we drove 2 1/2 hours east of Calgary through the Alberta prairies and canola farms and set up camp for a night in a shaded but flat grassland area (thanks, Chris and Marian, for the awesome tent!!).
So this is what the rest of Alberta looks like! Bosco had a field day chasing the numerous gophers all around the campground. They literally popped up from their holes every couple of minutes, just like the arcade game - Bop-It, I think it was called? I don't think I'd ever seen gophers in person before!

Dinosaur Park was amazing - the dry, rocky, wind-carved badlands seemed to go on forever, all in place of a former tropical oasis that was once filled with dinos. There used to be a huge straight of water that cut through the western part of North America, which is why it was so full of life. Now, this is as close as you can get to the desert in Canada, with cacti growing and harsh sun beating down. This area is the largest site for dinosaur bones in the world! And we saw plenty of them, sometimes just scattered on the ground.

So now we're almost caught up...

This past week was Canada Day (July 1st), and Ben had half the week off, so again Ben, Almu, Bosco and I took off for a camping trip, this time at Jasper National Park. I will not give too many details away, since my family is coming very soon to see for themselves, but I will say that it is easily one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. We camped for two nights, drove around to view the scenery, and took a nine km mountain hike. I was in heaven!

We are now in the midst of Stampede, and the city has come to life more than ever before. Everybody wears their cowboy gear to work, bars and restaurants put out bales of hay and saloon signs and play country music, and nobody seems to go to work!

So far we've attended the Rodeo (fun but a bit traumatic for me at times - the poor little calfs that get roped and wrestled), enjoyed one of the pancake breafkasts that are all over the city, and attended a show at Nashville North, the "country" stage where some of the big concerts take place. I say "country" in quotes because it felt a bit forced to me, and the singer we saw mostly covered classic rock songs! It was fun nonetheless :) Tonight Ben's company has reserved space at a club downtown, so we'll be going there for dinner and drinks. Though I was skeptical, there are actually some pretty big country names performing, including Taylor Swift, Kelly Pickler, Kenny Chesney and Reba MacIntyre. If I'd known earlier, I might have actually tried to buy tickets!

Anyway, I hope everybody is having a fabulous summer and making the most of it!! Much Love :)