Gary Ewan Park - Calgary Stampede

Well, I have to say that the Calgary Stampede lived up to its expectations!! Had a really good day!!

Got down to the grounds just after 11, which is when the gates opened, and had a wander round the whole grounds just to see where everything was, and by the time I had done that, it was time for the Rodeo.

This was a really good show, especially the last event which was a kids event, it was SO funny!!! The idea was that there were three of them, they had to hold onto this small horse, long enough for one of them to jump on it's back and ride it for 3 jumps. The first team was able to do it no bother, but all the others ones couldn't do it, and most of them ended up being dragged along the ground by the horse. Very funny!! Ended up sitting next to an elderly lady who had family in Peterhead, how bizarre is that, small world eh!!

After the Rodeo, got in touch with Ryan, a colleague at work who I was meeting to go to the Chuck Wagons with, and arranged where we were to meet. Spend the time in between walking round the Stampede Grounds.

There was so much to see, including lots of vintage tractors which some of my uncle's would have loved, so I have taken lots of photos of them, you can see them in the above slide show.

Then met Ryan and it was onto the Chuck Wagons.

Before that though, we went to the Bar and got a couple pints and ended up bumping into a family of Scottish people from the Bridge of Allan. Had a bit of banter with them, which was good fun, was good to hear some fellow Scottish voices, although I am not sure that Ryan understood everything! We decided that we were going to bet a dollar on each race, there were nine races in total, it was neck and neck all the way, then the cheating Canadian won the last one, so I had to pay up!! All in all though, much fun was had.

The seats that we had were great for the Chuck Wagons, but they really weren't great for the Grandstand show, so decided to head to the Casino instead. Had never been to a Casino before, and this place was packed!! Ended up getting a seat on a Blackjack table, Ryan wasn't able to which was a real shame, and started on a bit of a winning streak!! Had a really good time, but it is easy to see how people could become addicted!!