Oh Canada! Part 1: Calgary, Canmore and Banff

Hey Everyone! 

Sorry it's been so long since I've blogged, but I guess that just means that I've been working a lot, which is good. And perhaps you were getting tired of sunset and alligator pics. So, today, I'll be bringing you a change of scenery.

Let's get to it!

DAY 1: Wednesday, July 10^th

Went to the Calgary Stampede! It was billed as the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth and it didn’t disappoint. Stampede Park was ENORMOUS with like 5 giant stadiums/amphitheaters, a gondola, an agricultural center where they kept a million animals, more rides than your average theme park, every kind of food cart imaginable, stores selling cowboy gear, and more.

We went to an indoor arena first and watched a dog herding show which was far more suspenseful and exciting than you might think. A dog and a handler would come out and then three sheep would be let into the arena. The dog would have to herd the sheep around three barrels, a fence, and around the handler, and then the handler would open a small paddock, and the dog would have to herd the sheep inside and the handler would close the gate. This had to be done in 4 minutes, and only one contestant achieved this goal. Also, the crowd had to be totally silent so as not to confuse the dog or scare the sheep. There was occasionally one sheep that would not comply with anything, or would have a stand off with the dog, which was really funny to watch. I could have stayed there all day.

But we were hungry and so had fries for lunch (cheese fries for me, chili cheese fries for Glenn - he insisted I document this). I should also note that it was record-settingly hot. Glenn bought a t-shirt since he got chili all over the shirt he was wearing, and we got awesome cowboy hats.

Next, we went to GMC Stadium, where Glenn had brilliantly bought us tickets for the Clubhouse to watch the rodeo. This meant we were inside, in the first row facing the stadium, in comfy air-conditioned seats where we could eat and drink. 

The rodeo was amazing and we watched events including:

·         Bareback bronco riding

·         Saddled bronco riding

·         Calf roping

·         Barrel racing

·         Steer wrestling

·         Wild pony riding (done by small children who got dragged and tossed around)

·         Bull riding

·         And more!

Bareback bronco

Barrel racing

Wild ponies

They brought out the mamas and their babies for appreciation.

Saddled bronco

Steer wrestling

Bull riding (obviously)

There was a marching band and indigenous people dancing and all the things. It was an incredible afternoon. They have another rodeo full of additional events (stagecoach races etc.) that they hold at night, but we didn't stay for that.

The show ended at 4:00 and we took the long hot walk back to our car (a black Mercedes SUV with all black interior so it was a million degrees inside) and then drove out of Calgary and about an hour and a half to Canmore. It was so nice getting out of the city traffic and driving through the beautiful open countryside with towering mountains in the distance.

Our place in Canmore is adorable and there was a restaurant, called Bridgette’s, that was within short walking distance, so we had a lovely dinner and then picked up some groceries. 

View from our balcony

View from outside of Brigette's

This is our little place. It was perfect for us.

 

This is a picture that was on the wall in the bathroom, and one that we noticed being sold in a gallery in town. I love it!

Glenn had also had the real estate place leave a gorgeous vase of flowers for me for our anniversary which included stargazer lilies like the ones at our wedding. The flowers looked and smelled amazing the whole time we were there.

Day one in Canada was a great success!

DAY 2: Thursday, July 11^th

On Thursday, Glenn got up early and took a walk and made some new friends.

Selfie with Elk - Selkie?

After breakfast, we walked through our charming town of Canmore, which features Spring River – a crystal clear river surrounded by fragrant flowers, and lots of cute shops, restaurants, and art galleries.

We had lunch and then booked a float trip down the Bow River – the longest river in Canada. It was a beautiful turquoise color. The float trip was fun and we met a couple of nice couples, as well some other folks on our raft who were nice but already drunk. Being Canadians, they were less obnoxious than drunk Americans, but still a bit annoying.  Still, it was a very scenic little excursion. Our fellow rafters took a swim in the glacial waters at one point during the trip, but Glenn and I abstained and just dipped in our feet.

We went to the nearby Rose & Crown for dinner on the patio (still pretty darn hot). The sun doesn’t set here until 10 or 11 at night, so we will probably never see the nighttime.

Porch view from the Rose & Crown (Amazing GF Prime Rib Sandwich - we ate there 3 times!)

DAY 3: Friday, July 12^th

Friday, we drove to Banff (about a 20-minute drive from our place in Canmore) – the mountains as you drive into the park are simply stunning. A waitress had told us that there was a place during the drive when Cascade Mountain filled up your whole windshield, and this is what she was talking about.

We parked in a free lot and took a shuttle to Sulphur Mountain, where we had tickets to a gondola ride to the top of the mountain.

We rode the gondola up (just the two of us in a car) and had a somewhat scary and dizzying ride to the top. Once at the top, we were rewarded with a gorgeous view, but also some altitude sickness. We had lunch at a restaurant up at the top.

We had tickets to ride the gondola back down at 1:50, but instead made our first really stupid decision of the trip. We had been told that walking up the mountain took about two hours, so we figured walking down would take about half that. We could see the trail and it was wide and clearly marked, and it was switchbacks down the mountain so it didn’t look too steep. Our waitress said it was not a hard walk. So, we stupidly decided to hike back down.

I think this make have been before we realized what a terrible mistake we had made.

I will not get into the gory details, but I will tell you that the hike down took us just short of THREE hours and we may never be able to walk again. Once we finally made it back to the parking lot, we were told to get on the wrong bus, which we soon found would not take us back to the parking lot. We ended up jumping off the bus after a long time, walking to a hotel, and having them call us a cab to drive us back to our car. Glenn’s fitness tracker said that hike was about 7 miles. Since Glenn had gone on a walk in the morning too, he put in about 10 miles.

Alright guys, this seems like a good stopping point for today. Stay tuned for more of our Canadian adventures!