July Canada Road Trip - Part I

This past July we took a family road trip up to Canada.  Last time we drove up was in 2011 when Gavin was just over a year, so this time the drive went much better.  We drove up through the night, so Gavin actually slept for most of the way.  And of course we planned to go in July to be there to enjoy the Stampede.  Despite the massive flooding in southern Alberta, and the state of the Stampede Grounds just days before, "Come Hell or High Water", the Stampede still took place!

Downtown Calgary & Stampede Grounds Flooding

Even thought I've now lived outside of Canada longer than I've lived inside Canada, Alberta will always be my home!  I love the song Alberta Bound by Paul Brandt, and can relate to the feeling of driving across Montana, and seeing the signs for Sweet Grass and the border crossing into Canada!  After the flooding my mom sent me this video, and it makes me proud to be able to say I'm a Canadian!

And here are just a few of our Stampede Fun pictures.  For those of you who are not familiar with the Calgary Stampede, it's ten days in July when the entire city goes western.  People go to work in their cowboy getup, there's free Stampede breakfasts daily throughout the city complete with petting zoos and pony rides, and of course the Stampede grounds with the midway rides and yummy foods, shows, Indian Village, and the famous rodeo, chuck wagon races, and Grand Stand Show - "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth"!  STAMPEDE BREAKFASTS Complete with live country music and dancing Dancing with Mommy Pony Ride Petting Zoo  Cowboy Gavin There was even a fire engine and ambulance at this breakfast that we got to check out

On Kid's Day at the Stampede all kids and their parent could get free admission to the grounds if they arrived before 9am.  So early that morning we headed down to the C-train with my sister Heather who was heading to work, and all crammed onto the train with what seemed like the rest of Calgary as well.  Some nice people made some room for Gavin to sit next to them, while the rest of us were crammed in like sardines!  We arrived downtown to the grounds on time, and enjoyed another free breakfast and show in the Grandstand Stadium. I love Indian Village, especially watching all the traditional dance competitions Checking out all the animals And learning how to milk a cow The BMO Kid's Zone had tons of fun stuff that Gavin loved The Super Dog's show! When we came back in 2011 Gavin was too little to appreciate the show with all the loud noise and cheering.  This year he loved cheering on all the dogs as they raced, did tricks and put on a great show!    Horse shows.  We didn't pay to watch any of the Grandstand rodeo or chuckwagon races, but at the Big Top they did have mini chuckwagon races, with the miniature horses!  It was way fun, and I wish I had taken some pictures! Saying hi to the show horses The two Canadians with the Mounties! It was a great day at the Stampede Grounds!  And although we didn't pay to watch the Chuckwagon races or the Grandstand show, we all had a blast and were able to watch the races on TV anyways.  Maybe next time we go up (it seems this is our two year tradition) Gavin will be old enough to appreciate the Grandstand Show and we'll go!