Calgary Tower lunch; Heritage Park

The Calgary Tower is a 626' free standing observation tower, built as part of an urban renewal plan and to celebrate Canada's centennial of 1967.

Tables by the window, please.  We all enjoyed a tasty meal, and a full rotation of the mighty Calgary Tower on Saturday before heading out to the Stampede.  How’s that for a view?

As Canada's largest living history museum, Heritage Park Historical Village is one of the Calgary's most visited tourist attractions.  Exhibits span Western Canadian history from the 1860s to the 1950s. You will see Western Canada's iconic past not only preserved, but also presented alive and in great working condition.  Many of the buildings are historical and were transported to the park to be placed on display. Others are re-creations of actual buildings. Most of the structures are furnished and decorated with genuine artifacts.  Staff dress in historic costume, and antique automobiles and horse-drawn vehicles service the site. 

Wagon tours, a train ride, or a cruise on Glenmore Reservoir on a paddlewheel boat are good choices for excellent park sightseeing.  A stop in Alberta Bakery is highly recommended for delicious cinnamon buns.  Trust me on that.  The park offers attractions and treats for everyone.

Thanks to our Monaco caravan mates for singing “Happy Anniversary” to Dick and me last night.  It was fun celebrating with all of you!

As we begin our trek to Banff today, let me say that we will be staying at provincial parks for the rest of the caravan…which translates to beauty, but NO Internet.  We will be seeking a signal in town, so posts may be spotty and/or short, depending on what we can find.  The news will be forthcoming, so don’t give up checking back here.  Often.

Miles and smiles, y’all!  Tails wagging today.

And…they’re off!

Oh My Goodness!  Chuck wagon racing was exciting, to say the least.  This was a first experience for many of us.  Four teams first line up around their particular numbered barrel.  When each is in place the automatic buzzer activates the GO alert (a team in the last heat couldn’t settle down—race horses being race horses wanted to RUN—so they had to go out and come back in and line up all over again), then the driver whistles and they are off.  FAST…and around the whole track they go.  Hooves thundering, dirt flying, and the ground shaking:

And the finish line is that pole, center stage edge…all automated.  And the crowd goes wild:

Here is a taste of the beginning of the Rangeland Derby:

The TransAlta Grandstand Show after the races was beyond awesome.  The stage was brought out from just beyond the track, then entertainment began that literally rocked the stadium from beginning to the final blasts of the evening!

This stage is the most technically advanced and largest outdoor production facility in the WORLD.  And the entertainment just rocked on:

The annual Calgary Stampede, “The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth,” was 100 years old in 2012, and is truly the granddaddy of all rodeos.  Put this on your bucket list.

Happy Sunday, everyone!

Happy (4th) Campers having fun…

Here is the Monaco-in-Motion group waiting for the Calgary Stampede Parade to begin.  It lasted for two hours!

We saw horses, bands, more horses, military, carriages, wagons, tanks, bagpipers, floats, old vehicles…yikes.  Did I mention it lasted two hours?!  The bleachers were not soft, but the entertainment was outstanding.  And the Grand Marshall…was William Shatner!

These were the same kids we saw at the Sports Museum on Thursday.  They are from Australia, and were thrilled to be performing at this event:

One of the many floats…

We all successfully hopped back on the Light Rail, and headed to the Stampede Rodeo immediately after the parade ended in downtown Calgary.  Yessirree, bulls, horses, calves, cowboys, cowgirls, and racing barrels…along with typical fair food of every description being offered along the midway, as well as games of chance.  The Stampede has it all.  And lots of people everywhere.

We were blessed with sunshine, unlike the rain that prevailed last year.  Being Independence Day for the US, they had a young lady sing our national anthem while a gal on horseback paraded the US flag around the inside of the whole stadium.  It was quite touching, and very appreciated.  Then the action really began:

I deleted quite a few of the 300+ photos I took yesterday, but if anyone wants to see ALL of them, just let me know!

The Calgary Tower is on the agenda for today, followed by another round back at the Stampede…for some special entertainment tonight.  This is our final day here in the Calgary area.  Tomorrow, we move on.  There is still much to see and do.

Life is good north of the border!  Happy Saturday to all.

Happy July 4th from Cochrane, Alberta!

We said goodbye to the hoodoos, and suspension bridge yesterday, and headed to the town of Cochrane, a bit NW of Calgary.

Wilt above; John & Pam, Carol, Norma (photos by Kathy H)

But I forgot to tell y’all that we celebrated John’s birthday Wednesday night:

So yesterday was an easy travel day—only two hours to get to the CG, but we couldn’t check in until 1p, so we enjoyed a late morning (unlike today!).  Everyone got set up, ate lunch in their coaches, then piled in the “toads” and headed to Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame, where we toured the museum, and saw the jumps for the Winter Olympics:

No flash photography was allowed inside, so pardon the darkness.

Happy Hour was the time to discuss today’s plans for the Calgary Stampede and Parade!  Yes, Peaches, that is where we are TODAY…and it will be a very LONG day.  We are not in our home country, but I guarantee that we will be celebrating our Independence Day in grand style!

Let freedom ring from sea to shining sea, blessed that we can freely travel wherever we please…and blessed that we have such good neighbors to our North.

Hoodoos, a coal mine, and a suspension bridge

The Drumheller Hoodoos are geological wonders that have stood watch at the mouth of Willow Creek for thousands of years, bearing witness to the people and events that have shaped the Red River Valley, and Alberta.  We thoroughly checked them out yesterday morning.  They are indeed old!

We hopped back in the cars and headed to Atlas Coal Mine National Historical Site, first enjoying a film about life back during the hey day of coal mining.  After inspecting some of the old equipment, we then boarded “Linda” (train) for a spin around the compound.  We learned what a frog is, and it is not green (it is the track switching spot).  Who knew?!

Of course lunch had to follow, enjoyed at the Last Chance Saloon.

The fun was not over!  We drove over 11 bridges to get to the LCS, but still had a major one to traverse…on foot…Rosedale Suspension Bridge!  Everyone stayed safe.

Dinner was back at the CG…heavy hors d’oeuvres, provided by Team #2 (Rita, Carol, Sandy B), followed by Round Two of Trivia.  Dick’s team lost…again.  Bummer.

So today we are on the road again, moving about two hours away to another CG where we will stay for three nights.  We will go sightseeing this afternoon, so check back tomorrow to see where we went. 

Tails are wagging.  Miles and smiles, y’all! 

Canada Day 2014 recap!

Crouched in the heart of the Canadian Badlands is the town of Drumheller, less than two hours NE of Calgary.  The swirl of canyons, coulees and wind-scraped hoodoos that surround it was once a lush tropical paradise where dinosaurs roamed.  This region has been a fossil hotbed since the 19th century.  Some of the most important dinosaur discoveries in the world were unearthed right here.

John, Don, Art, Sandy K, Patrick, Norma, and Dick at Orkney Viewpoint, our first stop of the morning yesterday, overlooking a beautiful river valley. 

We next drove to Bleriot Ferry and loaded all four vehicles to cross over the Red Deer River.  The ferry is wenched over to the other side by a diesel motor…easy peasy…and free:

Horsethief Canyon was our next stop, but we did not spy any thieves…nor horses…just a mini-Grand Canyon:

The Little Church down the road reputes to “seat 1,000 people, six at a time”!  Jim agreed that the six pews only seated ONE adult each:

The highlight of the day was a visit to the Royal Tyrrell Museum, Canada’s only museum dedicated exclusively to the science of paleontology. In addition to housing one of the world’s largest displays of dinosaurs, the Museum offers a wide variety of creative, fun, and educational programs that bring the prehistoric past to life.  More than 35 dinosaur skeletons and fascinating galleries recreate life in the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.

Back to the coaches for a brief rest, social time, and a cookout in celebration of Canada Day, complete with fireworks.

Life is NOT dull north of the border.  Today will hold more adventures for us.  Seriously!

Head’em up; herd’em out!

Papa Paul making sure the first wave was ready to head out yesterday.  Bu-bye Great Canadian Barn Dance CG.  We enjoyed our stay there.

Twenty minutes later, the next wave of four coaches left.  Each group stopped in Calgary for fuel and lunch in our individual coaches, then we hit the road again in the two, staggered waves, arriving at the CG around 3p in plenty of time to get set back up and ready for happy hour.  It has been windy…every day!

Dinner was at an Irish pub where once again the food was good, but the service was slow.  How come it is so difficult to serve 17 people?!  At least Patrick entertained us with his magnetic cutlery while we were waiting! 

Several things are planned for us today on Canada Day, so check back tomorrow.  Our rally masters are doing a GrEaT job.  WYWH, y’all!