Calgary Stampede & Our Trip in Numbers

It’s time for a few posts about our fabulous trip to Calgary, Glacier National Park, and the Canadian Rockies. It was a trip we’d planned a few years ago, but we really didn’t have any idea how much we’d enjoy it.

After a few days with Sarah, Adam, and Caleb we flew to Calgary. I was very excited about being able to go to the Calgary Stampede, one of the largest rodeos in the world. I’ve never been to a rodeo, so it was all new to me. And it didn’t disappoint!

There’s a lot of pageantry involved. Some of the prominent riders were “dropped” into the stadium via cables from above. None of my photos of that were clear enough to share!

This is one of two large, and excellent, bands that performed before the rodeo and during intermission.

Of course, it’s the bronco riding that folks come to see. Actually the most exciting event was the calf roping where world records were set. We were too far away from that end of the stadium to take good photos, but the video screens around the stadium made it easy to see every event.

The Stampede is much like the state fairs here, with midways and lots of exhibits. 

 

I always knew the Clydesdales were huge, but seeing the groomers on stools really brought it home.

I loved this image of the sheep in the wagon, off to a different venue.

One of our favorite exhibits was that of the First Nations. We spent quite a bit of time there. There were traditional tepees to visit, and my favorite, dance competitions.

I’ve always admired bloggers who can keep track of numbers during the month. I’ve never managed to do it successfully, but made a big effort to keep track during our trip. So here they are—our trip in numbers.

    2, 585 miles driven (in a rented Ford Escape, which we loved)

    76.5 miles hiked on 23 different trails

    14 (unusual for us) animal species, including 4 bears, 4 elk, many loons, mountain goats, and 
    big horned sheep, 2 coyotes, and 2 spruce grouse

We always keep an eye out for license plates as we drive along. This year we spotted 45/50 states, 7/10 Canadian provinces, and 1/3 Canadian territories. We drove in five different states and 2 provinces (Alberta and British Columbia).

I took 1,177 photos, about half with my DSRL and half with my iPhone. I edited about 130 to share with friends and had 70 printed to add to an album.

We’re already planning another trip to the Canadian Rockies. There were hikes we didn’t get to, and an aborted trip from many years ago up the coast of British Columbia we’d like to do.