Calgary Stampede

The whole of Calgary is Stampede mad. It's the biggest date in the calendar. Everyone dresses in cowboy hats, boots, denim, big buckles and cowboy shirts. The locals assured me it goes back to normal after its all over!

I got up early. Queued for and hour to get into Stampede Park which is set up as a huge fun fair. In the hot morning sun I queued for another hour to get a ticket to the rodeo itself. This wasn't the big money day but there wasn't a spare seat in the house.

There were marching bands, fireworks and hula hoop performances before they got down to business. When the accrual rodeo started I was uncomfortable with the cruelty to the animals pretty quickly and couldn't stick it out to the end.

The first event was bare back riding. A horse is loaded into the chute. The rider mounts and secured on hand to the harness. A bucking strap is tightened around the horses mid section and the gate is opened. The terrified horse in obvious distress tries to kick the bucking strap off.

Next came the calf roping. A calf is released from a chute and runs across the arena chased by a cowboy on a horse. The calf is lasooed round the neck. The horse stops dead and when the rope tightens the calf is yanked to a halt flying off its feet and spinning in the air. Next it's hind legs are bound. once released the calf is chased out of the ring.

Before the break and the last I saw if the rodeo was steer wrestling. A steer is released from a chute presumed by to mounted cowboys. One keeps the steer on a straight line while the grabs the steers horn and jumps off the horse. Once off the clock doesn't stop until the prongs of the steers horns are stuck into the dirt which involves wrenching the steers head almost at 90 degrees to its body and twisting it off it's feet.

I'd had enough by then! It was good to go and see what it was all about but probably won't need to go again.

Vocabulary

A quick lesson in vocabulary that I've picked up so far:

A Loonie is a dollar because it has a picture of a bird called a Loon on it and the new two dollar bit is a toonie. The confusing context being when and old mad bloke comes up to you on the high street and says "Can you spare a Loonie?".......

There seems to be a big craze for tattooing here and loads have people have been "inked". A tattoo at the bottom of a ladie's back is a tramp stamp. There you go, you learn something everyday!

A late pic of downtown Calgary in the distance and in the very far distance the Canadian Rockies.

Here I am.....

I've almost made it to Calgary. I goofed the booking of the current hotel. Due to the Stampede I was lucky to get this! I'm in a white trash motel at the end of the airport runway! All part of life's rich tapestry :-)

Winnipeg rail museum

It cost $5 so can't really complain! A couple of platforms of Winnipeg's central station have been handed over to the museum to display a dusty collection of railway stuff. It's great to see that the same sorts of museum's run by volunteers and probably kept running with little or no money are exactly the same as back home in the UK. Disappointing lack of musty mannequins but made up for by sitting in the driving seat of a mighty Canadian National diesel loco. You could fit a couple of Deltics into one of these. Oh and there was a bonkers car that ran on rails!

A day in Winnipeg....

I had a pretty fixed idea about Winnipeg after watching the film My Winnipeg and some non to complimentary views from others. It's certainly quite a different place to visit.

There are smart business areas right next to streets that are just falling down. In parts a slight air of menace is quite distinct with lots of private security guards, a local volunteer safety patrol in the main downtown area and visible police patrols. You do need to keep your wits about you but no more than visiting London.

I asked about no go areas and was advised to stay "south of Portage" which is one of the main East West arteries. Having said all that, I think it's a great city. The art scene is thriving with a beautiful and well stocked art gallery. Contemporary theatre and a generally friendly feel. There is an institute for contemporary art and universities. Seeing art from something very distinct to the European traditions was a real eye opener and not just the art of First Nation people but thr contemporary stuff too. Winnipeg Art Gallery is its name and was a real surprise.

The Manitoba Museum was last fitted out in the 70's I think and was musty mannequin heaven :-) some pics below along with some shots of downtown and 'big' clouds.

I'm going to see if I can construct a "My Winnipeg" tour for tomorrow....I'm really glad I chose to stop off here and I'm not just saying that because I have given my blog address to some locals!

My Winnipeg

The film My Winnipeg is about people trying to leave Winnipeg and not managing it. Well I didn't think I was going to arrive! The plane on the gate before mine broke. They disembarked everyone thought they had fixed it. Reboarded and pushed back only to break again and disembark. Poor buggers! They all got packed off to another gate to a new plane and then my plane was two hours late.

We got on almost straight away to a hot and dirty plane that ran out of food. About 5 minutes after take off all you could see was lakes and trees. It was like this until the lights of Winnipeg popped up in the middle of nowhere. It's also hemmed by a perimeter highway so the lights literally stop at the highway. This place is very very big. How's that for in depth travel philosophy. I'm off to find My Winnipeg.....

Here I am....

Right, time to check in. I'm in the middle of the bottom edge of Canada :-)