Stampede

Note to self- go during the week! There were so many people there for semi-finale Saturday! We went to visit my sister who lives in Calgary before we went to the Stampede grounds, then drove through downtown to the grounds. Parking: $20. Gate admission for two: $30.  Fifty bucks before we even did anything! Everything was pricey, especially the food. $6.75 for a beer, $5 for lemonade, $8 for a skinny hamburger. Take lots of money if you go, folks!
We didn't go to the rodeo, as we prefer the Chuckwagon racing.  But there were plenty of things to do to while away the afternoon, such as buying a ticket on this truck and fifth wheel trailer- that's Ted standing possessively beside it.

We walked through the horse barn, where we spotted this spotted mule (pun intended!)

It was stalled next to the two spotted horses that I featured in my Sunday Stills post.

Out in the midway, I thought of Mrs. Mom and GunDiva when we saw this tank- ladies, how'd you like to fire a round from this baby?

There were some very nice black Clydesdales in the barn, and they put in an appearance during a break in the Chuckwagon races that evening.

We headed to the infield, and got seats high up in the grandstand that allowed us to see the backstretch of the racetrack, and had a great view of the infield, facing the main grandstand. I had to use my zoom to the max to get photos, so the stop action isn't the greatest. During the National Anthem we were treated to a fly-by of a military helicopter and a huge Canadian flag. This was right behind us.

Then it was race time!  If you have never been there, you can't imagine the excitement when the klaxon sounds and there are 4 wagons who "cast their fate to the figure eight and the half a mile of hell" ;

From the start of the race :

to the finish, all you can hear is the roar of the crowd, the thunder of the hooves of 24 horses, and the rattle of the harness as they cross the finish line.
Yesterday, the big winner of the $100,000 showdown was Kelly Sutherland, with his record breaking 12th win. Here is an interview with him from the Association website.

As we left, we were treated to the copper skies of an Alberta sunset over the heart of Calgary- the Stampede grounds.