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Although Calgary’s Stampede stretches across ten days, I only managed to make it there for a day and a half. My half day was after work on the Wednesday just gone so that we could walk around the grounds and catch some of the chuckwagon races and the Grandstand show. The controversial chuckwagon races split most locals, with half of them concerned about the risk it poses to the horses who race, and the other unwilling to let go of the heritage and history it represents. Last year they apparently had to put down three horses after a horric collision and I know of at least one horse they had to put down this year.

The race is unlike anything that I’ve seen before. It’s a fairly complex set up involving four different wagons and a set of outriders (individual riders teamed up with a particular wagon). The course is only a single loop around a dirt horse racing track with the start the most dangerous part. The race begins with the four wagons navigating around a small set of beacons set on the ground only to thunder very quickly on to the normal race course. Combined with four powerful horses dragging the wagon, the smallest mistake could cost people and horses a fair amount of damage. I didn’t quite understand all of the rules, although it was fairly easy to pick a wagon to champion and cheer down as they headed towards the finish line. A few people received penalties based on whether or not they knocked any of the beacons over, causing quite a few to slip from first place to last.

I think we saw about four or five different races before they finished racing for the evening and they dragged the main stage for the Grandstand show across. A few people had warned me to expect a tacky, cheesy show yet I was pleasantly surprised to see a very well polished and, what seemed like, an almost neverending show. The show started off a little worringly tacky with a marching band and lots of people dancing and singing and it fortunately kept getting better as they brought out the stunt bikes, a number of circus acts, a bag piping comedian and plenty of fireworks to boot.

The rest of the grounds are definitely worth just walking around with plenty of entertaining acts, live music, lots of animals and demonstrations to suit all tastes. The midway has plenty of rides including the gravity defying Skyscraper that we went on. It’s easy to pig out of junk food and especially “interesting” North American fair food (sampling the fried coke, cheesecake and mini donuts between the group of us) and enough comparatively healthy food to tide you over until you get out.

Stampede is an event worth visiting Calgary for. It’s unique in every right, and with the weather this city typically has, is perfectly named as the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth. Check out the rest of the album here.

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Calgary is a hub for some amazing hiking and summertime is the perfect time for going out and seeing a number of trails. Last weekend, a group of us headed out to Kananaskis Country, a hidden little gem on the way to Banff that apparently is what locals head to when they want some piece and quiet from all the international visitors. Locals often refer to it by its abbreviated name “K Country”.

Our goal that day was only a small 6km hike, although predominantly an uphill/downhill hike where we’d leave a lake at the bottom, only to reach a smaller lake at the top of the mountains. We were so high, that even in the middle of July, we still saw some snow covering some of the mountain side. Fortunately the weather fluctuated between relatively cool temperatures, to much cooler at the top, making the hike that much more enjoyable. The weatherman had predicted a little bit of rain and although it dampened the surrounding forest and muddied the track, it wasn’t as bad as it could have been.

Getting to the top was definitely worth the short although steep hike up. We brought a packed lunch with us to eat, stopping just after midday where we sat by the crystal clear waters of the lake accumulating in the basin. With the group that we had, it was pretty leisurely climb and sprayed over with plenty of mosquito repellent, we were prepared for anything.

Check out the rest of the pictures from the hike here.

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It’s the middle of “summer” now with temperatures easily dipping below 8 degree C. We’ve had some amazing prairie storms and one of today’s brought a sudden barrage of tiny hail stones. In just over a minute or two, the entire ground outside looked like it had yet another layer of fresh snow. Here’s a picture from my window today:

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With only three more weeks left to go, I thought I’d do my list of things I’ll miss so that I can appreciate any of them I can before I leave:

• Living close to Prince’s Island Park and walking around its plush green grounds
• Going to Café Artigiano for a coffee on the weekend
• Having a curry at Mirchi on 11th
• The skiing at Sunshine and Lake Louise
• The fun neighbourhood that makes up Kensington
• The underground rock life easily found at places like The Palomino and Broken City
• Calgarian’s level of friendliness and hospitality

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Looking at their website, here’s “new and unique food for 2008″ at the Calgary Stampede:

• Deep-fried OREO
• Deep-fried Twinkie
• Pizza on a stick
• Bacon on a bun
• Beignets
• Deep fried Coke
• Taco in a bag
• Hot beef sundae
• Fried dough
• Frozen chocolate bananas

Heart attack waiting to happen. Lucky it only comes once a year. I’ll have to see if I can get some pictures of them just to see what they’re all about.

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Every city has their major annual events and just as Brisbane has The Ekka, Calgary has it’s own country-meets-city event called Stampede. It’s the time when the people of Calgary trade in their suits for chequered shirts, wide brimmed cowboy hats, boots and large buckles. It’s the time for lucrative corporate Stampede parties, attend free pancake breakfasts around town and indulge in the large number of other events easily found around town. It’s the time when painted murals and large letterings like “Yahooo” or “Yee-haa” cover the large glass windows of typically very clean cut buildings, sometimes providing a nice contrast to some otherwise drab buildings.

Thoughtworks held their annual Stampede party upstairs at the Barley Mill on Friday where we had a great number of current and previous clients and a handful of other random people. It proved to be an exceptionally warm evening and the outdoor patio, and later, torrential prairie rain providing some relief from the heat. It certainly wasn’t as crazy as I’d heard Stampede parties could get (that’s a good thing!) and had plenty of chance to chat with people about lots of interesting things and have a bit of a laugh.

Check out the photos from our party here.

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I don’t normally go out to cinemas to see mainstream movies, and when someone asked me along to see, Heavy Metal In Baghdad as part of the Sled Island Festival, it sounded pretty interesting.

The synopsis is pretty simple: What’s it like as a heavy metal band trying to get by in Baghdad?

This movie follows this band over a series of years, and combines two worlds we don’t normally associate being together – that of teenagers wanting some outlet to have fun, and the war time stories we typically hear on the news. Bringing them together provides some real insight and a very moving portrayal of a world we rarely think about. Everything seems very surreal, from the young guys talk about how lucky they are to be alive in their mid to late twenties, to the efforts of their families to get them out and keep them out of the country, and the sounds of shooting and bombings in the air at night.

TheKua.com Rating: 8 out of 10

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“A long time ago, according to one legend, the people were driving buffalo over these sandstone cliffs. A young brave wanted to watch the buffalo tumbling past. Standing under the shelter of a ledge, as if behind a waterfall, he watched the great beasts fall. The hunt was unusually good that day and as the bodies piled up, he became trapped between the animals and the cliffs. When his people came do the butchering, they found him with his skull crushed by the weight of the buffalo carcasses. Thus, they named this place “Head-Smashed-In”.

– The story behind the name of this place as described in the Interpretive Centre’s brochure.

Last Sunday, eight of us living in Calgary headed down to Fort MacLeod to visit a well known place where the natives used to stampede buffalo over cliffs in order to find the materials and food they needed to survive the winter. When we arrived in Fort MacLeod, it seemed pretty desolate with winds blowing dust through the streets and, at some point, I thought I might see a tumble weed roll around the streets. Our plan, to stop at the place best known for their buffalo burgers failing, since the restaurant didn’t open on Sundays. We ended up at A&W for lunch instead, the first time I chowed down at this particular fast food chain.

After lunch, we drove to the Interpretive Centre for Head Smashed In, a building constructed right into the hillside and just down from where people used to stampede the buffalo over the cliffs. The centre reconstructs the experience extremely well, with many different scenes reconstructed following a progressive time. A short fifteen minute video continues to rotate through, explaining and simulating the entire experience, with the typical disclaimer, “No animals were hurt in the making of this film.” Instead a computer generated image simulation of buffalo running over the edge finishing off the story for us.

It’s a great destination if you ever find yourself in Calgary, and if you’re ever so inclined, they even rent Tipis for groups of people to camp in to experience the prairie land way of life. Find the photos from the day trip here.

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