Saturday, July 6, 2013

July 6 – Calgary Stampede


We explored the Stampede grounds today.  The midway was large with sights and smells to please everyone.  There are food vendors with every kind of fried food – Oreos, pickles, turkey, etc.  You can test your skill at games of chance – toss baseballs, basketballs or rings and win “stuff”.



The animal barns had sheep shearing competitions several times a day.  Muscle and skill were required to control the animal and the shears.  Wagon competitions demonstrated the power of large horse team and the strength of their drivers.  Every midway has rides and the ones we saw were scary even from the ground!  Passengers were spun around, dropped and twisted!



The chuck wagon races have been called NASCAR for cowboys.  There were lots of horsepower, left hand turns and mud!  After the first night’s races all the drivers had dirt colored shirts, hats and faces.  (It had rained in the afternoon.)  There are 9 heats of 4 wagons each night to determine the 8 semi-finalists who will complete next weekend.  They must navigate two barrels in the arena then race around the track.  It was lots of fun to cheer on your team!










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