CALGARY STAMPEDE

HI!!

Just pulled in the door from a hectic weekend in Calgary where we went to the Calgary Stampede the "greatest outdoor show on earth"...It started off feeling pretty lucky, i made a sign for hitch-hiking and fortunatley we got picked up in 5 mins!!! Record breaking! And they dropped us off right at the hotel!! Nice!

We met up with Joe and Em-actually it was classic, we got to the front desk and asked if Joe Wilson had checked in, the dude said yes - Stephanie Wilson (so we naturally assumed Joe put it on Mummy's credit card...) walk in there, I'm using the bathroom, and Reubs is like KAt, do you recognise any of this stuff? And I'm like no-not really?? We are just about to drink a cold beer we have assumed Joe has left on ice for us.....Turns out it is the WRONG ROOM, we are sifting through other people's gear......hmmmm, beat a hasty exit from that scene before we could get busted! Funny start to the weekend. Tragically Joe had just had the van towed, costing a bunch of cash they didnt have, bad story...

We beat it to the Chuckwagon racing where they do a bunch of random stuff, chuck stuff in the wagon, race around poles, one dude leaps onto another horse...??They race around the track...it is super super gnarly, tragically horses die every year....Then afterwards they have this amazng broadway kinda show-with EVERYTHING, singing, dancing, tap dancing (sick) these dudes that climb up these ribbons by wrapping them around their bodies and spin through the sky...backflipping motorbikes...and the best fireworks i have seen in ages. it was really amazing...

Had a few expensive beers, a bit of a late one...train runs right to the hotel door!! Next day checked out the RODEO!!! Sweet so hardcore!! Here are some pics.

The bare-back bull riding...

Honestly I don't know how they do it...the coolest thing is the cowboys that round up the raging bull at the end and get it off the stage. Sometimes they have to lassoo them!!

There are heaps of different rodeo events, it was really cool to see them all. In this one the dude has to chase a calf, lassoo it and tie it's legs together once it is on the ground. When I say calf I mean a big one with little horns and suuff (steer??) Yeah and the dudes were doing it in like 7 seconds!! It was incredible!! There was one Kiwi dude, we cheered really loudly for him!

The grounds themselves are really cool, it's kinda like a massive (kiwi's) A&P show with all types of rides and games, wow it is HOT though man, it hasnt got below 30 deg all week... anyway ended up having a pretty random but MASSIVE night and now I have to go to bed, cos I think I'll be lifting heaps of heavy stuff tomorrow!
The team in the stand, (drinking illegally sumggled in rum slushies!!)

Summer life in Banff

Well fiNally i moved into my new house, and even went back to lake louise and got all my stuff, so now i have more than one pair of pants to wear, although still no shorts and it was 32deg today damn hot. had a bit of a mare this week, should have known it would go downhill when the element caught on fire at 6am when i was making a cupp of tea...I was working in a garden in Canmore when i got atung by a bee/wasp and ended up in hospital, as soon as i got there people were freaking out and attached me to all this beeping equipment, face mask full of steaming stuff and all, i was trying to tell poeple not to worry so much but apparantly i was quite baD....anyway at home now feeling shitty, but now aware that i am apparantly pretty damn allergic to bees!!

O n a better note i had monday off (paid!!) cos it was a long weekend canada day...

Look at Reub's hair. The Angel Reuben!!

We bunped into a friend and he told us there were fish in this lake but unfortunatley we didn't have rods but DAMN the fish were everywhere we could see them swimming around and jumping outta the water.....

We camped right by this lake
Sweet waterfall on the way up. The trail starts in Johnston's Canyon (mssive tourist area) then goes up the valley behind it. The first like 4kms are concrete!!
There are lots of bears out at the momentt. Most people carry bells to warn them you are coming (gayest thing EVER) and some people even have bearspray - its like concentrated pepper spray - on their belts. Lame and expensive!! of course reubs and i had neither, we didnt even see one bear!! You have to hang your packs up in trees at night 4m off the ground. You cant even have lip balm or tooothpaste in your tent cos the bear will smell it and want to eat it!! (They don't have possums!!)

Yeah!!! My new camera takes photos underwater. I am now a half-out-half-in photo geek. Cool though ay? Shame you can't see the juicy delidious Spearhead Trout in this one...