Our First Rodeo - At the Calgary Stampede

When we were booking our Calgary/Banff vacation we noticed that all of the hotels in downtown Calgary were either booked or very expensive. Turns out we planned our trip during the Calgary Stampede, an annual ten-day rodeo, exhibition and festival. It was also the Centennial Celebration for one of the world's largest rodeos.

While going to a rodeo has never been on my bucket list, when in Calgary during the Stampede,  you should do like the Calgarians (is that even a word).

70s television was chopped full of rodeo action, so Jonathan and I had a very good idea what to expect. Although we were at a loss on which events we were going to see ... rodeos have events?  The boys were a bit in the dark, since so much of kids programming today does not include rodeos, due mainly to animal rights concerns.

I should point out that on the animal rights front, the Calgary Stampede does a great job at putting the safety of the animals first. The organizers work very closely with the Canadian SPCA to ensure all of the animals are treated humanely. In fact on our rodeo day one cowboy was disqualified for unnecessary roughness when tying a calf. And the announcer kept assuring the crowd that the interest of the animal comes first.

The Calgary Stampede is much more than a rodeo... Though the rodeo was a lot of fun. We bought tickets to the rodeo which gave us admission to the fair-like festival and all of the animal exhibits. When we arrived we went to the Saddledome where the Calgary flames play and watched the miniature pony races. The boys enjoyed it (the little horses are so cute!) Then we headed to see the Budweiser Clydesdales. Amazing beautiful and massive horses. We also watched a performance on the Saddledome steps.

One great thing about the festival is that there were tons of free activities for the boys -- shows, exhibits and games.

When it was time for the rodeo we lined up and went inside. Jonathan had enough foresight to get us seats in the shade. Although we were miles from the action. Still on the hot afternoon, we enjoyed the breeze and felt sorry for those folks wilting in the sun.

I had my big lens with me, so I was able to get some pretty good pictures though. The boys liked it mostly, although they did get a bit bored.  We left after the bull riding, but before the kids pony rangling (even though the boys friend from the hotel pool was competing in that event).

It was a wonderful afternoon, and a great experience. Although rodeos still aren't my thing, and I thought the boys would love it more, it really was worth visit. Especially if you happen to be in Calgary during the Stampede.

Glorious Banff

It has been coming on slowly for awhile now. The boys at 7 and almost 6 increasingly like and are capable of doing things that Jonathan and I like to do. For example, only in the past week the boys started bicycling without training wheels opening up new possibilities for longer bike rides and trail riding.

And this is also true for long hikes. In Banff we got to put this into practice.

Banff is not too far from California. The flight to Calgary is only two hours, and the drive to Banff is only 90 minutes. We left on a 2 pm flight, and were in Banff in time for dinner ... pretty cool. What's more when we were thinking of summer Holidays, only two locations met our airfare price point - Calgary and Beliz. Everything else was terribly expensive.

Banff had been on our list for awhile, and after making the trip I don't know what kept us away. It is one of the most beautiful places that I have been to in the world. The vast snow capped Canadian Rockies and amazingly pristine park with blue skies (we were blessed with great weather) are spectacular.

On our first morning there, after a pancake breakfast at Melissa's Missteak Restaurant, we headed to Lake Louise for a hike. We hiked from Lake Louise to Lake Agnes and the Lake Agnes Tea House. Now this is a 4.5 mile loop (half up a mountain). Even a year ago, we wouldn't have considered this hike with the boys. But now well hydrated and well fed we ventured up the mountain.

At the Lake Agnes Tea House we ate sandwiches, the boys drank hot chocolate and we had tea. It was amazing. By the way I recommend hot tea after a long climb ... so very civilized.

We only had one snag. We chose to go down a different way, and ended up climbing down a very steep incline lined with loose shale. I've always been pretty good at navigating inclines, so I ended up catching Xander and Caleb, and even helping some fellow hikers get through it.

The boys did great. Although they didn't want to go hiking the following day (so we called the next day's hikes "nature walks" and they didn't complain at all). Afterward we rode the Banff Gondola. It was expensive, but worth it.

The boys loved the ride up (and ride down). We walked the boardwalk to the weather station and back. We even got to see some mountain goats. On the ride down we saw some Elk in the woods too.

That night we ate at Coyotes Southwestern Grill in Banff ... another kid friendly restaurant that reaffirmed Banff as a family spot.

The next morning we ate at Melissa's again (the breakfast was that good), and traveled Icefields Parkway. Since we were heading to Calgary that afternoon for the Stampede, we could only make it as far as Peyto Lake before turning back, and now Jasper is on our list of things to do.

Even though we were only taking nature walks that day, we managed to hike about 3 miles ... near Peyto Lake and Crawfoot Glacier. On day two the boys were leading the hikes with enthusiasm.

We had an exceptional time in Banff and then it was off to Calgary.  But the Canadian Rockies are now on our short list of places in which we plan to return.