We were on the road this afternoon about 2 on our way to visit Jo-Anne's brother and his wife, on our way to Calgary. We were there for awhile and had a very nice visit with Rick and Michelle and 3 of their sons.
After the visit we headed out toward the Stampede Grounds and the Saddledome where we would eat Supper tonight before the Chuckwagon races and the Grandstand Show.
After eating, we went into the arena of the Saddledome where they were conducting the finals for the Team Penning Event. I had seen the event on TV before but it was still fun to watch. And besides, the seats were comfortable and we needed to kill an hour or so before the Chuckwagon Races, anyway.
We left the Saddledome around 7 with plenty of time to make it to the Grandstand for the Chucks and the Show afterwards.
Watching the Chucks was a hoot to say the least. There was controlled pandemonium when the buzzer went off for the start of the race, and after that it was just amazing to watch 4 Thoroughbreds whistling that wagon around the track. There were 9 heats in all and there really wasn't an incident until the last race when an Outriders horse came up lame. We were assuming that it had to be destroyed because of the way it was all handled.
Our cameras gave us some problems during the Grandstand show so we only got a few pictures of that. But it was an enormous production that took about 45 minutes to set up the stage after the races. It was quite entertaining how they do that however. The show was immensely entertaining but it was a shame the temperature that we had to sit in to enjoy it. It was only about 50 degrees with the wind blowing. The show was well worth the discomfort, however, as it was a huge show put on mostly by the "Young Canadians" entertainment group.
At the end of the night we had a long walk back to the car. My gimpy back was just throbbing by the time we got there, even though I sat and rested several times along the way.
On the way home we stopped at Peterson's Drive-In but they were closed so Terry drove into Wendy's for burgers. I had a Corn Dog at the Stampede so I wasn't hungry, and Terry wanted coffee which they didn't have, so we drove across the street to Tim Horton's and picked up a couple of doughnuts for Terry and Jo-Anne and Terry got his coffee.
We arrived back home about 1:30 AM and immediately hit the sack for the night. It didn't take long for us to start sawing logs.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
It rained pretty much all night last night and the forecast didn't seem much better for today. On our way to the rodeo we would stop at Terry's Stockbroker's and have lunch today. They put on a luncheon during Stampede week every year and we'll stop there and eat.
It rained all the way into town but our parking place allowed us to stay indoors while walking back to the Stockbroker's Luncheon. Weatherwise it looked like it was going to be a miserable day. The luncheon was very nice with good food and drinks.
After leaving, Terry decided we'd take the car to the Stampede Park instead of riding the LRT. Riding the LRT would have been cheaper but what the hell. Terry refuses to accept money that's offered to share the expense, and he tells me not to worry about it. I'm not about to start an argument over it.
When we got to the Park the three of us decided to ride the tram instead of walking all the way to the Grandstand, while Terry was parking the car. It was quite a bit easier on my back than walking all the way. And the rain had subsided just enough so we didn't get drenched on the ride, even though we were wearing ponchos. And as luck would have it, it was Senior Day and we rode for free.
Our seats in the Grandstand were just far enough back under the overhang that we didn't even feel the rain that fell most of the afternoon through the activities. And as the arena got muddier, and sloppier, we were dry as could be. We were very comfortable through the Bareback and Saddle Bronc, Calf Roping, Steer Wrestling and Bull Riding. We even got to see an event called Wild Pony Racing. It was a hoot with the small kids trying to control a young pony and riding it in the mud. A couple of them got dragged in the mud which was very funny, but they hung on.
After the events we wanted to stop at a souvenir store to pick up an embroidered T-shirt and a spoon for the Mrs. but they really didn't have what we wanted. We were amazed at the lack of stuff that's common everywhere.
After trudging back to the car in the rain we stopped at Edie's Diner for Supper. We had a nice meal, and after finishing, we headed for home. It took our usual hour to get back to the hacienda and we were looking for some place to just sit and Veg. Terry had brought over the movie Shaka Zulu and I watched that and a couple of episodes of Seinfeld before heading for the padded room. It had been a long day and we had had a great time even through the rain.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Today was going to be a "rest day". We slept late, ate a leisurely Breakfast and mostly just laid around all morning. I checked the oil, took care of a few housekeeping chores and was finished around lunchtime.
Because we were lounging today we decided to go out for lunch today. We drove to a little restaurant in Beiseker that was having a buffet today. The food was very good and I especially liked the Cauliflower Soup.
After lunch we came back home and settled in for a post-lunch nap. There were a couple of episodes of Seinfeld thrown in before the haze of sleep overtook us.
The weather outside today was quite nice. It was warm and the sun was shining most of the day. It would have been a beautiful day to spend at the Stampede Grounds eating junk food. And there was plenty of it there.
By Suppertime neither of us was hungry but everybody was out on the back deck, so we went out to join them for awhile. When the sun hit the horizon the mosquitoes made their appearance, and Sharon and I retreated before we had to put bug dope on
She settled in with her book and I just settled in with Seinfeld. We still had no TV signal so I had to adapt. We've had no signal since we left Lethbridge last Thursday. We get a signal but then it just disappears for no reason at all. Probably because I'm not authorized to receive it here in Canada.
In any event, I was content to watch my Seinfeld DVD's most of the night anyway. At about 10:30 we both decided to call it quits for the night and headed for Na-Na Land.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Today was going to be a travel day. We left Acme about 9 AM headed north for Rocky Mountain House. We didn't hit mediocre highway until we turned west at Red Deer, and then ran into about 20 miles of bumpy road. We've been on worse roads before, but this was a surprise compared to the rest of the highways we've been on here in Alberta.
We stopped at Sylvan Lake at the Wal-Mart Store to pick up a few things before we went to lunch at McDonald's. It was comforting just eating familiar food for a change. Even if was only "junk food."
We arrived in Rocky Mountain House about noon and settled into our site after visiting the dump station for a quick flush. Henry LeDuc met us at the gate and directed us in, and Arlene stopped over before we got settled into our site. We were invited over to their site at 4, when they get off work, for a little get-together. Apparently some of the Staff will be making an appearance.
We mostly just sat around this afternoon taking a nap and waiting for 4 o'clock to roll around. We never tried the satellite dish cause I didn't think there was a chance we'd get a signal. Mistake!
We went over to Henry and Arlene's at 4 for the get-together and several people from the Park Staff showed up and we were introduced to all of them. Arlene's brother Rod was also in the park for a few days, coming up from Calgary. Henry presented us with a welcoming gift of two insulated glasses with the park logo on them. We ate supper there and had a good time until Henry gave us a ride home on his golf cart about 9.
Sharon was tired of not having TV so she tried the satellite dish and managed to get a signal right away. Go figure. We watched TV for awhile before she made an early exit to the bed, and I just stayed up for a short while and then followed her.
Friday, July 16, 2010
I was up early and typing my Journal and watching Fox and Friends when Sharon got up. After she ate Breakfast she took off with the laundry and got that caught up for the week. She also found out where the Car wash was downtown so we could get the car cleaned up.
After she finished up the laundry, we took off for town to get the car washed, and couldn't remember which way to go on the first turn out of the campground. Some how we had gotten completely turned around since yesterday. We did finally make it to town, however, and managed to find the car wash without further incident. Although when we attempted to have the car washed, the machine bumped into the car with its rubber bumpers and blew a gasket. We eventually had to back out of the washer booth to have it reset itself.
From the car wash we went to Tim Horton's to pick up a few doughnuts just to check them out. We had been hearing about them for years and we don't have them in the states. At least not where we're at. They turned out to be pretty good indeed but not the best I've ever tasted.
By the time we got back home it was time to go to Henry and Arlene's to sit around the fire and have a couple of drinks before Dinner. They would be serving Steak and a mixture of Carrots and Potatoes, Cole Slaw and Garlic Bread. It was all very good. We went back out after Dinner and sat around the fire again until it started spitting at us and then the rain came. It didn't rain for long but long enough to break up the party.
I was getting cold and wet so I was the first one to leave, but Sharon followed me just a few minutes later. We watched TV until about 10 and then folded up our tents and headed for the funny farm.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
We had a plan today that would take us, and the Leducs, most of the day. We left the campground headed for the mountains and the Ram River and its associated Falls. It took us about an hour to get there and we drove among some very beautiful landscapes and mountains on the way there. In the middle of our trip we ended up at Ram Falls which is a very beautiful location even though I couldn't make it down to the lower viewing platform. I send my camera with Sharon so I'll still be able to view it in the future.
After the falls, we went to the Nordegg Lodge in Nordegg for lunch. We were at the lodge eating for about an hour before we started the trip back home. We figured it would take about a hour to get there. Before we knew it, we were back out of the mountains and rolling into Wilderness Lakes RV Resort.
We came back home and settled in front of the TV for a few minutes before Arlene stopped over and asked if we wanted to play cards or something tonight. We were certainly game for anything so we went over and played Tri-ominoes and finally watched the Chuckwagon Races at Calgary on TV.
We were quite tired when we got home but we stayed up until 11 before we finally caved tonight. Sharon's got to be up early for church tomorrow.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Sharon was up before me this morning and getting ready to go to church. She had already showered by the time I rolled out of bed.
It looked like it was going to be another nice day today and it was until about 8 PM while we were at Henry and Arlene's enjoying a campfire.
Sharon stopped at Tim Horton's on the way home from church and picked up some Muffins this time. They were pictured on our first box and they looked very good. And actually they didn't disappoint either. We ate one each and it was really great.
We both just sat around for most of the day today doing whatever we felt like. I watched TV and Sharon just read for most of the day.
By 4 PM we went to Henry and Arlene's for Dinner tonight. Henry had a Pork Roast on the grill that he had injected with Apple Juice, HP Sauce and Beer all mixed together. It was very tasty indeed. Arlene finished it off with salads and Cole Slaw. They also had invited Merle and Ray, another couple from the Staff of the park. Dinner was very good and we ate outside since the weather had held all day.
After Dinner Henry lit a campfire and we sat around it until the rain made an appearance. Henry drove us home on his golf cart and then the sky opened up. It absolutely poured for the next couple of hours. The rain was so loud on the roof that I had to turn on additional speakers just to listen to the TV. Sharon decided that she'd just read her book instead of fight to hear the TV.
By 10 the rain had subsided some but we were planning our night by that time and it didn't include anything to keep us awake.
We were on the road this afternoon about 2 on our way to visit Jo-Anne's brother and his wife, on our way to Calgary. We were there for awhile and had a very nice visit with Rick and Michelle and 3 of their sons.