Day 18 - The Grand Finale

For our last full day here in Canada we have chosen to visit what is described as the greatest outdoor show on Earth, the Calgary Stampede. The Stampede is situated in central Calgary and we decide to take the Park and Ride and catch a train.
We have booked to see the afternoon Rodeo and the evening Chuckwagon races but the Stampede is very vast with all sorts of entertainment, stalls, fun fair and eating kiosks. There is an indoor area that is like going to the ideal home exhibition. There is so much to see and do you cannot possibly see everything on one day. It is worth planning ahead which we have roughly done and before going to the Rodeo we choose to watch the Super Dogs. The show is brilliant entertainment, with all sorts of dogs not just showing their agility in jumping over fences and racing through tunnels but also doing all sorts of tricks and disco dancing. Rosie still has a lot to learn.
So onto the Rodeo. The Rodeo is made up of quite a number of events all of which attract prize money which enables the winners to take part on the last day. We are seeing the Rodeo on the last of the heat events which means there is a lot to go for to get the places that are available. So we see Steer Wrestling, Bare saddle bronco, Barrel racing from a an excellent vantage point.
After the Rodeo we go to watch an Ice Dancing show. The show offers brilliant music and entertainment with the band playing Led Zeppelin, Rush, Pink Floyd, Elton John. The ice skaters are Canada’s Olympic gold medallists and there is so much more.
The initial evening entertainment is the Chuck wagon racing. Here 4 horses pull a chuck wagon driven by 1 person who assisted by out riders. There are 4 teams in each race. Each of the teams of horses have to be driven around 2 barrels without knocking them over before being driven around the circuit. It is quite spectacular with each of the drivers vying for a place on the coveted last day with $150,000 prize money on offer.
After the Chuck wagon racing we have the evening show. This is again very spectacular with singers and acrobats. The evening is drawn to a close with the grand firework finale with a rousing rendition of Oh Canada, and pictures being shown of the many places that we have visited on our travels and the wildlife that we have seen. It was a very fitting ending to our holiday.