Yahoo! Our very first Stampede stomped around in early July, and these new Calgarians were there to enjoy it all.

Parade day was cool and overcast–apparently not the usual weather around Stampede. Still, I reckon the cool air was good, since we didn’t need to deal with general sweatiness. We were also quite lucky and got a good viewing spot, right on the front of the sidewalk, and Kayla even got a chair from some other spectators.

Her one and only hope for the day was to see actress Amber Marshall, who plays Amy in Heartland. Kayla is in that obsessive about horses phase every little girl seems to enter, and really adores the show. We were lucky enough to actually see Kayla’s hero, who was the parade marshall.

We were entertained by so many marching bands, martial arts performers, various athletes and representatives from First Nation tribes, and many more. Heck, we even saw a unicorn. I took hundreds of photos and had a hard time choosing just a few for the blog.

When we heard the number of expected tons of horse poop to drop on Parade Day, we were in shock and also expecting a pretty stinky experience. Still, Calgary knows how to handle horse doodie. The stuff was cleaned regularly, by these street sweep cars sporting animal heads above their windshields.

It may not sound like much, but as first-time Stampede goers, our minds are still easily blown.

For example. Do you have any idea how long a cowboy or girl can hold a YAAAAAAAAAAAAHOOOOOOOOO without passing out for lack of breath? Super long, friend. Super duper long.

We returned to the actual Stampede two days later, when the sun came out to play. We also saw our first rodeo. You see these things in the movies and they look like something, but until you’ve actually seen what those horses and athletes do, you ain’t seen nothin’.

We had such a wonderful experience, and are looking forward to returning next year.

If you haven’t subscribed to my newsletter yet, that goes out tomorrow. All new subscribers (and the old ones) will get a free short story to show my appreciation. 🙂

Have a good week, folks!

Yolandie