YOU CAN RELIVE FIRST-TIME THRILLS AS MANY TIMES AS YOU WANT!

New Year snow in Phoenix

Lady Byrd Johnson once said: “When I no longer thrill to the first snow of the season, then I’ll know I am growing old.” That will never happen because I refuse to grow old and it doesn’t snow in Phoenix. But at a New Year’s Eve Party somewhere north of Phoenix, my husband and I experienced the impossible. Snow fell! That was a decade ago and it hasn’t happened again, but I remember the thrill we both felt.

I love first-time thrills like that and always look for more because age does not matter. Just be open to experiencing the rare, the unexpected, and even the scary. Somebody said, “If it excites and scares you at the same time, then it probably means you should do it.” It will give you a first-time thrill.

Exciting and Scary

At Yukon’s Dawson City, I had waited all night for the Northern Lights to appear only to be disappointed. My doting husband knew he had to find a way to perk me up. He decided to drive to the Arctic Circle on the Dempster Highway. We had passed up the opportunity to do it from Fairbanks, Alaska on the shorter and better Dalton Highway. He was afraid our old Class C motorhome might not make the remote dirt gravel road because there was only one stop on the way that could help just in case.  

Soon, the unique fall spectacle unfolded before our very eyes. The trees and shrubs grew shorter; it turned into a brighter red, orange, and gold alpine tundra. The landscape became an autumnal carpet of lichens and fungi that hugged the Tombstone Territorial Park. We were shivering in that quiet cold windy spot, but it was well worth the drive! I may stil not have seen the Northern Lights (saw them later on another trip to Anchorage) but I got an even better thrill!

Difficult and Untried

Just two months later I did one thing I had never been able to do throughout my childhood. The Philippines would have been a great place to do it but I thought it was difficult for a wimp like me. We had traveled to visit my sister in Falls Church, Virginia. At nearby and windy Virginia Beach, my husband succeeded in guiding me to fly my first-ever kite. It was so thrilling that we forgot to take a photo.

A few months later we had to return to the West Coast. My new kite-flying prowess allowed me to enjoy two towns more than I could ever have done. I loved the World Kite Museum and Hall of Fame in Long Beach, Washington. In Seaside, Oregon, we chanced upon the World Kite Festival and were privileged to see outdoor and indoor competitions.  

I still must learn to ride a bike, however. And I don’t mean the one at the gym.

Fun but Risky

A year later, I experienced that first-time thrill again at the World Waterpark inside the fourth-largest shopping center, the West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Corkscrew was its intermediate water slide with two enclosed pipes that twist, turn, and drop into a wide splash pool. I have never learned to swim and water deeper than three feet scares me.

But my husband promised he’d be there waiting for me at the end. That was all I needed. As I cascaded down, I was deathly afraid, especially when it got dark. I felt so alone and thought I would drown in the pool when I came out. But, when I did, there was my husband! He cuddled me in his arms, saying: “See how easy and fun it is?” Yes, he gave me another trophy in life.

There have been many other firsts, and I hope there will be more, even as I get older. One key is to have a cheerleader by your side.  That was my husband.   However, a certain Steven White once said: “If at first, you don’t succeed, then skydiving definitely isn’t for you.” I will, therefore, exclude skydiving from my pursuit of first-time thrills!

Every Traveler Heavily Depends on Great Transportation Infrastructure

Born in the slums of Manila near the railroad tracks, my favorite mode of transportation had been the vintage jeepney that became popular after the war. Since I migrated to the US, RVed the continent, and traveled the world, I have experienced other transportation infrastructure that serves each traveler well. Here are the best and our favorites: the roads of America and the railways of Europe.

The Great North American Road Network

Our eight years of RVing full-time in the US, Canada, and Mexico gave us great experiences on the great North American road network. The largest component is the US highway system, the most extensive in the world. Today it constitutes about 165,000 miles of roads. 90% of US tourist traffic is carried in the system.

This is complemented north of the US by the Trans-Canada Highway, Canada’s transcontinental federal-provincial system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada from the Pacific Ocean in the west to the Atlantic in the east. The main road spans 4,860 miles across the country, one of the longest of its type in the world.

And, in the south, the roadway network in Mexico also does not disappoint, especially with the concretization of Hwy 15 that connects to Arizona. There are 72,577 paved miles, making it the largest paved network in Latin America, 6,508 miles of which are multi-lane expressways, including six-lane ones.

This great North American road system is complemented by a network of campgrounds and motels/hotels that provide lodging options with no equal in the world. Road travel in America is ultra-convenient. In addition, RV models range from small camper vans to huge luxury motorhomes. We also experienced the same satisfaction in the Australian road network.  

The Reliable European Railway System

The European Railway system consists of the following:

Tier One: Switzerland, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Austria, Sweden, and France.

Tier Two: Great Britain, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Spain, the Czech Republic, Norway, Belgium, and Italy.

 

Tier Three: Lithuania, Slovenia, Ireland, Hungary, Latvia, Slovakia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, and Bulgaria.

 

We have used all seven in the Tier One systems, six of the eight Tier Two, and three of the ten Tier Three. We especially loved our train travels through Llubijana and Bled in Slovenia, Vienna, Salzburg, and Innsbruck in Austria, Munich and Oberstaufen in Germany, St. Gallen in Switzerland, Vaduz in Lichtenstein, Paris in France, and Brussels in Belgium. We covered all of that in four weeks and a half.

We have tried economy and first-class trains, taking us to small towns and big cities. The rail network is seamlessly interconnected to buses, taxis, and Ubers. Not a single train ride was late or canceled. The stations were sometimes airport-like in the big cities. In the small towns, quaint little shops are built around them as walking malls. I love train travel in Europe.

Bill did, too, because he did not have to worry about driving and enjoyed the scenic views of country and city life that unfolded before us: dwarf apple trees, tiny garden sheds, rolling hillsides, etc. Sometimes, the wide windows can even be opened for a better camera shot. We enjoyed the bars and dining cars, too. I even found comfort food for my upset tummy on a train ride between Innsbruck and Vienna.  Trains were certainly better than driving rental cars on the other lane and on narrow roads of the UK.  

The airline industry has successfully introduced more flights and even budget ones in Europe and the US. They are getting popular, too. But my husband and I will always prefer to travel across America by road and Europe by train!

I

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Chasing a Photograph

Once my second daughter needed help and sent tickets for Bill and me to fly to Calgary and babysit her three boys ages 10, 3, and 1. It was our chance to complete the four breathtaking parks that together form a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We visited the more popular two, Banff and Jasper, the better-known parks on the Alberta side, years before. Kootenay and Yoho National Parks on the British Columbia side of the Canadian Rockies are only 3 ½ hours away from their home.

They are all connected to Calgary through a section of the Trans-Canada Highway, one of the longest national highways in the world at 5,000 miles through ten provinces from the Atlantic to the Pacific. We visited Kootenay and Yoho on separate weekends.  On the third weekend, we revisited Banff and Lake Louise, just 1 ½ hours away. We reserved the newly opened Glacier Skywalk on the Columbia Icefields between Banff and Jasper for the last weekend.

Having negotiated this highway many times, I expected each drive to be uneventful. On the first drive, however, I caught a glimpse of a scene that would haunt me through all eight drives to and from Calgary. There was this lone red car, rising on the road, driving straight into an enormous white mountain.  Sigh. I could not get to my Nikon fast enough; the strap was curled around my foot.

I resolved to be more alert, constantly looking for another chance. Bill welcomed the change; I was no longer the disinterested passenger. A little while later, another chance came but it wasn’t as magical. The car was black, and the road was flat. The following Saturday, we were back on the same road and got another chance! The mountain was more majestic, but the car was white, disappearing into the mist.

Frustrated, I wished we could just stage the scene! My husband reminded me that there were plenty of other beauties all around. I was thrilled to see an enormous yellow truck blazoned against the gray mountains. White fluffy clouds cavorted with the snowy peaks for a mystical effect. A colorfully painted train ruffled against the Rockies’ skirts. Curvy pedestrian bridges punctuated the highway humdrum. There was the ubiquitous RV, in all shapes and sizes. Occasionally, a red-roofed log cabin enlivened the greens. The Canadian Rockies are such a special place. But I felt empty-handed when I got home.

On the last weekend, a snowstorm was forecasted. But we still went and stayed at Canmore, the town before Banff, for the night, hoping the weather would clear. It didn’t. I hated the cold, but it was our last weekend. The way to the Glacier Skywalk through the Icefields yielded zero results. When we reached the highest elevation, more than 6,000 feet, endless rows of frosty evergreens gave me a wonderful Christmas…in June! Was that going to be my saving grace?

But on our final drive home, the gods granted my wish. Although the car was not red and low-lying clouds covered the mountain, the road had a slight rise that recreated the magic I saw the first time. On the rest of the road back home, we tried to outdo each other with the titles I could use when I entered the photo in Viewpoint's Photo Show: Into the Mist, Into the Clouds, Into the Unknown. I was sure my photo would get a lot of nods because it evokes all sorts of feelings: why we drive beyond the mountains, beyond the ordinary, beyond the obvious.

It doesn’t matter how many times I go back to the same place. It doesn’t matter if I drive the same old road. Something else will catch my fancy. I am free to listen to whatever my heart whispers. Even if it’s just chasing a photograph.

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Would You Rather Go On or Off the Beaten Path?

We have found ourselves amid droves of tourists, all excited about having arrived at a destination like the Eiffel Tower, albeit as older lovers. We have found signs, followed them, and come upon six large charcoal ovens near Ely, Nevada. What gives you more satisfaction: on or off the beaten path? 

A Sense of Accomplishment

Either way, arriving at a destination always gives us a feeling of accomplishment. It is an achievement to have finally reached that place so many others rave about. We may have waited so long to save the dollars we needed to get there, sacrificing plenty. On the other hand, think of the risks we had to take to go off-the-beaten path: driving through a dirt road for miles to reach the Arctic Circle on Canada’s Yukon, suffering temperatures well below zero to catch the Northern Lights, or even climbing Mount Everest at the peril of death.

The Feeling of Amazement

More than this sense of accomplishment, we get the undeniable feeling of amazement when we reach a destination. When I got a glimpse of the Roman Colosseum, I marveled at the engineering feat built to today’s standards 2,000 years ago. At the Arctic Circle, I could not explain the feeling any better than with these words I have that capture the moment: “Sometimes you find yourself in the middle of nowhere. And sometimes in the middle of nowhere, you find yourself.”

The Feeling of Disappointment

Other times, however, I was forced to sigh,” What’s all the fuss about?” When I laid eyes upon the Manneken Pis in Brussels, Belgium, that tiny statue of a little boy taking a pee into a pond below, I was utterly disappointed; even more so when I found out later it was just a replica! But I didn’t say anything aloud. The huge throng was seriously engaged in taking masterpieces of a souvenir photo.

But the disappointment is even much bigger when I go through all the trouble and/or take many risks to reach somewhere off the beaten path. For example, to get to the Chigu Salt Mountain in Tainan City, Taiwan, we had to ride the expensive but fast bullet train from Taipei in the north and then take the only bus, where the driver, conductor, and passengers didn’t speak any English, to the outskirts of Tainan. This same bus went back only once, late in the afternoon.

Comments on its website like this more than express our disappointment: “Honestly! I had to spend 1 hour and 10 minutes on the bus to get there! And the last bus left at 18:10! What for? for a mountain of "salt" black of air pollution...nothing very amazing there! “

Finding a Saving Grace

We didn't want to wait four more hours for that one bus, so we called for a taxi. The driver, noticing we were hungry (the museum only had coffee), stopped, got out, took something out of the trunk, and gave us the most wonderful cookies we have ever tasted. Had we not gone to the Salt Mountain, we would not have met this extraordinary man! In Brussels, Bill’s saving grace was Belgian beer; mine, Belgian chocolates, and ours, waffles.

The question is not whether I would prefer to go on or off the beaten path. I will keep on doing both and you should, too. It doesn't matter how much expense or preparation we need to get to either. We can never guarantee anything in life. What matters most is to always have the right attitude when we get there. Then you may feel a sense of accomplishment, amazement, or a saving grace.

 

Bill climbing the Salt Mountain

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Beyond Being Tourists

My husband and I have traveled together since the time we met in July 2007. We began as tourists, traveling for pleasure, visiting places out of curiosity.  We became more serious travelers when we bought an RV, rented out our condos, and cruised through forty-nine American states, nine Canadian provinces, and six Mexican states. It’s all chronicled in the book Carolina: Cruising to an American Dream. The RV gave us the wherewithal to become more than tourists. We became explorers, adventurers, and even pilgrims.

An Explorer is defined as a person who combs an area for discovery. When we became Elite Members of Thousand Trails (a nationwide network of campgrounds) and upgraded our RV to a 37.5-foot motorhome towing a dinghy, we stayed three to four weeks at a place. This gave us the chance to explore an area more completely. I would research the places nearby and schedule daily explorations of the areas within three hours of our base camp.

In Ontario, Canada, for example, we saw all four different faces of the province: a government hub in Ottawa, a bustling metropolitan center in Toronto, a famous tourist spot (Niagara), and the rural town where we were camped. In Europe, we got to go to three countries from our base in the small town of Oberstaufen in Germany. The trains allowed us to visit Switzerland (St. Gallen), Lichtenstein (Vaduz), and Innsbruck (Austria).

An Adventurer, on the other hand, is a person who has, or seeks, activities or places for excitement or an unusual experience, despite the risks they may entail. I must admit that Bill is more of an adventurer than I am. He used to scuba dive, ski, fly a plane, etc. I just play with my smartphone or laptop, an armchair sort of a girl.  I’ve tried playing tennis and pickleball, but they didn’t like me. Does riding the helicopter in Kauai or taking our RV to the Arctic Circle in the Yukon count?

When we stumbled upon the Worthington Glacier on the road to Valdez, Alaska, Bill went up to climb it while I stayed behind, scared I might hurt myself or be frozen. When we went with his high school friends for a reunion in Crested Butte, Colorado, he went wild river rafting with his friends while I stayed behind to write about the reunion instead. At Grandfather’s Mountain near the Blue Ridge Parkway, Bill negotiated the Mile-High Swinging Bridge while I took his photo.

A Pilgrim is another kind of traveler. This is a person who journeys, especially a long distance, to some sacred place as an act of devotion or even as an original settler. Once, being both Catholics, we diverted from our planned itinerary to Minnesota and turned west instead of north to visit the Grotto of the Redemption in the northeastern corner of Iowa. It was off the beaten path, but we wanted to see the complex of nine grottos made from forty-three different kinds of gems individually gathered and built entirely by the hands of three men.

A friend and I became accidental pilgrims in Eastern Europe. We were in Razlog, Bulgaria visiting a beautiful Eastern Orthodox Church in nearby Bansko when she suddenly had a yearning to find a Catholic Church. The nearest one was in Skopje, Macedonia, three and a half hours away, where Mother Teresa was born. We hired a taxi, prayed at the Chapel attached to her house, and visited the Church of the Black Madonna where she heard her calling at 18 in Letnice, Kosovo, an hour and a half away. The way home was through Nis, Serbia, birthplace of the first Christian Roman Emperor and Saint, Constantine the Great.

Indeed, we both had become explorers but I will not be the adventurer that Bill is. But we hope to be more of pilgrims. It is time for deepening our faith in this phase of our lives. Which of the three kinds of traveler do you want to be?

TRAVEL AWAITS: My 8 Favorite Chinatowns in the World

 

This article was first published in Travel Awaits on Sept. 18, 2023.

The Philippines was a Spanish colony for 333 years, but the Chinese also arrived in droves. Thus, a Filipino is either a Pinoy (native), Tisoy (Spanish), or Tsinoy (Chinese). I am a mix of the first two, but my family frequented Manila Chinatown so it’s part of my heritage. I make it a point to visit these neighborhoods where I visit. Fortunately, my children (and grandchildren) settled in areas with Chinatowns.

The Chinese emigrated in waves when they felt pushed out of their homeland because of economics or politics. Thousands also left when major happenings pulled them into other countries. For these reasons, many Chinatowns were born. And they have become tourist destinations. The following are my favorites.

1.                        Manila

The Manila Chinatown is not only in the World’s Top 10, it's also the oldest! It was created by Spanish missionaries circa 1594 for the Catholic Chinese in Binondo. Later, it expanded to five neighboring districts.

The place to visit is Divisoria Market, with building malls and street stalls. It’s the Philippines’ bargain center, where you can find very low-priced goods, great Chinese food, and knockoff products at unbelievable prices. After dusk, it transforms into a vibrant night market.

Pro-Tip: Be sure to visit the historic Binondo Church, and sample classic Chinese pastries like “hopia” and “tikoy,” and mooncakes at Eng Bee Tin. When I go back to visit, I shop at Building 168. For authentic Chinese cuisine, go to Toho Panciteria Antigua, the country’s oldest restaurant (since 1888).

2.                         San Francisco

Also in the Top 10, the San Francisco Chinatown is the oldest in the US (since 1848). The lovely Dragon Gate ushers you into 30 blocks around Grant Avenue and Stockton Streets. The neighborhood houses 10,000 people, stores, and eating, cocktails and karaoke joints, etc. Streets are festooned with bright red round lanterns and ornate temples complete the festive atmosphere.

It was the Gold Rush in the mid-1800s that attracted thousands of Chinese males. They came again to help build the Transcontinental Railroad from 1865-9. It’s interesting to note that this neighborhood attracts more visitors than the Golden Gate Bridge.

Pro-Tip: My eldest daughter lives in the Bay Area and my foodie granddaughter introduced me to Good Mong Kok Bakery where the dim sum is so good you are content to eat your favorites standing on the sidewalk. Or bring them home!

3.                        Melbourne

My youngest daughter chose to migrate to Melbourne. So I also got to know their Chinatown which grew from Little Bourke St where the Chinese settled following the discovery of Australian gold in 1851.

This Top 10 Chinatown has predominantly become a food mecca, with an entire range of eating places. Besides Chinese food, it’s a place to get other Asian favorites and even European and Australian cuisines.

All year, festivals are celebrated around the historic streetscape which has been well preserved, along with the five refurbished entrance arches. Discover Tianjin Gardens, shop at Asian groceries, and visit a couple of plazas.

Pro-Tip: My foodie daughter loves Juicy Bao for its dumplings, Woodoo for Korean barbeque, and lots of hotpot places. For fine dining, Flower Drum brings back dynastic luxury food.

4.                        Vancouver

My eldest daughter lived in Seattle before the Bay Area, so I settled there when I migrated. We would take the less than three-hour trip to Vancouver to get much-missed Chinese and Filipino food at the Vancouver Chinatown. This community, next to the touristy Gastown,  is traced to the Chinese recruited to build the difficult section of the Canadian Pacific Railway through the Canadian Rockies (Vancouver to Calgary).

This Top 10 Chinatown is the third largest in North America behind New York City and San Francisco. It also has that special serene Sun Yat Sen Garden in the middle of skyscrapers. An annual Chinese New Year Parade is also well-attended.

Pro-Tip: We bought Chinese “siopao” and other goodies at Newtown Bakery. And the iconic Filipino chain restaurant Goldilocks has all the Filipino comfort food I like.

5.                        Seattle

This brings me to Chinatown in Seattle where the same foodie granddaughter now lives. The area near Pioneer Square was the first stop for virtually all Asian immigrants. The Chinese came first in the 19^th century but now it is called the Chinatown-International District with two additions: Japantown and Little Saigon.

Enter the historic Chinatown Gate, get the story of the neighborhood at the Wing Luke Museum; and visit the restaurants, galleries, and supermarkets. Take time to stop at Hing Hay Park where you can find locals playing ping-pong.  

Pro-Tip: Honey Court Seafood is the go-to place for family-style Chinese food and dim sum. Or visit Tai Tung, Seattle’s oldest Chinese restaurant, where Bruce Lee was a regular! And get a good dose of Asian goods at Uwajimaya.

6.                        Las Vegas

Las Vegas is just five hours from Phoenix where we are now based so the three-mile Chinatown Vegas around Spring Mountain Road has become “the other strip” for us. A huge Chinese Pagoda marks its entrance but the Journey to the West Monument is the attraction. It’s a gold statue in the parking lot that showcases the Buddhist monk Tan San Zhang, his white horse, and his three protectors from the classic Chinese novel Xi You Ji (Pilgrimage to the West).

It’s as busy and exciting as The Strip with two CBD dispensaries, 40 massage spas, several shooting ranges, and martial arts schools. Its Eastern character spawned 20 strip malls, 150 restaurants, six Asian supermarkets, dozens of Asian churches, and the Little Vegas Theater.

Pro-Tip: Seafood City is the largest Filipino supermarket chain in the US and Canada. There is one in Chinatown Vegas and it’s where we go.

7.                        Calgary

My third and middle daughter chose to settle in Calgary, Alberta so we have also explored the Calgary Chinatown on Center Street. In 1883, many of the Chinese who worked on the Canada Pacific Railway settled in Calgary after it was completed. The beautiful Chinese Cultural Center, the biggest such facility in North America, is styled after the Temple of Heaven which is a World Heritage Site in Beijing. North of Center Street, a “second” Chinatown has emerged out of Asian-inspired businesses.

Pro-Tip: We love to eat at Silver Dragon Restaurant where a long line of people usually waits to get amazing dim sums. Be sure to stop at Rainbow Bakery inside the Dragon City Mall to sample the divine Hong Kong egg tarts and other Chinese pastries.

8.                        Victoria

It was the beautiful Butchart Gardens that drew us to Victoria on Vancouver Island. But we considered ourselves lucky to also find there the small and charming Victoria Chinatown. It’s the oldest in Canada, second only to San Francisco in North America. Founded by Chinese merchants from San Francisco during the Fraser River Gold Rush of 1858, it’s now a National Historic Site.

There are rows of restaurants offering great Asian food around a couple of blocks. But it is the tiny alleys that hold the heart of this Chinatown. We found so many interesting little shops in the narrow but colorful Fan Tan Alley.

Pro-Tip: Be sure to spend some time at the Umbrellatorium and Canery, a unique little store of different kinds of umbrellas and canes.

Do yourself a favor. If the city you are visiting has a Chinatown, add it to your itinerary. Sample authentic Chinese food, shop for unique souvenirs from the East, visit temples and museums, and unravel the Chinese mystique.

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TRAVEL AWAITS: 13 Rowdy Reasons The Calgary Stampede Is the Greatest Outdoor Show On Earth

The original article was published in Travel Awaits on April 22, 2023

The Calgary Stampede has earned the title “Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth.” The Houston Rodeo extends for twice as long, but Calgary’s own has thrilled millions for more than 111 years, running through even the two world wars. For the very first time, it was canceled in 2020 because of Covid.  The next year, a scaled-down event was staged. In 2022, the organizers declared they were “back in the saddle” with the theme  “Together Again.” But it was this year's Stampede (July 7-16) that signaled it is back with the second highest attendance in history at 1.385 m.

Back in 2013, we got to see the show for the first time while visiting my Calgary-based daughter. It wasn’t Covid but heavy rainfall that triggered Alberta’s worst flooding and threatened cancellation. Thousands of volunteers managed to get the show together in time. Coined in the late 1800s to describe cowboys having to cross flooding rivers to bring cattle to the railroads, “Come Hell or High Water” was on T-shirts that sold out. The theme became “We’re Greatest Together.”

That year we experienced ten of the 13 reasons the event is called the greatest of its kind. Grouped here into Pre-Stampede and Daytime Events, they have remained essentially the same and have only grown bigger and better. We did not see the Evening Events because, en route to Calgary last year, we caught Covid and had to return home. We missed it again this year. Perhaps next.

Pre-Stampede Events

1.    Pancake Breakfasts

Calgary is dubbed “Stampede City," and it takes on a whole different look on event days. Aside from all the goings-on at Stampede Park, city offices and stores are bedecked in cowboy themes, residents dress in their best Western outfits, and hundreds of get-togethers are hosted by individuals and organizations.

My daughter’s office turned their parking lot into a Pre-Stampede Pancake Breakfast event. There was mini-golf and car racing for the kids while buckaroo cuisine (pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages) and fruits were served while a DJ played great country songs.

2.    Stampede Parade

The next day we witnessed the Stampede Parade at my son-in-law’s pre-Stampede party in their fourth-floor office in a city center building. The mile-long spectacle had more than 50 organizations participating with floats,  horses, clowns, cars, and ethnic groups including a Filipino contingent! In 2022, the organizers staged a coup by having Kevin Costner, the Yellowstone star, as Parade Marshall.

Daytime Events

For ten days Stampede Park oozes with sights, sounds, and smells, giving lots of magic, music, and more. Imagine our tremendous luck seeing it for free on two days: Family Day gave families free admission if they reached the Stampede grounds before 9 am; Senior’s Day gave free breakfast and free rodeo seats aside from free admission to those aged 65 or older.

3.    Stampede Market 

The newest gadgets and gizmos were on sale at the Stampede Market.  My older grandson was stuck at the Zoku Stand where a popsicle maker used blast-freezing to create healthier options.  My son-in-law and husband just had to bring home miracle cleaners and sprayers for their cars. On Senior’s Day, we explored the Western Oasis which had everything Western, including a Heritage Art Show and a Wine and Beer Garden.

4.    Stampede Midway

The Midway is where carnival rides and games are staged. Last year, favorite rides (Crazy Mouse, Wave Swinger, Zipper, Polar Express, Mega Drop) returned along with the kiddie ones at the Great FUNtier. This year the giant Superwheel, North America’s largest traveling Ferris wheel, made its Stampede debut. There are lots of games to test hand-eye coordination. On Family Day my grandson took home two prizes: a giant Teddy Bear and a cuddly dinosaur.

5.    Saddledome Steps and Other Side Shows

The globally acclaimed Calgary Show Band performed along with other groups at the Saddledome Steps (the iconic Saddledome is nearby) where a show started every half hour). Amazing Bendy Em squeezed herself into a foot-and-a-half cube and an acrobatic bicyclist wowed with his grand finale, riding through a ring of fire on a low-foot-long bike.

At another section, we were able to catch the Bell Ranch's H20 Extreme Show (“Some ride horses, we ride waves!”). Both the jetski daredevil rides and the waterspout show were awesome. Luckily, our seats were high up in the bleachers, sparing us the wetness of the occasion.

6.    .Stampede Music

Lots of boot-stomping, two-stepping, line dancing, and beer-drinking happen at three venues because of rousing Stampede Music. Over 100 acts are performed at Nashville North, the Coca-Cola Stage, and the Big Four Roadhouse. In 2022, the latter featured Kevin Costner and the Modern West as their main attraction.  

7.    Agricultural Shows

For families with kids, The Agriculture Shows and Competitions were a major draw. There were many interesting horses like the miniature and other breeds at Horse Haven. With our grandson, we saw the smallest rams and other cute animals at the sprawling stock “barns.”

We even got to watch our first World Stock Dog Championship on Senior’s Day. A stock dog and his trainer compete with other tandems for the shortest time to shepherd a trio of sheep (they do figure 8 around three barrels and slide through a fenced sidebar), to a fenced yard. The fastest time of 117 seconds was clocked by a lady/dog tandem.

8.    The Indian Village

Stampeders have a great interest in the different tribes of the First Nation who assemble as an Indian Village at the Eagle Bow River Camp. This part had the most damage from the flood but it’s also where I found my yellow teepee among all the different colors. That year there was a small powwow, but in 2022, it was moved to the Saddledome as a major Powwow Competition. 

9.    Midway Food

One of the best reasons to go to the Calgary Stampede is to eat your favorite fair food. We had lunch at Cowshack, which had special burgers and drinks in a shaded and fenced area where we could rest but it was the funnel cakes, blooming onions, and elephant ears that we enjoyed the most. Last year our friends loved the deep-fried Oreo mini donuts. But corndogs are the usual bestsellers and new versions are introduced each year (like the Korean squid ink style!).

10.                       The Rodeo, The Highlight of Calgary Stampede

But the highlight of the Calgary Stampede is the Rodeo that is held every day at 1:30 pm at the Grandstand, recently renamed the GMC Stadium (17,000 capacity). The quality of any rodeo is based on the caliber of the competitors, both men, and animals (horses, steers, and bulls). This Rodeo, having the world’s richest prize money of over $2 million, always attracts the best from around the world, mostly from the US (Texas, Oklahoma, etc.), Brazil, Australia, and course, Canada.

Expert contestants were divided into two pools, the first competing on the first four days and the other on the next four. The top four winners advanced to Showdown Sunday. The remaining six competitors from each pool compete on Wild Card Saturday whose event winners also advanced to Showdown Sunday. 

There are five events: 1) bareback horse riding, 2) steer wrestling 3) saddle bronc horse riding, 4) bull riding, and 5) tie-down calf roping. Unbelievable strength, stamina, and determination are required from both the cowboy and the animal but in events one and two, the rider must stay in rhythm with the horse, properly use spurs, and stay on! Events two, three, and five are contests of sheer strength and skill.

There was also a ladies’ barrel racing event and, of course, a queen and two princesses were “crowned.”  The opening act was a sensational demo of motorcycle daredevil riders, while at the intermission there was a massively spectacular Indian hoop dance.

Evening Events

We failed to join the evening events and now that we know how much we have missed, we want to complete our Stampede experience.    

11.                       Virgin Plus Concert Series

Also known as Stampede Saddledome Shows, this series features country singers who have sold millions of albums and won many awards. In 2022, Blake Shelton was the headliner. But in 2013, even if water was gone from most of the fairgrounds, it was still being pumped out of the bottom floor of Saddledome (capacity, 19,300) so they weren’t held.

12.                       Chuckwagon Races

The other part of the evening shows is the Rangeland Derby Chuckwagon Races.  With nine heats every night, 162 horses race, pulling chuckwagons. It has become a controversial part of Stampede, however, condemned by activists because many horses suffer and die. Even with safety practices introduced, one still had to be put down in 2022. But they say the Stampede experience isn’t complete without it.

13.  End-of-Day Parties (headline photo)

At the end of each day, a fireworks extravaganza explodes at the grandstand. The Bell Grandstand Show  can be seen from various viewpoints in the city, like Scotsman’s Hill. As the big party bursts, you can bet other parties are also being held elsewhere in the city.   

The highest-ever attendance was recorded at 1.4 m in 2019. The year after, it closed its doors and lost $26 m. In 2021 the loss was reduced to $8 m with more than half a million people braving Covid risks. 2022 registered a near-comeback of 1.2 m. But 2023 recorded the second-highest attendance in history at 1.385 m. It is truly back!

Pro-Tip: Experience it for free, like we did, during these Value Days.

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