Alberta roads signs warning of wind gusts say, "Wind Gusts." There is none of this " Possible Occasional Wind Gusts in This or an Alternate Universe." Go Alberta!
However, lest Alberta let praise go to its head, there are "Rural Crime Watch Area" signs in abundance. Trouble is, they are In places where there are, for example, only cows. And in other places where there aren't even any cows! Just trees! What are they watching for? Criminal activity of rogue Ents?
OK, went to the Calgary Stampede. Watched nine chuck wagon races, four wagons per race. Now, I thought these races were perhaps a bit, hmmm, tongue in cheek, let's say? No way. This is serious stuff. There is a one million dollar total purse. The four horse teams are thoroughbreds. Each team starts next to its own set of two barrels, does a figure eight around them, then hits a 1/2 mile oval. The top teams did all this in just over a minute, ten seconds. There is a wrinkle at the start, too. Two outriders must accompany each chuck wagon. One guy holds the team in place at the first barrel while the second guy gets ready to toss a stove into the rear of the chuck wagon at the starting buzzer. Then they haul themselves into the saddles, follow the wagon around the figure eight, and race for home along with their wagon. If the outriders screw up, time is added to the run. If the driver knocks over a barrel, there is also penalty time. In one of the races, the four chuck wagons finished within fractions of a second of one another.
The starting area from the main grandstand.
Note the white barrels.
After the races, there was entertainment. Acrobats from China, very talented young Canadian performers, wild costumes, a piano player pounding away at a grand while suspended in the air, a pair of acrobatic, incredibly strong twins performing over the crowd, a soprano belting out an aria while standing on a moving platform suspended in the air. The group Kiss, fireworks, flames, lasers. Quite the show. But it was dark, so no pictures.
Helen and I walked to the Stampede. About a 1/2 hour walk. Very pleasant when we started, but cooled down once we were seated. After the show, we walked home, but this was uphill. No matter - helped warm us up. Helen, by the way, is a walking fool. She is in incredible shape. Sets quite the pace. Anyway, it was after one when we finally called it a night.
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