When I went to check the overall attendance for this years Stampede this am I was kinda surpised to find out that even tho Sundays numbers weren't in the mix yet the head count had already passed the "Magic Million" mark!

1,139,807 to be exact!

I guess the only question left is will Sundays total push us past the overall attendance record of 1,242,928 set just last year? Well considering yesterdays FANTASTIC weather I'd say the remaining 103,122 needed are in the bag!

Now youre probably wondering why I titled this entry "They made it". Well as mentioned last week I rarely talk in the festivities anymore. In fact the closest I got to participating this year was when I stood in a wrong line at a local mall. When I got to what i thought was the Information Booth I asked...

"Scuse me which way to the washrooms"

and was told....

"Sorry we're all out of sausage"



But its all over now..... the tourists have left with their kewpie dolls and gas guzzlin motorhomes, the drugstore cowboys have put the Levis away and returned to their high-rises and I've heard the last person greet me with "Howdy Pardner!"

Mike...... you work for Shell Oil..... the last "bronco" you busted was that bar down in Havre Montana when you decided to share with everyone how you made that diving roll out shot to win your match. I hear that place still aint right.... .

Not sure I undertand this... a while ago a friend of mine was nominated for a BABE ALERT medal. (And she IS beleive me!) Granted she hadnt spent a lot of time at CKA yet - apparently there is a rule that one must have 100 posts to qualify for a medal.

But the first issue that was brought up by MANY in the thread was the fact that she had no pic posted. Fair enuff I guess but this raises many questions...

What if someone is nominated for such a medal and they dont live up to the "standards", whatever they may be? Is this person denied? Do we judge people on looks alone? Are we really that cruel?

Then two strange things happened...

Less than a week later someone was nominated AND awarded the same medal based on an avatar alone..... no pic posted.

WTH?

Then Mario tested the boundries, renominating my friend for BABE ALERT since "the ice has been broken" and one was awarded sans pic. ( FYI -by this time my friend HAD posted a pic). Not only was she NOT awarded the medal the thread disappeared althogether!

Kinda makes you go Hmmmmmmmm doesnt it?

Well I just spent the last HOUR putting together a mid Stampede post only to have it disappear when my browser shut down while I was retrieving some Chuckwagon video........

Ya know I'm the guy who always advises people, when they have a similar problem, to write up their blog in Word first, saving along the way so it CAN'T disappear into the ether.



Whut a maroon....

Maybe I'll try again later but in case I get distracted by, oh I dont know, a shiney object on the floor..

Have a GREAT WEEKEND EVERYONE!

OH LOOK!!!!!!!!!!

Ohhhhhhhhhhhh Shiney!

Well this is IT! The ten days the tourist can't wait for and USUALLY the week and a half the locals plan their vacations around. Yup... in Cowtown the only thing that beats The Calgary Stampede is gettin' the hell outta Dodge while its happening!

The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth kicks off this morning with the annual Stampede parade, third is size and stature to only the Rose Bowl and Macys Thanksgiving day events; to give you an idea just how BIG this hoe-down is to the city its an "unwritten rule" that employers give their employees this morning off (paid of course) to attend....it shuts down most of the downtown to traffic anyway so many of them couldnt get to their jobs if they tried! Even so a fair amount of those employees trade their am offering to the pm... all the better to beat the rush to the one of many "Saloons" that pop up during this time.

Ive BEEN to the Golden Garter..... I've DONE the Golden Garter........

I just cant REMEMBER the Golden Garter.

That aside I have to admit I still feel some pride well up when I talk about our little "rodayo"... It IS the largest Midway and the highest paying RODEO around, with some events @ the Grandstand handing out paycheques as high as $100,000.00 and while some may not consider events where the animals do most of the work "sports", highlights still make the reel on all the Sports Networks in the GWN (ok so there are only two of them).

I also admit its been YEARS since I've actually gone down to the grounds. I'm a born and bred Calgarian and as much fun as it is it kinda falls under the "been there, done that, killed a lot of brain cells" catagory. You see while the tourists come for the Midway, the Grandstand Show and the Mighty Chuckwagon Races Stampede time to a lot of locals means one thing and one thing only.... to borrow a line from the movie "So I married an axe murderer".... LETS GET PISSED!!! Those SALOONS I mentioned are everywhere...

[ Continued ]