Canada, eh?

I went to Canada earlier in July! The weather is most definitely more exciting up there, compared to the heat here in Phoenix. I am in marching band at SDOHS, and we were invited to be in the Calgary Stampede parade and field show competition. We drove (yes, DROVE) all the way up to Calgary on buses. We made several stops along the way, but only for bathroom breaks and to eat. Not for sleeping. The 36 hour bus ride has taught me that sleeping while in an upright sitting position is impossible to do.

Once we arrived in Calgary, we unloaded our stuff at a high school, which was our "hotel" for the next week and a half. People set up tents and air mattresses on the gym floor and made themselves at home. It sounds uncomfortable, But I actually didn't mind it.



The stampede parade was miserable, because I had to carry a heavy banner AND march in step for at least an hour and a half or longer. Although the parade was miserable to be in, it was really exciting to see all of the enthusiastic Canadians on the sidelines. The stampede is a big deal up there; bigger than we can understand. On some sections of the street there were even grand stands put up, ranging from around five to twenty rows high. The day of the parade was probably the hottest, reaching up to 88 degrees. The entire band was super hot and sweaty at the end, sore from holding their instrument, banner, or flag. Out of 21 bands, our band won fourth place, and we received a bit a money.

The Calgary Stampede is a HUGE deal in Canada. Bigger than the Macy's day parade, and bigger than any state fair! We spent a day just walking around the fairgrounds around the Saddledome, and it's insanely bigger than the Arizona State fair. The most exciting part of that day was the Rock n' Roll Acrobatic Ice Show which was the coolest ice show I've ever witnessed. Rock music mixed with acrobatics mixed with ice skating mixed with crazy lighting effects. Also, the Olympic gold medalists for ice dancing (Tessa Vitue and Scott Moir) were a part of it! It was a thoroughly entertaining show.

One day we took a trip to the Lake Louise area, and had the opportunity to ride a ski lift that had a fantastic view of the surrounding country. Following the ski lift, we drove over to Lake Louise to see the lake up close. The coloring of the lake is very pretty, and not just the average water-blue color. It was more aqua/teal colored.


On the last day of our trip, we took a trip to Edmonton and spent almost the whole day at Edmonton mall. It's the coolest mall I've ever been to in my life! It has a whole theme park AND a waterpark right inside of it. And of course, excellent stores to shop at.




Overall, the trip was a blast! I most definitely want to go back to visit again sometime. And maybe even try and go to the Calgary Stampede again too.