Calgary Zoo . . . link here

The day after the Stampede, we met with some other girls and headed for the zoo. I was told it probably wasn't as big as ones I've been to before and they were right . . . its sooo much bigger!!!

I got to see a Moose finally, but it had no antlers, some Elk, with the same problem, and some black and some grizzly bears!!! Finally, all the things I wanted to see, even if they were behind bars!!!

I saw a hippo, which I don't think I've seen that close before, and we got some good group pictures etc. I also saw a giraffe sitting crossed legged on a yellow mat which looked like it was meditating. Couldn't get a good angle with my camera though.

There were different areas for different countries, eg Africa, Australia, Canada etc. We skipped the dinosaur bones though as we were running out of time.

Calgary Stampede . . . link here

So its been a while since I wrote a post and the reason is I've been hugely busy!!!
Lets start from the beginning.

I headed to the Calgary Stampede for a long weekend with Christina and her sister Tera. We stayed with her family friends who own a Ford dealership and are crazy and rich!!! On the Friday night we got acquainted with a bottle of Watermelon Vodka and for the first time, and possibly last, I tried Deer sausage. It tasted a bit bloody to me, could be because Erin was hammered too so didn't cook it right or something but who knows!

On the Saturday we headed to the Stampede and met Kim and Smalls. The Stampede is kind of like a huge fun fair but with a massive theme of cowboys.

I tried a corn dog, which is kinda like a battered sausage but the batter is smoother, and we tried Dippin Dots. They are basically small balls of ice cream, about 3mm big and you get a cup full. If you see them try them, but not if you have sensitive teeth as the ice cream gets stuck to them!!!

We went on a cable car ride to get a good view of the grounds, but Kim is scared of heights so met us at the other end. I sat with Smalls and as it juddered along he looked terrified, which just encouraged me to move around and make it wobble more!!!

We watched a few cowgirls competing in barrel racing (i think thats what it is) or cutting shows???!! Whatever! And we wandered round and looked at the Native Village Area, where they were dancing and had their Tipi's open to look in, and we wandered around all the prize cattle, horses, bulls, pigs etc.

The highlight in the evening was the Chuckwagon races which were great. Each driver and wagon has 4 helpers. The helpers sling a barrel into the back of the wagon, which then has to go around a standing barrel then head around a racing track. The helpers jump on their horses and follow the driver, and have to finish as close to him as possible. It was great to watch and the atmosphere was really good.

The evening was finished off with a show about Canada and its history, and a huge fireworks display. The show was a bit cheesy but OK, and the fireworks were really good!

Not much going on yet . . .

This week I've had the most exciting time of my life!!!
I was meant to help with a mail out, sticking labels, sealing envelopes, etc for one day to make some quick cash. Instead, I've been doing it for 3 days while the receptionist sat on her ass and talked to her long distance boyf!!!! GGrrrrr!!!

Today I'm off to the stampede for the weekend so there should be some good pictures by Monday!

The police job isn't happening now as the agency didn't tell them I am English, even though I asked if it was a problem!!! And therefore they won't have time to wait for a background clearance to come though!

And my old work friend Fiona is returning to Canada this weekend so we're gonna have a good old catch up when she gets back, can't wait!!!

Hope everyone is well.

One year on . . . .

I was mildly oblivious to this until I checked my emails and turned on the TV. 1 year down the line . . .how times have changed!!! I still remember it vividly and reading all the stuff on the BBC website today brought it all home again!

The details I tend not to share too much with people as it still tends to make me gulp (gotta be tough!!), but its still there. I am relieved to not be in England, especially not working for Metronet as I'm not sure how I would have dealt with it. I still feel that bond with people who were right there with me and hope they are doing OK, not going over it all too much. I still have all the text messages on my old phone that remind me of that day. For some reason I can't delete them. You find out who your closest friends are.

I try not to get involved in debates about the whole thing too as I feel strangely defensive especially against people who were not there! How can you feel anger and opinionated when you didn't see what I saw . . . . . it just makes me feel really sad deep down.

Anyways . . . . its still sunny, its Friday night . . . I'm off to do something!!! Not sure what yet, thats the exciting bit!

Caz

Fort Edmonton Park . . . (link here)

Todays school trip was to Fort Edmonton Park, which consists of a steam train, some trams (street cars) and historic Canadian buildings dating back from 1795 to the 1920's. Above is a Native camp where we tried some fried raisin bread type stuff that the two old ladies were making. An old 1920's car which was in the Motordrome, and some fur that was hanging in the upstairs of the Indian Trade Store.

The layout is an old Fort, which goes on to 1885 Street, to 1905 Street, to 1920. There were some farms with Belgian horses which are HUGE!!!! A few old churches, alot of old shops, bakeries, houses. An old fire station with a police station on the back and the city hall above (they were efficient on space saving !!)

We tried out a shooting gallery and I beat Nadine hands down, and then we tried a strong man contest where you use a mallet to shoot the thing that hits the bell! We were about the same strength but Nadine managed to pull out a good hit at the end and won!!

Was semi boring but a tourist attraction that had to be done!!!

On the job front . . . . I am having a background check and then hopefully I'll be doing admin at a police station so I'm delighted to say the least!!!!

Moose Lake fun!!

Saturday was Canada day, so Happy Birthday Canada, which made it a long weekend, so I headed to Moose Lake with one of the rugby girls.

On the way we decided to do a small town tour, which may sound quite dull but, in the small towns they have lots of 'The World's Largest . . . .' stuff!!! Oh yes! A journey to remember!

We headed off first of all to see the Worlds Largest Sausage! Not real, but huge to say the least. You can check out the pictures on my flicr account! Quick run down is "The Worlds Largest : Sausage, Mallard Duck, Poroghy and Mushrooms' and I saw The Worlds First Alien Landing Pad. Yep, they built a pad which has a small sign telling intergalactic travellers that if they want to land in the small circle on a platform they're more than welcome!!! And they have a gift shop too!! Wierd! Lets hope Aliens have extremely good eye sight and a map that points them to St Pauls, Canada! Population 3000 tops!

We got to the Lake and had such a good time, cooking smokies and marshmallows over the camp fire. We waterskiied every day. I tried wakeboarding and managed to get up but couldn't cross the wake. They had fun watching me try though!!! I used the knee board too, and drove the speed boat for 5 minutes. We went on a bike ride, which turned into me and Terry racing two random 8yr old girls on the road and almost being beaten!!! So we raced her two 7yr old twin cousins instead and whooped em! Terry's bike had no gears and mine only had 7 and a stand that kept falling down and hitting the pedals. Thats our excuses and we're sticking to them!

Terry's uncle's put on their cowboy hats and jacket and I got a picture of them for the cowboys albumn and we went to check out an Elk farm too. Guess what . . . . they didn't have any Elk!! Just deers and apacha's. I think Elks are like Big Foot, just a legend that drunken Canadians say are here!!!!

It was a fun weekend and managed to top up the tan/rust!