Calgary Stampede 2009

Row-zzzzz, my mom who is visiting from Ontario and I headed downtown this morning, jumping on the train at about 6:45am in order to make it to the free pancake breakfast at Staples. We arrived about an hour later to a lineup that was getting longer by the minute. They wasted no time getting the crowd fed with some delicious pancakes & sausages and plenty of juice, water and coffee. Now we were prepped for the parade. Getting a good spot along the route was challenging as tens of thousands of spectators had already lined most of the streets. We found a corner location behind a row of chairs that some locals had set up. They were very receptive and invited us into their group, sharing cold drinks from their coolers and some of their seating area. The parade kicked off with colorful bands, dancers and of course, plenty of horses. It was a fantastic event!!