Marching Band trip to Calgary, Alberta 7-5 to 7-13, Day Eight and Nine Up 7-25. About This Page:

[pluto_n_goofy]

<font color="blue">Cast of Characters-
Those mentioned most frequently:
Elisa (your TR reporter)
Amanda "Dingy" (close friend)
Amanda H-R (close friend)
Misti (close friend)
Emily (staff)
Gilbert (staff)
Steph (close friend)
Katie (close friend)
...many others </font>
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July 5, 2005 - Day One
Yay! We leave for our trip today. We don't technically have to get to school until 8:45 P.M. and then we won't leave until much later. ---- We arrived at the school and had to stand by our luggage. They had the K9 unit sniff everything out so we could make sure that we wouldn't encounter any problems at the border. Everyone passed and then we had a meeting. We were told all of the rules, Mr. Gilbert spoke his Greyhound knowledge (He had all the locations, phone numbers, and schedules memorized...I think everyone got the picture that he was DEAD serious about the rules), and we received our itinerary, which was complete with a day by day break down of what to expect, Canadian facts, and of course, some Canadian puzzles, word finds, crosswords, and quizzes to beat boredom. After that everyone made the ceremonial bathroom run (3x LoL!). Then we boarded the buses and finally left at about 10 P.M. Nothing too exciting happened. We figured out how we would sleep, Amanda on the floor, I got the seats, and then ate junk food. Then we all tried to sleep &lt;-- we managed to sleep a little.
&lt;b&gt;Nothing Too Exciting---&gt; I will post the first couple days of events as I didn't take the first couple of days as I was asleep most of the time.</font>
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July 6, 2005 - Day Two
So, at roughly 12:30 A.M. we had our first rest stop. Of course, Kelly was desperate so she made us play cards with her until we got there. Once we were on the bus we all went to sleep, well, never the less, one hour later, I am awoken by a person crinkling a plastic bag. After 15 minutes of rearranging the bag over and over in the overhead compartment I had had enough. Thankfully, my nice reminder to stop it worked as they were quiet and I slept until 2 A.M.
Once that time arrived, we stopped, and Amanda and I switched places. I was on the floor, in very close quarters with two other people. Man...we need longer busses! We stopped again at 5:30 A.M. and did the usual, as well as watching the sunrise. I was amazed...Courtney started reading Harry Potter at 10:00 the previous night...she had only made it about 50 pages in. And she hadn't slept at all...Party on the bus? Hehe. Soon after we all fell asleep it was time for Breakfast in Minot, ND at a hotel. We had bacon, eggs, etc. and then three of us played follow the leader to the bathrooms. How else do you spend time? LoL. We borded the bus and continued our long drive.
Around 10 A.M. we finally made it to the border. After several gentle (yeah right) reminders to the rookies and those who had never crossed the border...the bus was clean enough to pass the Emily inspection. We arrived at the border and we all had to fill out cards so they knew who was entering and what they were bringing. After several confusions, and no one knowing whether or not we were attending a farm show and whether or not we were bringing tools related to our profession in...we finally had the cards done and we were aloud to cross! Yay!
By this time everyone was ready for a movie. Don't remember what we watched, but I decided that it was time to read Harry Potter. The sixth book comes out soon...so why not. Well, the time flew and we arrived in Estevan Saskatchewan. Our lunch was a bag containing a cookie, sandwich, and fruit and we were given bottled water. The best ammenity was the ONE girls bathroom in the courhouse. 120 girls vs. about 60 boys. Guess what the biggest complaint out of the guys was the whole trip- Yep you guessed it...WHY DO THE GIRLS HAVE TO TAKE OVER BOTH BATHROOMS!!
We left Estevan and continued our travels. Nothing too exciting happened. A couple rest stops and about 400 pages in Harry Potter later we finally arrived at our hotel. Everybody scrambled off the bus, ran to get their room keys, and began the long trek up the stairs (only mine wasn't long as I had three seniors in my room which ment, we were giving priority over the rest!). Our rooms were pretty big and the beds were so comfy. We somehow all decided to head down the elevator at the same time. Capacity: 12, number of WHS Marching Band Members: 14
Of course, we were all starving at 7:00 P.M. so we decided to go to A &amp; W. We ate and became bored so we walked to 7-11. Then we were bored again so we went to Walmart and at that store that is where history was made.
SIDE NOTE: Every once in awhile my group of friends reflect on our childhood. We always have conversations about what our favorite foods were and we always concluded that we missed Dunkaroos and Koala Yummies the most.
BACK TO THE STORY: We walked into Walmart and the first thing we saw were the Dunkaroos..yep I bought two boxes. YUM! We also checked out some other stuff and then grabbed Gatorade. We made the journey to the hotel and went to sleep after watching the news, One Tree Hill, Country music videos, and ER. </font>

MORE IN NEXT POST

[pluto_n_goofy]

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July 7, 2005 - Day Three
Morning came bright and early with a wake up call at 6:15 A.M. Katie and I showered, packed up our stuff, and then went to breakfast. We got a little lost and then found the bus drivers heading to breakfast...so we followed them. Breakfast was the usual fruit, eggs, sausage, bacon, etc. After breakfast we packed up more, checked out, and borded our home away from home. We drove, I read, drove more and then stopped. Lunch: At a National Park in Medicine Hat. We had pizza. Yummy pizza and we got eaten alive by mosquitos. Amanda "Dingy" had these massive bites that took over her whole leg. Ouch! After pizza, it was back on the bus, and onward to our hotel.
We arrived at about 7:30-8:00 P.M. and the chaos had just begun. I had to "go" really bad, so I figured I'd wait until we were given announcements and were told to get our keys, Emily gets on the bus, tells us its about 15 minutes, I figure I can wait. (We are at a hotel and I knew that everyone would get mad about the bathroom on the bus, every year it is a HUGE issue.) Emily gets off, gets on, and the wait turns into about an hour. NOPE not happening. So, we get off, and have a practice in a parking lot.
The store owners are all mad about it so our practice lasts about 30 mins. After that, we get on the bus and then we are told to go eat dinner. So, Katie and I walk to KFC. Eat, meet a Canadian couple who tell us that Canada is not a great place to live because of high taxes, and then we notice that their accents in Alberta are really noticable. We grab our food and take it back to the hotel and eat. We sit and wait, wait, and wait some more. Then we get on the bus and wait even MORE. Finally, at 10:00 P.M. we are let into our room.
I wasn't sure if we were split up so I had to hang back and wait for my number. We weren't split up! Yay. Of course I didn't have a key so I grabbed the elevator up. I followed Emily down the hall and she was trying her key next door, well, I knocked and was jumping up and down saying "Please let me in". During that time, Emily walked up behind me and followed me in the room when Katie let us in. She was just kind of like "Hi Guys", then told us about her room mix up, left her stuff, and went to sort everything out. She came back later and go her stuff. We got to hear a great story when she came back. The elevator stopped with her and Erin inside. They got stuck with some drunk guys who had a bottle of something. They started taking shots and getting all creepy.
The rest of the night was uneventful. We went to bed, well, not exactly. More like laughed our heads off and finally fell asleep at like 1 A.M. Wake up was ReaLLy early as we had to leave at like 7 A.M.
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<font color="blue"> July 8, 2005 - Day Four
We got to downtown Calgary, put on our uniforms (it was FREEZING OUTSIDE), and then started warming up. Two hour later we formed our block, got our picture taken, and then waited to leave.
We left at about 10:30 A.M. and started the three mile parade. I wasn't feeling too great at the beginning and it only go worse throughout the parade. But anyways, at the beginning we did our Canadian show, and kind of messed up. Oh well, it was new. We did it again a couple times and then crept in front of like four units ahead of us. We then did the American Show, and at the end we had to take off running because of the spacing issue. We caught up, did the show again. My upper body kind of lost strength so I felt sorta weird, then it became hard to breath, and then it was the end of the parade and Gilbert was telling people to get out if they felt funny. I had no intention of falling out, but then I kind of got weird.
I saw another girl and followed her and then I heard Kayla yelling my name. Everything was black so I was smiling and looking for her, and then I came to and was sitting on the curb, having water shoved down my throat. A little while later I couldn't sit up anymore. I finally sat up and had Emily drowning me with water and telling me to keep my eyes open. Once I felt fine we went into the mister and well I started not feeling so fine, tunnel vision, and difficulty breathing followed. I collapsed on the side walk.
The EMS guy came up and tried to get me to go into their tent and then one of the chaperones was dragging me to the buses.
I was really shakey and then after awhile felt alright (after numerous cups of Gatorade). I had to go track down my stuff, lost my jacket, found it, and then had to store it in the overhead. We got to our hotel, I showered, and then we left for the West Edmonton Mall. The largest Mall in the world. I read and finished Harry Potter. We arrived and I went with Kayla, Kelly, and Courtney. We were walking and all of a sudden Emily just walked up and scared the living daylights out of Kayla and I. Kinda funny. We went to a couple places, got money, and then went to Build-a-Bear. We lost Kayla before then. I got my boxer and got him a Canadian shirt and flag. We had a long conversation with the girl working. And then left, and left Courtney behind (it was her choice to stay!).
Kelly and I walked around to some pet stores and checked out the water park. We found flamingos and took pictures.


Then it was time to leave. We headed out, got on the bus, and then we found out that Laura found Koala yummies!

Kelly and Laura

We screamed and squealed. Emily HAD to find out what everyone got so she walked down the eisles. We returned to the hotel at 12:30 A.M. and didn't make it to sleep until 2:00 A.M. because the drunks were playing loud music. Alarm was set for 5:30 A.M. as we had to leave at 6:00 A.M. to make our hike.
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[crystalloubear]

SOunds like a fun trip except for the whole EMS scene!! I was in band in HS and have very fond memories of our trips to Canaada!!

[Colexis Mom]

What a great time you guys are having More please

[iamgrumpy]

Sounds like a fun time except for the ems thing...Please Miss I'd like some more please!

Amy

[GoofyMom]

Wow! What a scary way to end the parade!!!

Looking forward to hearing about your time in Banff!

[disneymom9092]

Sounds like a fun trip (except for the EMS). We went to Montreal 2 months sgo with DS's high school marching band! What a great time!

[pluto_n_goofy]

<font color="purple"> </font> Day 5</font>
<font color="blue"> We returned to the hotel at 12:30 A.M. and didn't make it to sleep until 2:00 A.M. because the drunks were playing loud music. Alarm was set for 5:30 A.M. as we had to leave at 6:00 A.M. to make our hike. Lucky us, four students out of a group of roughly 205 people, 180 students, 20 some chaperones, and 5 staff are the only people to hike along with one of the chaperones, our other fell ill that night so she was not able to join us. Of course, being the only four meant that the others also got an extra three hours of sleep as well. Oh well, you sacrifice a little to gain a lot!
Fast forward to about what...three and a half hours later. I heard a knock on the door and scrambled to turn my watch alarm off. Apparently, I missed it for a few minutes. Oops. Oh well! I ran to the door, tripped on my suitcase (Like Misti did when trying to plug in her phone), ended up doing a semi-split and then broke for the door. Our chaperone was at the door telling us to meet in the lobby at about 6:10 A.M. So, we got a move on and got ready. Our apparel for the day was SEVERAL layers. You will soon find out why! At about 6 A.M. Laura came to our door. She wasn't wearing any shoes and didn't have any stuff. Well, I guess the confused look on my face led me to the explanation of how all of her stuff was already in the lobby and that she had been ready to go for awhile. Go Figure. Amanda (Manda) came up the stairs a few minutes later and we headed to the elevators. Since we were the only people awake, we had an elevator right away, and best of all, IT DIDN'T STOP ON US!!! Yay!
We met Mrs. B in the lobby and looked over the Calgary newspaper. They had stampede pictures in the paper, but I never did see if our band was ever mentioned. Maybe!?!? Mr. B pulled up in the school van and we all climbed in. I was the lucky one (NOT) to end up in the seat that had the too short seatbelt. Urgh, that was REALLY annoying. We messed around with it for like 5 minutes and finally gave up. We headed out onto the road.


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Amanda and Laura
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Wow, driving was a TON different than in the U.S. I guess with being on the bus...I never really noticed it. There were similarities, but definite differences as well. The hardest thing to get used to was the kilometer signs. We'd be going down the road and we'd see Banff 129. Woah, hold on! We can make it that far in only 45 minutes? Oh wait it's in kilometers. Right! Then there was the whole celcius thing too...once we figured out that JUST adding 32 degrees wasn't enough, we found out that you had to double first. OK, so problem solved.
Anyways, once on the road we seemed to be driving terribly slow, oh yea, KM/h are different. Never mind. So, we succeeded in finding Canada Highway 1! Yay! And we were on our way to Banff.
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Misti
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In the different exits and such we had to pass, never once did we find the Tim Hortons we were looking for. All of us were HUNGRY! So, we drove and drove and never saw another town. After about an hour or so we got to Canmore. We decided to chance it and go to see what the town had to offer. Well, almost right away we saw a bagel shop. Ok, we all had wanted bagels so, WHY NOT? We had to look around a hotel, which had parking UNDERNEATH the rooms, COOL! We stepped out of the van into the fresh COLD mountain air. On our way in we passed a dog who was patiently waiting for his owner. Of course, he had to bark at us first. The inside of the shop was really neat. It was like a cool little coffee shop and the food selection was GREAT. I wish I could remember the name of the place. We all ordered bagels. I had a chocolate chip bagel with cream cheese and in true hiker fashion I also had my sports drink, which was Gatorade strawberry ice...MMM! We got our food fairly quick as well as a bunch of extra food for later. The first bite of that bagel was like...SO GOOD! The first comment we all seemed to have was: I would NEVER trade three extra hours of sleep for these fantastic bagels. With that said think of how much the hike meant.
We got on the highway again and continued eating and talking. All of a sudden Mr. B slammed on the brakes and pulled over. "LOOK GUYS, WILD HORSES!!"

We were all "ooing" and "aaahing" he told us we could get out and take pictures. Yay! Of course, the horses were on the OTHER side of the road so we were not TOO close. In the distance we noticed a pack of wolves too. That was REALLY neat! There were two black and two white. Great wildlife sitings already, and we hadn't even TRIED to look for them.
Once back in and on the road again we spotted a deer following us down the road. We stopped and tried to take pictures out the window, but the deer turned around. DARN! Oh well, we saw one. We also saw a biker. A biker you say, well yeah. Our running joke started in Calgary when we saw a biker on the highway heading towards the mountains.

There were NO towns in between Canmore and Calgary and no roads to be seen branching off, so we decided that the biker would get to Banff and about the time we left. Well, we saw the biker (not the actual biker, but it was fun to pretend) and decided that he was a little faster than we thought!
About 45 minutes later we arrived in Banff. Our tour was set to depart from the Rocks and Gems store in town. Well, we were told to park in a hotel parking lot, but the sign said three hours only. DARN! So, we had to call back to our group and discuss where we were parking. Ok, no problem we found twelve hour FREE parking in a garage. Of course, it was a TIGHT squeeze height wise. Everytime we went up a level it seemed as if the ceiling got shorter. That made everyone nervous. Of course, parking was a NIGHTMARE as the spaces were tight, we were big, and of course the van was bigger than your average mini van. We successfully parked and hopped in the elevator. Lazy hikers, eh?
Our group found a subway and used the bathrooms...we all thought that there were NO bathrooms at all available to us after that. You live and learn. We then went to the rock store and looked around. It was an instant favorite for all of us!
The blue van labeled "Dory" arrived and the five of us climbed in. Of course, we met two ladies one being from Minneapolis, but born and raised in Alberta (I believe) and her mother. Apparently, Mr. B had quite a conversation with them BEFORE we returned from Subway as you will see later on.
We met our guide, Earl, and took our seats. Mr. B suddenly became Mr. Dunton even after he introduced himself as Mr. B. It was kind of funny! We departed and met our two other companions, a couple from Holland. Conversations went around and our guide asked us about the Stampede and how we did. Well, the lady from Minneapolis instantly shouted that we won and everyone insisted upon a round of applause for the four of us. Then Mr. B (or shall I say Mr. D) went on to say that: "these are four of the BEST marching band members you will EVER meet" ...aww how sweet.
While traveling to Lake Louise we learned all about the fencing that keeps the animals in, the overpass and underpass system, as well as about the mountains we were passing. The trip was uneventful other than the part where I temporarily lost my hearing because I could NOT get my ears to pop.
We arrived at Lake Louise at about 9:45-10:00 A.M.


Of course, we were informed that there were indeed bathrooms we could use before the hike, but there weren't going to be any in the mountains. After that adventure, we gathered our sandwiches, snacks, drinks, hiking gear, and water. We started off on our adventure by passing Lake Louise. </font>

[GoofyMom]

Beautiful picture of Lake Louise. I'm looking forward to hearing about your hike.

I have to smile at your comments about km's and Celcius. You sound like my kids when we were in Florida! "Mom, how hot is 80? Should I wear shorts?"

[pluto_n_goofy]

DAY 5 Cont'd <font color="blue">
We learned about the glacier and the flour (don't remember the specific name of the flour that they said colored it and no it is NOT baking flour) that caused the lake to be so blue. It was absolutely FANTASTIC. I took a TON of pictures! We continued around the never ending path and then began our trek up the mountain. On our way we saw the lake become bluer and bluer (is that a word? LoL). The more of an aerial view you had, the truer the color. The mountains also took on different characteristics the further you went. It was absolutely fantastic. Our group would stop and certain intervals and learn the history of the mountains and how they were named. We also stopped and learned about the various flowers we saw and of course looked at the wild life. We saw a marmot sitting on a rock and learned about the shrill cry it lets out. We walked through several small waterfalls and as we climbed higher we began to see more rocks as we HAD to look at our feet in order NOT to trip. Of course, the higher we went, the more there was a LACK of rocks on our sides of course 100 ft. drops replaced the once rocky walls.
As I type, I cannot even begin to do justice to what we saw and experienced on that ONCE in a lifetime adventure. I guess it may seem like I really will not have much to say about the hike itself. I remember every little detail, but simply CANNOT put it into words. So, I guess I will continue with the story.
At about 11:00 A.M. we passed the treeline.

And now...NO TREES
It was then possible to look out and see everything that was in front of you. The mountains began to take a misty appearance as we climbed closer and closer to the clouds. We encountered snow at about 11:30 A.M. and of course, in true Minnesota fashion, we HAD to have a snowball fight and we HAD to take pictures.

SNOW!!!! In July??
We began a really steep upward hike and found it getting colder and rainier as we went. The guide informed us that the tea house was up a little ways and told us to go on. He said that there were bathrooms for us to use...WHAT?!?!

Misty, Elisa, Manda, Laura

There ARE bathrooms in the mountains!! Yay, of course they were VERY nice wooden biffy's, but hey...at least there were bathrooms!
After our small break we decided that we would keep going. We were all starving, BUT we wanted to get even closer to the glaciers. So, we hiked along the lateral moraine. That climb was VERY difficult as it was really steep and the path was mainly just loose rocks, which made it really difficult to keep your footing. Also, the path was very narrow so you got really dizzy when you noticed things through your periferial (sp?) vision. At about 1:00 P.M. we FINALLY reached our lunch destination. The temperature was a little different. By the lake it was about 70 degrees and at the plain of 6 glaciers it was about freezing.

One of the many glaciers
We ate lunch in freezing rain and SNOW! It was absolutely fantastic. We had fun taking pictures, eating, talking, and just admiring the scenery. Of course, our group REALLY wanted to see an avalanche, but while eating we only heard one. On our way down we heard another, but didn't see it since we weren't at the spot where we ate lunch at. Go figure!

The Way Down
After eating we began the long trek downward. Wow, that REALLY exercises the calf muscles. Everyone focused on their feet and made sure not to slip. Of course, Misti slipped, but thankfully it was only on the path in front of her and not off the side.
The journey down was reletively uneventful until we were separated a bit from half of our group. We ended up getting ahead and stopped just below a waterfall. Well, Laura, Misti, and I went to go check it out. We made it to the fall and just HAD to put our hands in the cool mountain water. Ahh, so cold. By this time it was getting warm as we were just about to enter the tree line. Of course, we were all thirsty so we stuck our hands in and took a drink. WOW! So cold and TASTY. MMM! Thankfully, the water was VERY fresh! Another once in a lifetime thing.

Laura drinking from the waterfall
After about 10 minutes the group caught up and we began our descent from the fall and then continued on our way down. Just before we reached flat ground we came across a fast waterfall. It felt absolutely wonderful to put my hands in and I was so ready to take of my shoes and cool my feet, but there wasn't time. Darn, I probably could have prevented the blisters I got.
Soon after our time at the waterfall, we passed by a pika and then a ground squirrel. The squirrel was really into begging for food and he was ENTIRELY adorable. We could not feed him, but he was fun to watch!

I believe he is called a Rocky Mountain Ground Squirrel
Our group reached flat ground and passed a bunch of rock climbing groups. Man, was that an amazing sight to see. If only I were NOT afraid of heights! LoL.
We walked the rest of the distance around Lake Louise. We all had to stop for a picture at the end and celebrate our victory. The hike we dubbed the "Death Hike" had NOT killed us! Yay! We made it!

Our celebration photo!!
Our next stop was the bathrooms, the van, and then down the old highway one. We stopped to see the Osprey nest and were suprised to find one inside! Yay! Another score on the wildlife list. Next off we spotted another nest with TWO inhabitants present.

The second Osprey Nest
Double score! Lastly, for the birds at least, we drove by the bald eagles nest. Well, luck was on our side because, the eagle was in the nest! Talk about NEATO. Of course, our trip didn't end with birds, it ended with Mountain goats under an overpass. There were about TWELVE of them in one place. WOW! On another note, I can entirely see why they do not use that road as a major road. Everytime we hit the holes and bumps in the ground I about died. It hurt my stomach SO bad! Very painful LoL! It was a fun adventure though! We arrived back to the Rocks and Gems store at about 4:00 P.M.
Mrs. B insisted that we have pizza since there would be extra, but we all were STARVING so we took our $5 and went in search of food. Of course, the $ 5 only covered a bit of our meal, but oh well. LoL. Manda and I found a really tasty italian sit down place. MMMM....the food was SO good and the waiter...VERY pretty! LoL. We enjoyed the meal that's for sure.
Afterwards we did some power shopping. I found a TON of Harry Potter candy at the candy store as well as some Kinder Surprise eggs. MMMMMmmmmm! We got sweatshirts at the Bare Moose and some t-shirts at various places. Then we headed back to the Rock store and looked around. 7:00 P.M. rolled around and our group headed for the van. We were all exhausted. Everyone else was not leaving until 8:30 P.M. or 9:00 P.M. so we got the van. It was nice to have quiet and space unlike on the bus. Mrs. B joined us and asked us all about the trip, she also told us about how the horse back riding went and what they were expecting on the whitewater rafting trip. By the time we were done talking we arrived at the hotel. Best part of coming back early was the fact that we got the pool to ourselves. My instincts said shower, so I took my first hot shower of the trip. Hot water runs out fast at hotels when it is at full occupancy!
Our fellow roomies returned at about 9:00 P.M. and the last was at about 10:30 to 11:00 P.M. We talked and laughed until about midnight. Then my roommate Steph went to take a shower. Well, apparently, I fell asleep and was out cold. I heard the next morning that I got up for the bathroom when she was out and then fell right into bed and was out cold again. Guess I was tired! LoL. And that...concludes one of the best days of my life!!!</font>

[GoofyMom]

That hike sounds like it was absolutely awesome! What a great adventure!

[iamgrumpy]

Sounds like you had a Blast!!! Those pictures are awesome!

I went hiking in Switzerland and it was amazing the things you see at the top of Mountains!
I had a cow lick my hand at the top of one of the mountains we hiked up!

Great Trip Report and Glad you had Fun!

Amy

[pluto_n_goofy]

So, after an amazing day hiking...getting up early and seeing life...what did I do the next day. Slept in of course until about 8:00 A.M. We didn't have to start warming up for our stand still performance until like 2:00 or so. Of course, breakfast was at like 9 or 10 A.M. so it was AWESOME to just relax and chill. Wake up came at like 8:30-9:00 A.M. and we had a mini chat with the chaperones. We got ready, showered, etc. and then went down for breakfast. I believe it was the hot breakfast with the AWESOME potatoes.
We took it back to our room, ate, and then proceeded to continue getting ready. I threw everything in my suitcase and kind of tidied up my area (after Misti and I tripped over my stuff trying to get to the outlet and the door, I decided to clean it up a bit! LoL). We got on the buses at like 11:00 A.M. and went to the Stampede.

Calgary
Lunch was going to be boxed sandwiches like our dinner before we went to the mall. Of course, that wasn't until about 1:15 P.M or so, so we sat around. Before we actually arrived at the stampede, Emily taught us how to eat a box lunch. It involved opening the box by lifting the flaps, pulling out whatever was in there, unwrapping it, and eating...of course that speech lasted about 5-8 minutes and was far more detailed. I wonder if anyone asked her questions? She gave us the option.(ROTFLOL!)
Once inside the grounds we all walked in the big gate (big group yay!) Of course, people tried to weasel their way in. Sorry, they didn't make it as Dunton shooed them away! We took a long walk to an area by the saddle dome and the catering place had our food ready. Once again, we were all wearing the same orange shirt for the most part and people STILL tried to snag our food, but it if weren't for Mr. Dunton. LoL! We ate our lunch. (Mine was an egg salad sandwich on a croissant MMM! a little cake thingy and an apple...)
We were then given the chance to walk around the Stampede grounds. Kayla, Kelly, and I went into the game area. I started getting really frustrated by being touched my so many people...kids, adults, and walking slow was really agitating. I guess I have been without sleep for too long!
We decided to get a card with ride points on it and went through the fun houses and stuff. It was a blast for the most part. Then we got sick of walking around and went back to the buses. It was really hot and everyone was crabby. One girl tried to use the bus bathroom and another person freaked out on her. I guess we were all kind of sick of each other by them. Although, I really did not have anyone to complain about as I hung out with a TON of different people throughout the trip!
After a long time we finally started to get ready. Our warm-ups were all music and not stretching and it was basically easy. We then got into groups and walked up to the area before the steps we were going to be on. The drumline started their cadence and we all walked on. The feeling of walking on was like the adrenaline someone famous gets and that was how we felt, famous. It was sort of weird, but really cool. Walking on to music made you feel special and we went down the steps and took our places and it was SWEET! The performance went REALLY well and I really enjoyed it! Of course, watching the guard really started to make up my mind.
I battled a huge chunk of the season with decisions for my senior year. I have been a clarinet for three seasons and the greatness of it was starting to fade. I knew I needed to move onto something and well I really wasn't sure. I had always had my eye set on the guard, but then there was the aching desire to be section leader. I pondered and pondered and realized that I really had NO desire to be a section leader. I felt personally that it was not the right place for me. I knew I had to move on to something new...so I did and well. I really am not regretting it at the moment. I can now successfully spin my rifle 80 times on the right and 50 left after a week of daily practice. This is the only thing I have been EXCITED to go out and practice and I just can't stop thinking about it. I mean I really am excited!
Anyways, watching the guard made my decision and I found another guard member afterwards and we were talking. I turned to him and said: well I'll be seeing you next year. *funny look* "Meet the newest guard member" and he was all happy. He told me that he heard rumors of me joining and was glad that I was. (Oh btw, we do have a MALE guardie!). Once on the bus, you could tell Emily was a little sad about the season being over. Well, the bus driver had put music on and Emily decided she was going to dance down the aisles.

Go Emily!
Great entertainment. Kept all of us from crying our eyes out. We love marching band so much. All of us! It's definitely one of those things that we'd like to last forever. So, after the performance we headed back to the hotel, showered (mine was cold...go figure!), and then back to the Stampede. We got our tickets, meal vouchers, and our rules. WE had to meet at he grandstand at 7:45 P.M. So, what did Katie, Nicole, and I do...SHOPPED of course.
Katie wanted a hat and I wanted t-shirts and a sweatshirt. I really contemplated the hat, but I know I am NOT a hat person and I know it would have been a waste for me so I passed and I do NOT regret it. I found myself a nice, big, comfy Stampede sweatshirt and a really sweet red shirt. I also got postcards, a keychain, and a magnet. Once shopping was finished I grabbed some fries and then we went looking for Katies had. Hat was found in about 10 minutes and we *HAD* to head back to the same shop for Nicole's bear. Happy-o-meter was ZERO for that notion, but we are so GLAD we did as we found the staff in the shop. Josh looked like Woody in a cowboy hat and we made fun of him, Gilbert looked well...FUNNY, and I got a picture. We had a running bet that Emily would be the one (as she is so FUN LOVING) to get a hat, but instead Erin was trying them on...who knew?!?! Dunton was sitting somewhere. His back bugs him (so much that he can't wear dress shoes even! LOL).
After that we headed back to the grandstand, checked in, and went to find food. Well, lets say this...the burgers were not so great (and WHO puts hotdogs on a burger! Woah! Thank goodness I never took a bite as I am allergic to an ingredient in them and tend to spend a lot of time revisiting the days meals when I eat that ingredient. No swelling though...THANK GOODNESS!) We found our seats and then realized...wait this is the South side...ok so we went to the North side and found our real seats. Whew! We missed the first couple heats of the chuckwagon races, but it wasn't a huge loss.

Thanks Laura for the pic. LoL! Kelly in a cowboy hat!
The variety show was sweet.

There was all kinds of dancing and singing, fireworks, music, and it was just really cool.


We all enjoyed it. Afterwards, we headed back to our hotel rooms and we just TIRED. We decided to just wait and pack in the morning, well, we were informed that our buses were leaving at like 8:00 A.M. and that we check out at like 7:30 A.M. Ok, so I am packing now. Steph and I were conversing that and when the chaperones gave us our info, I turned, looked, and all I said was "Steph". So, we all packed. I am SO glad I did. Sleep was NICE!

Up Next: The long drive to Regina and "how much will the Bus 2 staff sacrifice for me..."

[crystalloubear]

Oh this takes me back to the good ol' days of being a band geek for sure! Thanks so much for sharing with us. Band really is one of the fondest memories of my youth - the friends, the fun.

[iamgrumpy]

Sounds Like you had an absolute Blast!

Amy