Stampede

Yes folks it’s that time of year again. Millions of sweaty, fat, plaid shirt and cowboy hat wearing, tiny donut eating, cow wrestling tourists flock to Calgary to celebrate Stampede.  It sucks. I don’t get it at all. It’s loud, expensive, and greasy. People start acting like total morons, drinking in the streets, screaming and puking everywhere.

Calgary has a great LRT system that gets you around quickly and cheaply. But during Stampede it gets so clogged with people it’s like rush hour in New Delhi. Calgary is a sprawling city.  It is growing incredibly fast. The LRT system is straining as it is to meet the population boom. But to add the burden of Stampede is ridiculous. Where I live and work are at opposite ends of the city. I hate crowds at the best of times, and starting tomorrow my trip to work will become a Dante like trip through hell.

Stampede tends to elicit one of two responses from people who live in Calgary. Response one is a glazed blank look, followed by a sudden contraction of words. Y’all enjoy now what I’m say’n ye haw. And then ending in a zombie like procession to the stampede grounds. The other response is to grab the camping gear or plane tickets and head out of town. Needless to say Jenn and I will be heading out to bear country soon. Where its safer and more civilized.