Stampede: horses & tipis

i finally have time to put up some photos from this year's Calgary Stampede. it was cool but beautiful on the afternoon of this tipi-raising contest.

it was really interesting & i had a lovely time, though i was reminded of a Globe & Mail quote from a Mohawk woman who was sent to residential school in the 1970s...she said her experience wasn't as abusive as many people's, and funnily enough she was even taught some traditional skills. like how to raise a tipi. which she found interesting, though peculiar, considering that Mohawk tradition has nothing to do with nomadic tipis. at least in Calgary, Northern Plains and Blackfoot tipis are in context!

this being the Stampede, there were lots of great horses...including this Paint Horse with her young sleeping foal, and the lovely chocolate-coloured Canadian horse and colt:

yes, this is actually the official Canadian horse. really it looks like the classic NorthWest Mounted Police horse, the kind of horse you expect to see in the RCMP musical ride.

the NorthWest history made me think of the Klondike. and at a bar around the corner from where I was staying, there was this Yukon-inspired new drink to try:

ugh. unfortunately, it was really really awful. i think moonshine brewed in an old Mountie's boot would have a better personality.