I have two stories. The first involves a text message that should have been funny but fell flat. A smartphone app called Pokemon Go has apparently taken oven much of the world and inspired numerous news reports and commentaries. I am now at least somewhat aware of it but wasn't when a friend compared something I posted to being deeply involved with Pokemon. The second is about arriving at my motel in Calgary. I had really liked the motel where I stayed on the way north so booked a room there for tonight even though the price was noticeably higher than before. When I mentioned this to the desk clerk, he explained it with a simple "It's Stampede time." The Calgary Stampede is probably the biggest and most famous event in Canada that involves neither ice nor snow and it had been going on for about a week. There's a very good chance that I was the only person in Calgary who didn't already know this and one of the few out-of-towners who wasn't there because of it.

I took a cab from the base of the tower to Stampede Park and got a closer look at the Saddledome. Then I spent some time watching and listening to this rocking brass band who found a dry spot to play under an overpass. The rain more or less stopped although it frequently returned in a very light form. I had no tickets for the big shows but had a good time just walking around and going through open doors. One of those doors led to some serious boot scootin' and big time horse pulls.