June 2, 2009 – Day 5
Ranchman’s Rodeo Restaurant
When I put my brother-in-law in charge of finding a great activity to do in Calgary I didn’t really know what I was getting into. We had wanted to do something in Calgary before taking the 2 hour drive to Drumheller. After a bit of research he told me he had come up with the coolest activity. In true Calgary style and within the theme of the Calgary Stampede which was still a month away, he found the perfect restaurant to visit because of its mechanical bull.
To be honest I was a bit surprised at first but as I thought about it, I realized, there is no better thing to do in Calgary than to participate in the rodeo atmosphere by riding a mechanical bull. As the restaurant/bar that allows kids in (and to ride the bull) before 8pm is the Ranchman’s Restaurant.
Mechanical Bull
We walked around the restaurant which is also a museum of Rodeo saddles and memorabilia. Photos also lined some of the walls showing some of the greatest riders. We then were attracted to and had a look at the mechanical bull that sat in a padded corner of the room. We were all excited to hear that we would all be able to take a ride. I was first and thought I would give my kids, nieces and nephews who came along a demonstration on how to ride a bull. After all, they would need a little bit of help knowing how to ride such a thing.
I took my right hand with a leather glove and grabbed onto the rope in front of me on the saddle. I sat up close to the rope I was holding and jabbed my feet into the front sides of the Mechanical Bull that was to be my ticket to rodeo fame. I had a great audience and cheering section. While I was able to stay on the Mechanical Bull for my first easy ride, I didn’t stay on long when it got a little more difficult. My kids were there watching me have an easy ride and then they started chanting and calling out, “Make it harder. Make him fall!” Well the person controlling the Bull was all too happy to appease the kids and so I went flying off the bull and onto the red padded mats that encircled the bull on all sides. It was a fun soft landing.
Well that did it. The kids were all lining up to see who would be next to ride the bull. We were given a true cowboy hat to wear as each of the kids took turns on the bull. I have to say that most of them did better than me but for the most part they all took a spill before they were done… except my daughter however who somehow managed to hold on to the bull sideways. For a moment I thought that she was going to be riding the bull upside down as she grabbed hold of it and started sliding sideways before she was able to get control and pull herself back up. During the Calgary Stampede this place is apparently packed and they add another mechanical bull to their outside deck area and real bull riding to the empty lot beside the restaurant. It is apparently a hopping busy place.
Following the excitement of having our own rodeo we stopped by GPSCentral.ca in Calgary to replace our GPS data logger. We were having some technical challenges with our first data logger and so we got a new one which works wonderfully and connects to my computer through a wireless bluetooth connection. This helps us to track the exact route that we travel as we go across the country.
Dinosaurs Everywhere
Our next stop was the Royal Tyrell Museum in Drumheller, Alberta. This part of Alberta is extremely flat with all of the roads ruler straight… until you get to Drumheller that is.
Drumheller is down in a canyon below the flat prairie lands all around. We descended into the city of Drumheller with its unique rock layers visible as we went down into the city. Once in the city we could see that there is something that it is well known for, its dinosaurs. Every block or two in the city there was a different dinosaur on display. The kids loved looking through the windows of our RV and pointing at all of the different shapes, sizes and types of dinosaurs they could see. The information centre of Drumheller has the largest dinosaur of all. While we did not realize it at the time, kids can go inside this dinosaur and walk up to his mouth to have a look out at the city from the top of the dinosaur’s mouth. He was a scary looking one.
The museum itself was a great experience. For a kids perspective you can read Jaeden’s blog on the museum and Drumheller. I myself found the museum interesting and gigantic. There was so much information everywhere explaining everything from fossil creation to Dinosaur time periods and displays of actual Dinosaurs and Dinosaur skeletons. Each one of our kids from 6 to 14 found different things that caught their attention and interest as we toured the various parts of the museum. The younger kids especially liked stopping at the ball room inside that has foam ball shooters that kids can point at each other and shoot foam balls around the room or at each other.
As we left on our way to Edmonton, the kids took a few pictures of the Dinosaurs that greet visitors and couldn’t help but enjoy the outdoor playground that puts the MacDonald’s versions to shame. The Royal Tyrell Museum is definitely a place to take the entire family to and has something for all ages.
We arrived late in the evening in Edmonton but we wanted to be close to the city. After all, one of the highlights of our trip was to be visiting the West Edmonton Mall!