Hooting Snowy Owls - Stampede and Camping - July 10-16, 2016

On Saturday, the Hooting Snowy Owls woke up early to go to the Calgary Stampede! We paraded in our big yellow school bus and got there before the big rush for a day of excitement, delicious foods, and fun rides. We spent the morning touring the exhibition site and scouting out some cool booths in the markets before picking out the perfect cowboy hat! For lunch, we ate delicious hot dogs and basked in the sunlight before heading off to a hectic but fun afternoon of carnival rides and games. Lots of students tested their luck in scoring some cute emoticon pillows for our upcoming camping trip. We were tired but finished the day off with a delicious pasta supper at Swiss Chalet. It was a great ending to a fantastic day and we are gearing up for a wonderful camping trip.The Owls woke up early on Monday morning, eager to drive to Kananaskis Country. They began their morning by heading over to a Stampede breakfast, complete with pancakes, sausages and eggs. They spoke with Calgarians about the Stampede as they had just visited the Stampede the day before. They spent the rest of the morning playing together as a group at a local park as well as playing soccer and basketball. After lunch, they climbed onto the school bus, ready for a 6 day camping adventure in the beautiful Canadian Rockies.Once arriving at Pocaterra in Kananaskis Country students settled into the campsite: learning to pump water, set up tents, and even cook a meal outdoors! We ended the night with a fun campfire and songs.Monday morning the teachers and students made a delicious breakfast including egg and bacon sandwiches and lots of fruit. We then set off to Banff for the afternoon. The teachers and students cooked a delicious meal at a park right in the middle of Banff and had a wonderful picnic. The students then split into two groups - half of which stayed to shop around Banff while the other group headed to the hot springs! When we came back to Kananaskis we cooked dinner, started a fire and headed to bed.The following day the students were excited for their first hike together! We packed up and drove to Rawson Lake where we had a BBQ before heading out on our hike to visit the upper glacial lake.The next day, we had an early morning with a long drive ahead. The students split up and either went horseback riding around the scenic Lake Louise, or ventured to the great Columbia Ice Fields in Jasper National Park. It was such a fun day and all the students experienced famous Canadian sights.By Friday we couldn’t believe how fast the week had flown by. It was time to pack up our tents and say goodbye to our campsite in Kananaskis. We headed back to Calgary to unpack, do laundry, and prepare for our trip to West Edmonton Mall.Yesterday was a great day spent in Edmonton, Alberta. We had a quick breakfast at 8:20 and got ready for our day trip. After the three hour bus ride, we were dropped off at the West Edmonton Mall. At 5.3 million square feet, the West Edmonton mall is the largest shopping mall in North America and has over 800 stores and services. After we had Harvey’s burgers and french fries for lunch in the food court, the students had the choice of free time to shop all afternoon or to go to the giant indoor water park.The water park had several amazing water slides and a huge wave pool. We had an great time. Meanwhile, many students were finding it hard to get all their shopping done when there were so many stores to visit. By the end of the afternoon, everyone was satisfied with their purchases. The weather was beautiful so we got on the bus and drove to a nearby park where we had a sushi picnic for dinner. We had a sleepy ride home to Calgary. After a good night’s sleep to finish off a very busy week, we were ready for our English lessons this morning.[AFG_gallery id='450']