Day 190, Airdrie to Olds, Alberta

How about that, day 190 was a Wednesday, I actually had to look it up. I am more in tune with what relay day it is than actual dates and days of the week. I was back with Kayla again, this time on shuttle 1 (the early shuttle, as it always hosts the first medal bearer group of the day.) We say good-bye to Calgary, and head north. Our first medal bearer meeting point of the day was in Airdrie, at the home of the chargers,....................

a grade 9-12 school with over 900 students!

translated: seek excellence

no doubt in my mind.

a sober reminder for the new drivers 

a message not only for the students at Bert Church.

class is in and once again the difference makers are studying Rick Hansen Relay 101

Who's that lurking in the halls, why none other than our two time endurance athlete Sonny!  He has brought the 25th anniversary medal into the school with him to transfer to the school's medal bearer nominee.

Over 500 students were in the gymnasium today to get inspired with the Rick Hansen and the 25th anniversary story.

The medal bearers get the V.I.P. treatment.

These members of the R.C.M.P. are here today to support the school's nominee, Jessica, and her father, who is one of their own. Jessica was left permanently injured after a recent car accident. They walked with her during her segment of the relay. 

We had 10 medal bearers in our group this morning. Here we are waiting for the signal to drop off the next difference maker of the remaining 5 on the shuttle bus.

The students of Good Shepard school were out waiting in anticipation of the arrival of the relay. The relay team feeds off of the energy and enthusiasm of all of our school stops.

In our segment this morning we went by 4 different school is less than 2 kilometres. This shot is outside of the Meadowbrook middle school in Airdrie.

The kids were lined up for an entire block!

And last but not least,  another school nominee, Claire poses with Kayla as we approach her school, RJ Hawkey elementary school.

After we dropped Claire off it was time to high-tail it to our second medal bearer meeting point of the day in Didsbury, Alberta, population 4,957

I love small town prairies!

We had time for a quick coffee at a small cafe in town, they had a lot of stained glass that reminded me of how I see the world!

This barn has seen better days, as have a lot of small family farms on the prairies.

Our second medal bearer meeting point was at the Didsbury High School

Thanks for having us.

The relay had a busy schedule today, we started in Airdrie, and went throught the towns, of  Crossfield, Carstairs, Didsbury, and Olds. We had a 10 minute stop scheduled at the high school, so all the students and the medal bearers came out to greet the convoy.

Medal bearer 24 on the day, Shelby, poses with a family friend, Gina Mcdougall-Cohoe, a renowned bronze sculpturist adn rancher. Shelby invited Gina along on her medal bearer segment. Shelby is accomplished in her own right, a trick horse rider on the rodeo show circuit.

Home for one night, Olds, Alberta, population 8,235

Cruisin into Olds, the sun has been shining all day on day 190!

For a small town, the room at the Ramada was deluxe!

The view out of the hotel window, not so much!

Like I have talked about before, being on the road for 9 months, you get tired of restaurant food after awhile. So tonight, a few of us went over to the local grocery store and bought a bunch of different deli and fresh foods, and had a little picnic in the breakfast area. Nice way to unwind.

Day 189 Calgary Event Day.

 Strategizing in the lobby of the hotel. Day 189 of the relay was an event day. Some of the events team and other relay staff attended school events, while a few of us were rostered to gather information on accessability of businesses and facilities for the Global Accessability Map, a new initiative introduced by the Rick Hansen Foundation last fall.

A few of the relay crew were G.A.M. (Global Accessability Map) ing in Calgary, so a group of us decided to head to Canmore, Alberta,  just over an hour west of Calgary. We will not be passing through Canmore on the relay, so we thought it was good chance to check it out. We passed the Canada Olympic Park just west of Calgary, home of the 1988 Winter Olympics.

What's that I see, for the relay crew that are from B.C., a familiar site, the Rocky Mountains!

Pat was the captain of the ship (shuttle bus) today.

Wow, breathtaking!

It is hard to tell from the picture, but in the middle of all the beauty, they have decided to plunk down a casino right on the Trans-Canada. Oy Vey!

This is close to the entrance to Exshaw. I remember this little town from the relay, with the back-drop of the rockies, it was very picturesque .

Except for this cement plant just east of town. Limestone is mined just behind the plant.

For late February, there is not a lot of snow in the area, or on the peaks.

Canmore has about 12,000 people. Originally a coal mining town, it depends on tourism and the ski industry. It boasts the  Canmore Nordic Centre, a legacy from the 1988 Olympics.

Wow, the entrance to Canmore.

A shot of the the three sisters. (faith, charity, and hope)

Downtown,

The buildings in town follow along the same building patterns, looking like a ski village.

Including the Canadian Tire store.

It was a beautiful day to walk around downtown, the temperature was around freezing (mild compared to what we have seen lately)

I think it's a match, Pat! (and that's all it took to make the door open!)

grin and bear it!

We went into a brew pub for lunch, there was an old church outside the window in the forefront of the rockies.

We got the sampler tray, which included lite, dark, stouts, reds, and even a rasberry ale.

One of the more eye appealing lunches I have had, the ginger beef melt with snow peas, and a house salad with raspberry vinegerette dressing. I would definately go back, and the accessability is alright as well!

A bronze statue to commemorate the miners of yesteryear

Wowsers, this kind of marketing makes me want to get my dabber and rush over!

If you can't read the sign, it says this bench is reserved for the comfort of our seniors, well I hate to admit we are all pretty close!

Please feel free to add your own caption!

We stopped at the local McDonald's to grab a coffee (after all, they are a relay sponsor), and Pat treated us to the newest baked pie, the oreo! Well it certainly was tasty, but 3 days later, the sugar high is still lingering.

Heading back into Calgary for one more night. We did manage to combine a little sight-seeing with our gathering of information for the Global Accessability Map, all in all, a good day!