Billed as The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth, The Calgary Stampede made its annual mark on our city last month. Until this year we'd kept the knowledge of this spectacle under wraps. Thanks to school friends, however, we were bombarded by the begging. So we succumbed and took the girls for a few hours this year.

The rodeo would have been awesome to go to, but we couldn't get tickets. That means the greatest outdoor show is the parade of fake cowboys and nasty, skanky outfits. Oh, and the midway and the food and the agricultural events.

Then there is the Western Oasis. Walk through the trade show to a different sort of place. Air conditioned, softly lit, water features everywhere, and a gathering of Western themed artisans. Think lots of horse paintings. A lot of them. Tucked in the corner is a quilt show, just a small one. And in the center of that show was the Calgary Stampede Centennial Quilt.

Months ago I helped a neighbour make a block to mark her experience with the Stampede. We put together this righteous rodeo clown. Well, of all the submissions it made it into the quilt. Proudly on display, the quilt marked the 100th anniversary of the Calgary Stampede. And I've got a tiny piece of it.

In other Stampede news we took in some food and some rides. And, of course, checked out the barns with the horses, pigs, and show cows.

(That's my Morgan with a Morgan horse.)