Calgary & Canada Olympic Park
Rolling in to Calgary that evening for yes – you guessed it – another post-10 p.m. arrival, we crawled into the restaurant for what we had come accustomed to: another late night dinner… The mood after arriving in Cow-Town was a little subdued. It probably had something to do with our previous 2am arrival and early next-morning start in Regina, but I also believe we were all strangely overcome with the feeling that we were on the homeward-run, and a return to ‘reality’ was imminent.
Since the beginning of the tour, to this point we had spent no more than a meal or two apart. And when we did eat apart, it was followed by the inevitable “do you miss me?” texts. And yes – we did. A missing team member felt like a missing limb. We were strangely in need of being a whole unit. This collective-nature also spilled over into the sharing of duties: It was Dave who discovered how to properly erect our signs, and he also was now prompting and executing the ‘stickering’ of new locations. Michelle and Cat had mastered the art of packing Gus, getting Dola dressed and troubleshooting each hurdle. And Toaster…well Toaster is Toaster. In his own right, he is indeed the provider of endless material and entertainment…
Canada Olympic Park was the location for our Calgary media event. COP is Michelle’s old stomping grounds as she used to teach skiing and snowboarding there back in the day. It was a beautiful day, and right as we arrived, the Calgary Herald soon stopped by to get some shots, followed by pretty much every Canada Olympic Park employee. There was also a huge class of school kids who promptly got some education about PEAK 2 PEAK facts and stats from a strangely professional school teacher-ish Michelle. Man that kid can turn it on! No sooner had the children started walking away, than we hear a squeal from Toaster. It turns out he had found the little present that we had left him in one of his bags. Several days ago, and by now smelling pretty rancid…
Canada Olympic Park also provided us opportunity to build some further video content. Crossing the prairies had certainly allowed ample time to brainstorm ideas, and at COP that day, we were in full execution mode. Maybe it had something to do with being able to ‘sleep in’ until 7:30am, but Dave happily obliged when Toaster explained, step-by-step, how we were to perform his vision of a cheerleader-esque dance for our next video segment. Aw, Dave… It’s pretty amazing what we’ve put this man through. So many airports passed, yet he has each time skipped the opportunity to jump-ship, and is still – shockingly - on board. You’re a true team-player, DD… J
Setting out from COP, we stopped to gas-up Gus. Toast had other ideas, and decided that his mini-Gus/Dola ensemble also needed gas. Clearly needing to have being paying more attention over these last 5000km, he absent-mindedly held a gas pump to the trailer. As we reminded him that trailers don’t have gas tanks, he had already moved on to his next source of entertainment.
That night we had a Kokanee après at Earls Tin Palace, and with the Hairfarmers flying in for the show, we were all stoked to see our lovely boys again. They were a welcome addition to our strange universe. As I headed to the Fairmont lobby that evening to meet our group prior to heading to Earls, I was greeted by Doug and Greg, exuding their authentic-Whistler charm. Toast was dressed-to-the-nines in a blue pinstriped suit, white fedora, and the requisite ostentatious and obnoxiously large ‘jewelry’. Dave was sporting his usual casual attire. And Mich and Cat? We were appropriately city-polished, of course… J “Hi everyone! This is our world. And yip, and you guessed it – that large, weird-looking shrouded gondola out front is with us, too…”
The Kokanee party was a huge success, with a strong contingent of Labatt peeps coming out to enjoy the show. I think Toaster was a little envious of some of Dave’s moves from our ‘dance act’ earlier on, as that night we witnessed him desperately trying to recreate them. Whatever floats your boat, Toast.
Packing up and heading home from Earls that night, we depart ways with our usual agreement to meet for breakfast, and embark on the next leg of our journey… reuniting Dola to beautiful British Columbia!
