The First Day

Last fall Sonia came up with with idea of doing an Amazing Race type adventure with the boys. We talked about it off and on through the winter and this spring sat down to fill in the details. It became apparent there is a lot of cool stuff in Alberta and no possible way to do it all so we decided to spend most of our time in central Alberta.

In the last week of June, we gave our four nephews their invitations and on Saturday, July 14 we met at 9:00 a.m. outside the Coliseum at the Wayne Gretzky Statue.

We were all very excited and after a few minutes of milling around we had the kids sit down so we could review the rules and clarifying a couple of questions for the boys. (Oddly enough as we gathered everyone this complete stranger joined the boys on the bench and listened to instructions too. After we went to the cars, he told my sister how nifty he thought this whole thing was.) After our short review, we handed out the first clue. The kids read that they needed to "Take a Ride." The clue told them to "Find Edmonton's most popular tourist attraction and take a Swing of the Century." Both teams headed to their cars to figure out what they needed to do.

The brothers, Cameron and Daniel, figured out West Edmonton Mall was the place to be very quickly. They used the map provided in the car and gave me excellent directions to get there. The cousins in Sonia's car had a harder time figuring out where they needed to go. Eventually they decided on the mall but my team had a five or ten minute lead.

We got to the mall but the kids had no idea what else they needed to do. My guys thought that they might need to go to the big movie theatre which they thought might be a Century theatre. As we were driving into the parking lot though, they remembered about Galaxyland and thought the answer to the clue might be there. We got to the park in the mall only to find the gates were locked. We got there at 9:45 and the park didn't open until 10:00. The boys decided they would use that time to walk to the other side of the world's largest mall to see if maybe the theatre was the right place so we walked the length of the mall. Meanwhile, Paul and Karl arrived and made it to the park which was still locked. They waited until the gates opened, asked the ticket booth person what the swing of the century was and discovered it was the name of a ride. They bought tickets and were the first people on the ride that day! As they went on the ride, we discovered the theatre was not useful and walked the entire length of the mall back to the park. We walked through the park, past the giant swings, desperately trying to understand the obscure clue. Eventually, we found Karl and Paul just outside the exit of the swings receiving their next clue. Even then Cameron and Daniel needed the swings pointed out. (Thanks, Paul and Karl!) The brothers bought their tickets, went on the ride and happily received their next clue.
Clue #2 - "Get Outta' Town. Find Heritage Ranch in Red Deer. Once there you must sign up for a trail ride." Both teams used their Edmonton maps to get from the mall to Highway 2 (although they used very different routes!) They used their Alberta maps to get us to Red Deer. In Red Deer, we followed signs to the ranch. My car arrived seconds before Sonia's car and we all went on the trail ride together. It was the first time any of the four boys had ever been on a horse. Karl being the biggest kid was put on a rather large horse first. He sat there waiting for everyone else to get on their horses. This doesn't sound like a big deal but each person needed to be helped up, their stirrups adjusted and instructions given on how to ride. He probably sat on his horse for a good 20 minutes when he started panicking. Sonia approached the teary Karl and asked him if he was afraid. He said he was. She asked what he was afraid of and he cried out, "Everything!" After narrowing down the problem, she reassured him enough that as we started our walk he calmed right down and did great.

The guide took us on an hour long trail ride that was surprisingly advanced for a bunch of rookie kids and we did have a couple of mishaps. Paul's horse loved the low bushes. He strayed off the path into the bushes and did a dance enjoying the good belly scratch. Paul's horse was also not a fan of tailgaters and kicked out at other horses when they got too close. Paul handed it all like a pro. He laughed while the horse was dancing and just rode out the kicks like they were nothing. He is a natural horseman.
Daniel's horse tried to run on him once and although it frightened him, he handled it very well. It was Cameron who had the largest adventure. We were heading down the steepest hill on the trail when his horse decided going up would be better. It started up the hill with only Sonia behind him to try to help him figure to how to guide his horse back to the correct trail. The trail was too narrow to go up herself so she just tried to talk him back. This had Cameron quite panicky as he is not altogether confident and certainly not great at steering. Eventually, he made it back to the correct trail and as he started down the steep hill, his saddle started slipping. He got to the bottom of the hill in a near panick which turned in to sheer terror as the saddle continued to slide sideways. Sonia got her horse close and held him as he slid to the ground in a very funny (for everyone but Cameron) slow motion. At this point, Cameron was bawling and vowing that there is no way he is getting back on that horse. The guide came back and traded horses with him. Cameron got on the new horse with no fuss and made it back to the corral with no further incident (much to his great joy!)

Clue #3 - "Cool Down. Look for MacKays Ice Cream shop in Cochrane. Once there both team members will need to order a double scoop of ice cream in any flavour. Once both team members have finished all their ice cream, you will receive your next clue." This clue was met with a chorus of "Eating ice cream! This is an awesome challenge. Easy!" Cochrane though is a bit off the beaten path so both teams had to be creative in how to get there. The guys in my car had a plan which looked great on paper but not so hot in real life. The road takes a serious turn that isn't shown on the map and I drove by it twice before finally turning correctly. Paul and Karl got to the shop first and left town at least ten minutes before my car.



Clue #4 - "Pit Stop. Head to the pit stop for this leg of the race, Foothills Lions Centennial Campground in Black Diamond." The boys headed back to the highways, correctly getting us out of town and towards Black Diamond. Paul and Karl read the road sign and stuck to the highway they were on. Cameron and Daniel, on the other hand, had a shortcut. They ignored the signs and went with what looked shorter and easier on the map. Unfortunately, this short cut took us through Calgary during rush hour traffic. Paul and Karl arrived a good twenty minutes before us. They were met at the pit stop by our host, Colby, who gave them their prizes for winning that leg - twenty dollars each at Toys-r-us.

We cooked burgers that night and roasted marshmallows. Trevor took the kids down to the river and they got to see a black bear across the river. The kids went to bed just after ten wondering what the next day would bring.

Quote of the day - "You know this is pretty fun. I thought this might suck but I'm having a good time." ~Karl