This is my final Cowgirl Diaries post! My six month long crazy Canadian cowgirl adventure went faster than I could have imagined and I learned more than I thought possible. Below is a round up of really cool things (and not of cows or horses) that I did during my travels throughout Alberta and British Columbia. And just a few of the reasons why I won’t shut up about how great Canada is to just about anyone who asks me (and many who don’t ask me at all). Everyone should go to Canada!
1) I saw a bear. Actually by the time I flew out of Canada I had seen more than I can count! No Grizzlies yet though… Next time, Canada, next time.

2) I drove a tractor. And a truck and a quad. I learnt a lot about driving in Canada actually, but apparently not enough for the UK to just give me my license…

3) I learned to round-pen horses, just like my childhood hero, Monty Roberts.

4) I got myself and a group of tourists lost on a trail ride up a mountain (not sure if this is considered “really cool” but it’s certainly memorable for me!)

5) I hiked up to a glacier. All by myself!

6) I attended my first, second, third and fourth rodeos (and two of them were in thunderstorms!)

7) I ran around as much of Toronto as physically possible in 5 hours (and got sunburned, obviously)

8) I saw Lady Antebellum live (FINALLY! So much love for country music)

9) I saw the famous Canadian glacier-blue lakes 

10) I survived a month living in a tent and eating my weight in s’mores 

11) I hiked a mountain with not one but TWO false peaks and still made it to the top.

12) I ate dinner over a campfire by a lake and watched beavers swimming

13) I went to the biggest mall in North America and didn’t spend every penny I had (almost though)

14) I herded cows on a quad bike (and didn’t get eaten by the grizzly bear we were moving them away from) 

15) I learned to build both wire fences and post and rail fences (and that neither should be done in leggings, Cowboys invented jeans for a reason)

16) I learned to two-step! And only broke a couple of the poor Cowboys’ toes…

17) I cycled around the sea wall of Stanley Park in the beautiful Vancouver sunshine 

18) I had my first Canadian thanksgiving (at which I supplied the Pumpkin pie and carved the turkey!)

19) I went to my first Canadian Ice Hockey game, developed a love for the Vancouver Canucks and continued to support them throughout their many, many losses…

20) I went to my first ever Pumpkin patch and picked out the prettiest pumpkin to carve into an evil face

21) I rode a mechanical bull and didn’t embarrass my country (well, not much anyway)

22) I learned to vault and created my own freestyle routine to music (Rise Up will now always make me think of cold November evenings in the arena)

23) I went on the Whistler Peak-to-Peak gindola and played in the snow on both Whistler and Blackcomb mountains

24) I spent a full hour skating around my own personal ice rink under fairy lights 

  
None of this would have been possible without my supportive family and generous Workaway.info hosts! So many more travels to come, stay tuned!