Good day, and welcome to Calgary, Alberta! Home to the world-famous Calgary Stampede and the 1998 winter Olympics, Calgary is Canada's 6th largest city and has a population of close to a million.

In 1873, alarmed by the activities of a few Americans who were trading whiskey and guns to the Blackfoot in exchange for bison robes, the Canadian government created the North-West Mounted Police-now the Royal Canadian Mounted Police-to bring law and order to the plains. One of the police forts, built at the mouth of the Elbow River in 1875, was Fort Calgary. The rest, as they say, is Canadian history.

Today, Calgary is known as the Energy Capital of Canada because a number of oil companies have headquarters in the city. The discovery of the nearby Turner Valley (1914) oil and gas fields, and of the well-known Leduc (1947) fields near Edmonton, have stimulated the city's economic expansion. So if anyone ever jokes about Calgary having gas, you'll know that they mean it literally...

Every city has one building or landmark that truly stands out, and Calgary is no exception. Here she is - the Calgary Tower, which was once the city's tallest structure at 55 stories up. There is a torch on top of the tower that is lit on special occasions, such as throughout the 1988 Winter Olympic Games. Bill did a great job with this photo - the glimmer of light from the building gently kissing the beans... Ah, magical, ain't it?

Down the road you'll find Stampede Park, where Calgary's world-famous livestock exhibition and rodeo, the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede is held every July. The Calgary Stampede, which is a world-famous annual exhibition rodeo, was founded in 1912 by Guy Weadick, a former Wyoming cowboy, with the backing of Alberta cattlemen. The oldest such event in Canada, the Stampede has been held annually since 1923. The beans were hoping to break a few wild horses while they were here, but alas - they were too late. Better luck next year.

Throughout its history, Calgary has attracted immigrants from Europe, Southeast Asia, the United States, and, above all, the United Kingdom. 22% of Calgary's population is of purely British descent, while another 35 percent has some British ancestry. So be careful what you say about the Royal Family when visiting… you're likely to be conked in the head with a crumpet.

Finally, the beans stop off at the appropriately-named Saddledome, home to the Calgary Flames of the NHL, and the Calgary Hitmen of the Western Hockey League. (Go THUNDERBIRDS! Oh... sorry.)

Now, how did the "Hitmen" get their name? Well, although they are now owned by the Flames, when they started a few years ago among their original owners was Pro Wrestler Brett "The Hitman" Hart.

In the end, the beans suspect that they were glad that Hitman Hart was a part owner, and not Randy "Macho Man" Savage - they might've ended up as the "Macho Nachos".