Just about two weeks ago, the Nation crew and over 100 friends of ours were hopping on a Backside Tours bus and heading down to our neighbours to the south in Calgary for a hockey game. Our fourth such trip and in those four trips, our record of 1-3 has done nothing to stop fans from wanting to join us and from having the best time possible before, during and after the games.

Escaping from a balmy Edmonton morning of -45C, our bus riders were loaded up into two buses (a first for the Nation) with the plan of having a load of 25 Finns on the bus as well. Some travel issues didn’t allow for our Finnish friends to be on the bus going down with us, but that didn’t stop the boys and girls on the trip from kicking it off right and loud up until our first scheduled stop in Red Deer at the Canadian Brewhouse.

A pit stop to fill up on some beverages, a quick pizza buffet and some supplies along the way was just what the doctor ordered and then we headed back out to Highway 2 and on our way down to Cowtown.

This has been my fourth trip with the Nation and I am always in awe of the way that somehow our crews of fellow fans seem to be able to turn it up to party level for the whole trip and then take it up another notch as we reach the city limits of our step-child city to the south. It’s truly something to behold.

We unloaded at the Best Western downtown and had just about an hour to set ourselves up for what was sure to be a raucous BoA.

While we were getting ready, the folks at Backside did an amazing job of coordinating transport for the majority of the Finns who had be rerouted to Calgary, and getting them ready to join us.

It was then we were off to the Saddledome, and the Calgary faithful heard us coming. A short jaunt mile high hike up to the Press Level later and we were set up. The Finns powered some chants and some turtle did some stupid stuff. The end result was not what we wanted but the Nation is never deterred. The party headed over to Last Best Brewery and then onto Singapore Sam’s late into the night.

The Nation has entered the 20th century and we had a videographer come along and record little glimpses into the fun you missed out/were a part of, take some time and have a peek here:

The bus ride home is always a rough one but it’s great to have a chance to talk with the fans that come along with us and have a laugh about the shenanigans we got up to.

If you were on the trip, we’d love to hear your story below.

You haven’t been on a #NationRoadTrip (recommend checking out that hashtag), you are missing out and feel free to join us for our next outing coming soon as always.