The group float that I participated in on August 31st went so well that the organizer, Jennifer E., organized another. Fewer people showed up for this one, but it was just as fun. The only disappointment was that the Ogden launch we planned to use was closed due to Calgary, Alberta’s ongoing water emergency because of the water main repair. It was closed as they are pumping water out of the river there for residents to use.
We wound up launching from under Graves Bridge instead, which shaved about 4 km off of our run, sadly. Graves is a decent enough launch point. Easy to get your boards to the water and into it.
Run, Calgary, AB, 2024-09-07
Run, Calgary, AB, 2024-09-07
Calgary, AB, 2024-09-07
Of the ladies who were there, I think it was Susan who looked at my board and said, “you’ve got a Cadillac Coupe de Ville there – all you’re missing is the cup holders.” Well, the cup holders were ordered a month previously and actually arrived while we were on the float. So, yes, The Coupe de Ville has cup holders now and I think the name has stuck.
AB, 2024-09-07
Calgary, AB, 2024-09-07
It didn’t take very long for us to get ready as a group and hit the water compared to the last outing. It really helped that no one showed up with a manual hand pump this time. Those are soooooo sloowwwww.
I am very grateful to Jennifer for organizing more river runs as she is one of those people who just gets things going. I feel badly that I only got a couple of pics of her while entirely missing getting her face in them. I was mostly focused on having fun on the water with pics being secondary. Weird for me, I know.
Calgary, AB, 2024-09-07
Calgary, AB, 2024-09-07
Calgary, AB, 2024-09-07
Calgary, AB, 2024-09-07
Lena and Susan are two nurses I met for the first time and they both work for Alberta Health Services (AHS) where they are being victimized by our current twat waffle of a premier. They both seem like great people and it was very pleasant to get to know them. I also have both as Facebook contacts now and am hoping to invite them over for coffee to meet my wife when things cool down outside.
You can tell from the top image of Lena that she immediately pegged me as one of those “sus” photographers. Ha!
I didn’t really get to interact much with Cherry who can be seen lying down on her board above. All I really know is that she is a swim instructor. She is one of those people who goes along with a group and then sort of separates and does her own thing. I can respect that. I have the same issue, but I am trying to get better at socializing so I will hang with the crowd some now.
It was so very hot. Lena above is being careful to protect herself from sun stroke and you can see that I’m wearing a handkerchief under my docker cap above. Thanks to Jennifer E. for the image of me on the water.
Run, Calgary, AB, 2024-09-07
Calgary, AB, 2024-09-07
We had a lot of fun floating as a group and I experimented with capturing more video. The problem is you can’t get the most interesting bits as they are rapids and steering through them is kind of important. You can’t hold a camera and paddle at the same time. All of the day’s videos can be found here.
The float was over too soon. There was talk of finding another location and getting another couple of hours in on the water before sanity set in and we realized how much sun we had already all received. More time in the heat just wasn’t safe.
We disembarked, exchanged some contact info, and headed our separate ways … mostly. I needed to run Jennifer back to Graves to get her SUV and Lena followed to retrieve some of her own kit from Jennifer’s vehicle.
It was a good time with a good bunch of people and I look forward to further adventures with them next year if we can’t squeeze in anything else before the season ends for 2024.
Photos and videos from both my Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra and OM System Tough TG-7.
