Tubing Down the Elbow

After the Stampede, tubing down the Elbow River is the second most Calgarianesque thing I have done since arriving in Canada.  Bob said he used to go all the time as a kid.  Floating down the river is always a peaceful experience and we began our tubing experience at Glenmore Reservoir.   Put the tubes in and I could tell right away we were in for some trouble.  Not 5 minutes after starting, we had to get out and pull our tubes along – the water was a bit low. It would be a recurring theme throughout the day...

The mysterious lady in the previous post, Shereen had an extra tube and we went with some of her friends.  They stopped at Canadian tire and picked up a legit raft, with paddles and all.  I think it was somewhere around 3 in the afternoon until we got on the river and with the trip taking around 4 hours, we finished rather later than usual.  Shereen had to get out and walk the last little bit so I enjoyed the quiet time.  It was a lot of fun and something I am definitely looking forward to doing again at some point.  Alas, here are a few of the photos from my tubing adventure.  

(And so it begins...  we stopped to get a pump; however, the pump did not work and even if it did, the fittings were not the right ones.  So, we spent a little time blowing up the rafts.)

(And we're ready)

(We started at the Glenmore Reservoir)

 (Finally about to get in the water, life jackets and all)

 (Shereen making her way to her tube or raft or whatever you want to call it)

 (Setting off)

(I'm ready to go...)

 (And we're floating)

 (Nice view of the river)

 (Besides us, there were 3 other guys that set off at the same time.  However, after about an hour they were long gone.)

 (I took my camera on the water and wasn't really concerned, except for when a bit of water came into the tub.  There were no major rapids to worry about...)

 (Shereen holding on so I didn't get away)

(Having fun floating down the river)

 (For some reason, she always seems to have a smile on her face)

(At this shallow part she offered to pull me along - How could I say no?)

 (You can tell she was starting to get a bit chilly, rocking the long sleeve shirt.  Around this time she decided she was cold and had enough, so she walked along the bank.)

 (Natalie and Kyle, our floating companions for the day, with their legit raft)

 (Yep, that's me, just hanging out)

 (So, this was my position as I floated for a few reasons.  For starters, there was a hole in the bottom so it wasn't inflated.  Therefore, whenever the river got low, I had to support myself with my head and extremities, so my butt wouldn't touch.  It was a great workout and actually worked out pretty well.)

 (Kyle and Natalie with their paddles)

(Artsy shot by Shereen)

(So, I determined I needed some type of control as I was floating so I picked up a stick along the way to help guide me...)

 (As you can see, it was a beautiful float)

 (A bit of the flood damages from the Great Calgary Flood of 2013)

 (This bridge was completely destroyed.  All that remained were the foundations.)

(An aerial shot)

(If you look closely, you can see me waving.  Also, you can tell I'm floating with 2 tubes.  By the time I finished, I admit, I was cold.)

(We finished the evening at Wild Rose, indulging in a few drinks and an appetizer)