Still having FUN!

Rafting west of #Sundre was FUN again today. The girls from California enjoyed our #Albertan “summer” weather.

It is getting toward the end of the season and everyone had a lot of fun out playing on the river even in these lower water conditions. I know any day on the river is better than a day at work. To be on the river and at work send your resume to Otter Rafting Adventures.

Continuing with our monitoring of the river and how it changes here are the recent comparative photos at the final ledge. Things are slowly dropping as you can see and more rocks and larger gravel bars are seen. Sorry to see another season drawing to a close.

Summer is marching on

Here at Otter Rafting Adventures we are looking ahead to the last few weeks of being able to get out paddling. There was snow on the mountain peaks a few nights ago creating a fresh supply of water for when the days warm up next week.

More and more snow will start to accumulate on the peaks as the average temperatures of the day begins to drop. It is a favourite time for some to be able to get out on the river. Fun rapids, clear water, pure clean days and the hint of fall colors all give late season rafting an appeal.

Here are the pictures of the Coal Camp Ledge for the next two weekends in the sequence. The trend is very slowly down – compare these pictures to those of May 22. You can see in the close up of the ledge that the some of the rocks have been swept away in this years flood. The rocks are well defined in the recent picture, perhaps from this years high water being the highest in a few years and washing the fine particles away. Also, as the place is visited by tourists some rocks will disappear as they are collected or tossed into the river with the passing of time.

These changes are minor compared to the changes upstream. Large gravel bars are missing, new channels have opened up and others filled in with gravel. This is just the easiest place to get pictures. It is a brand new river this year.

Join us on Sunday

Wonderful weather in #Alberta this weekend, come #Rafting near #Sundre! #Olds #Reddeer #Calgary #FunAb #Edmonton #family #friends.

There are a few weeks of summer left it seems. In Sundre the temperature hit +2 degrees over night. You wouldn’t have to gain much elevation for freezing to occur. And that is what we depend upon to supply us for the water in the Red Deer River.

The river has become clear as the water is being supplied by the seepage of ground water and some runoff and melt. It gets plenty of filtering as it moves though the river bed, but not enough to stop some micro organisms such as Giardia.

Once the river has gone clear it is interesting to look through the water to see the features that cause the rapids in the river. The further from the surface the feature is the further downstream it’s effects are observed. This is a good study in perturbations and laminar flow.

This doesn’t necessarily hold true for earlier in the season. Early in the season the muddy waters causes the waves to change shape when there is variety of particle sizes suspended in the water and the density of the water changes. If you go back through the photos you should be able to see this difference.

Yes, lots happens in a flowing river but lets just say it’s fun to go white water rafting with family and friends and only consider that. It is a different experience every time that you are on the river.

Following are the river pictures  taken last weekend and the pictures from the previous weekend for comparison. Again subtle changes can be seen.

Another Rodeo Weekend

A great day of rafting west of #Sundre #Ab. Sunny day on the #RedDeerRiver. #Fun. Otter Rafting Adventures’ location on Hwy22 makes it the most convenient location for the start of your rafting trip.

With the rodeo here in Sundre the place should be full of people looking for a wild ride. Whether it be at the rodeo or on the river you can find one in this town this weekend. Today’s group, a corporate outing, had an exhilarating day and are already talking about next year’s trip for the staff.

The photos of last weekend comparing the river to the previous weekend show the ever slow dropping of the water level. Get out now while there is still good water to give you an exciting ride.

August is here

The river still offers good fun #rafting west of #Sundre. #Alberta is lucky to have a high quality river like the #RedDeerRiver.

This is the weekly posting of comparison of the water levels from one week to the next. Here is last weekends pictures compared to the previous weekends pictures. Small changes are happening. The river is clearing up and warming up (warm for this river anyway) adding to the pure outdoor experience one expects on a river trip.

It seems the talk on the oil spill that happened down stream of us has died away as the clean up continues and people realize it has nothing to do with Sundre. We are so lucky to have a clean river where we are. Here at Otter Rafting Adventures a pure, pristine mountain river adds to the experience.

Here are the photos for comparison. More of the ledge is being revealed every week. As you can see the Red Deer River is not in flood. A call came in today wondering about the safety of the river and was it high water still. The power of the media and telling only part of the story in their limited sound bites.