Out of many pictures I took in October in Calgary, this is one of the only out of the urban-based ones I liked immediately.
There was something oddly appropriate with the angle I was at when taking this picture.
It has occurred to me each time I have been in Alberta, that I have never lived in any community where I wasn't within half an hour of a large freshwater lake -- Lake Huron, or Lake Ontario. One thing I miss in Hamilton though, is that my life in rural Ontario was never without being within a half hour walk (or five minute bike) of a river. Canoeing was someting I grew up spending a fair amount of time on.
Calgary does have the Bow River, which I had never had the chance previously to really explore. I still feel I haven't truely explored a river until canoeing it (although I did do some white-water rafting in Kananaskis in '93, it's just not the same as canoeing). I did enjoy the lengthy trails along the river, as many people do. It is busy enough to have a seperate trail for joggers from cyclists and walkers.
Seeing these condominiums within view of the river though, I wondered if the Bow River would really ever be able to sustain the huge number of people these spaces will house. I had some sense that the river felt forgotten amongst all the urban development -- in good ways, and not so good. One can go down to it and almost forget you're in the middle of a major city. On the flip side, one can also be in the city and forget (or not even know) you're in an ancient river valley.
