Bow River Walk

Yesterday I put on my new shoes.  This ultimately proved to be a mistake, but an unavoidable one because I've worn holes through the soles of both pairs of shoes I initially brought with me.  The shoes broke my feet in, for sure.  How?  Let me tell you what I did yesterday afternoon.

After lollygagging around the house, bemoaning sore muscles unaccustomed to the weight training I'd done the day before (and, okay, all the L-Phys shenanigans the previous night), I decided around noon to get my keister out the door.  I recently read an article (where, I cannot recall, but if I do I'll insert a link) about a study done by a British university.  In it, they tried to determine which environmental factors encouraged stress reduction.  Ultimately they found that for all socioeconomic strata, living near the sea was anathema to stress.  They mentioned the fresh, bracing air (how British), and the soothing sounds of the waves on the shore.

Stress-free?  Awesome!  There's no sea in Calgary, of course, but it was built at the confluence of the Bow and Elbow Rivers, and Nose Creek, so there is a lot of water. And presumable soothing waves, the call of gulls, and a bracing fishy smell.

"Wait, wait.  What?" you ask.  "Bow, Elbow, and Nose?  Do Canadians suffer from uncontrollable twee?"

Well, I'm glad you asked, because it drove me a little crazy, too.  This is what I've learned: The Bow River is so named because a particular type of tree that is very good for bow-making grows along it.  Nose Creek is so named because it is the main drainage from Nose Hill (named, legend has it, because the bison wintering grounds of Nose Hill strongly resembled the nose of the Blackfoot chief).  The Elbow is named...well, still no good info on that.  It is quite serpentine in parts, and perhaps that's why...?

Collin and I have often walked along the riverfront, either to cross over Prince's Island to get to Eau Clair, or just for a good wander.  It's very well-tended, paved, and the trees and shrubs are (for the most part) trimmed to make it a lovely place to walking, jogging, or cycling.  But the last extended ramble we went on ended at a bridge  that had "1916" emblazoned on it, and the pedestrian walkway flooded by high waters after a day of thunderstorms.  I was curious what lay on the other side of that bridge, and decided to set off on a ramble of discovery.


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This is the path I took.  It was a nice walk, particularly earlier in the day (it always seems to get hottest around 3pm here).  They are constructing another pedestrian bridge to cross the Bow at St. George's Island (although it won't be done until 2013, so sadly I'll have to walk the long way around) which closed off a short segment of the river walk, but that was it.  Sweet-smelling purple clover was in bloom everywhere along the trail, as well as the lovely amaranth-tinted Fireflowers and Giant Goldenrod that often towered above my head!  But for the most part, it's clear wildflower season is just about over - there were a few of my favorites around still - shady spots sheltered a few delicate Harebells and some Wild Bergamot.  I also spotted a delicious-looking red berry that I didn't recognize, but I think it may have been a Silver Buffaloberry bush.

This find was, funnily enough, just south of zoo's bison enclosure. Part of the trail buts up against the southern boundary of the zoo, so you can actually look at the exhibits from your place along the river.  Of course, in the nature of zoo animals everywhere, they made sure to be lying out of sight of paying customers and lookie-lous alike.  The bison and (as indicated by it's very distinctive "cat-in-heat" call) a peacock are the only animals I know for certain are in the zoo.

The line to Edmonton is still in use.  There's still
glass insulators on those disused power lines next
to the tracks!

Further on, at the confluence of the Bow and Nose Creek I came to a rusty railway trestle bridge.  The Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) was crucial to the creation of Calgary as a city.  CPR was tied in very closely with the Dominion land policy of the late 19th century, which was pretty similar to the Westward expansion/Homestead Act concepts occurring at the same time in the United States.  In exchange for their services, the CPR received millions of acres of land, which it then sold to individual homesteaders.  Railway is still pretty big business in Calgary, but back then it was part of the "boom town" spirit.  The CPR line north across the Bow and along the western side of Nose Creek used to delineate between the "respectable" part of town, and the red light district.  Due to Calgary's penchant for catching fire and burning down (and perhaps due to a reasonable desire to clean up the city when it began to expand) there's no evidence of this disreputable past still around.

This part of town is now known as "The East Village", and has been trying to move beyond it's past as Calgary's "slums".  There is a startling amount of building/renovation going on (no housing slump here!), and this part of the city is experiencing a lot of urban renewal.  My favorites are always when old buildings are repurposed instead of being destroyed.  There is certainly a very vocal group supporting the former (as I realized when I went to a Historical Society-sponsored event recently), and the repurposing of this mattress factory is a nice example:

Looking south, across the Bow.  Calgary Tower in
the background.

If I ever find my camera cord I'll share pictures of things I've photographed poorly (WHERE did I put it?!).  In the mean time, I need to figure out Canadian television stations so I can stream the Olympic Opening Ceremonies.

ETA: 8/5/12 - have added photographs.