Cominco

Being the fools that we are we decided that we would hold the Sociable Affair after all and it work out much better than expected.

The Set -up day was a very hot then very wet day . I did manage to get everythng done between downpours. Surprisingly enough we even had 7 people show up and paddle, an added bonus. We found a few minor flaws in out huge tent but nothing a few minutes with a sponge didn’t fix. I suppose we should actually seam seal the tent but summers here are usually rain free.

Saturday dawned beautiful and sunny and we added folks getting an early start. Our boats were seeing plenty of traffic and then there were lots of other paddlers in the area. Yellowknife River bridge can be a busy place on agood day. The boat launch makes it attractive to the powerboaters and fishermen. We had a reporter from the Yellowknifer arrive Saturday afternoon and interviewed myself and some of our guest. we received a very nice write up in the paper and a few good pictures as well.

Suday continued on the same as before with possible showers that neve arrived. We gave away boat rides all day and hd some burgers etc. to cook up and things run pretty smoothly. We gave away rides until just after 20:00 hrs and then began to pack up. The rain had been holding off all day and we wanted to get things put away as dry as possible. I hate packing tehts etc. away wet just so I can unpack and dry it all again later. Mildew and rot can become an issue if we store the stuff wet.

The Sociable affair may be postoned due to weather if it does not stop raining. we would nopt mind if we were already set up but setting up and hauling everthing there in the rain is not fun, Not many folks will attend in this weather so we may have to cancel if things do not pick up sunwise. We usually hold this Affair closer to the end of July but decided to move it ahead to catch the last 3 days of the 75th Anniversary of Yellowknifes Homecoming celebrations. We usually get very little rain here  the rain is good as it keeps the forest fire alert level low and brings the river levels up. Folks won’t want to stand around in the rain waiting for their turn in the boats and I certainly don’t want to sit in the tent for 3 days, six miles from home with no one to paddle with.

I hoping that the weather forecast comes true and things clear up today. Our second year for this event we had rain all the last day and no shelters. We now have two big sun shelters and a huge 5 meter diameter dome tent and tarps. But out of the rain and in the bugs is no way to spend your week end if it can be avoided. Anyway I will try positive thinking and work on sending the rain south to the farmers. Alberta needs the rain more than we do this year.