Elbow river at its largest

Vacation was very nice. It was great to go back to old digs, meet good friends and spend time with family. It was also very action packed with trying to get everything done that we had planned and meet everyone we wanted. Coming back to Calgary feels like vacation from vacation now. It is good to get back to a routine and it feels good to get to continue with the projects that were on hold since before the vacation. Jetlag is not great though. The first day back was spent in a fog, even though the sun was out at least half of the day. Then we started taking Melatonin and it helps to sleep through the morning and even though it is still hard to wake up, at least I pick up about 11ish and can start being productive.

When we left Calgary it was right in the middle of the rising rivers. Our friends who live close to the Elbow river were already evacuated Thursday night. We took a look at the Bow river before going to bed and saw it already dangerously high and some emergency vehicle blocking the pathway under the bridge. When we woke up on Friday (June, 21st), we had electricity for about half an hour and then we were left with no idea what is going on. My husband started to go to work and discovered a sheet on the elevator that recommended that we evacuate already last night. My husband still decided to go to work and see what is going on and I went upstairs and started packing.

Our flight to Estonia was scheduled for 6.30pm and we kept tabs of whether flights are leaving on time from YYC and fortunately they were. Apparently heavy rain is not something that disturbs the planes taking off or landing too much. I received a call very soon from my husband who said that his office quarters have been blocked off and people have been told to clear the area. He went and grabbed a sandwich and came home. Just as the people came to knock on the doors in our building, telling us to evacuate, I finished packing. We wanted to get a cab, but were told that the cabs no longer are allowed into our area. We took our 4 suitcases and started heading towards the nearest street where we saw cars still moving and got a cab fairly quickly.

On the way to the airport we saw the Bow river even higher than the night before and it kept raining and raining. The traffic was only allowed out of Downtown and the roads were packed. We got to the airport 6 hours before we should have been there, but we thought that at least we are there and don’t have to worry about getting out of the apartment. The flight left on time and we were very happy for having got out just in time.

When we arrived back 2 weeks later, it was raining again heavily. Sitting in the taxi, we heard on the radio that there are flash floods due to rain in some areas close to us and that there are some concerns for the repeat of the events a week ago. We thought that we should have stayed away for longer, but fortunately the flash floods cleared up and the next morning there was sunshine already. We got up really early (jetlag) went shopping for some food (our fridge had to be cleaned out of food, since there had been no electricity for a while and we did not dare to eat the things). Then we went for our yoga class, had a nice lunch with fresh cod and a bottle of white wine. Had an afternoon lie-in and decided to go cycling lest we try to go to sleep too early.

The cycling tour started with strong winds and some ominous clouds gathering in the horizon. I vowed to turn back as soon as it gets worse, but it did not start raining for a while. On our cycle tour SouthEast of the city, we could see the flood damage clearly. Most of the bikeways were closed and where they were open we could see just how far the river had swollen. We ended up cycling mostly on the main roads and decided to turn around when the lightning started flashing.

We got back home, a bit wet, but refreshed from cool air and rain and feeling good that we had gotten out and done something. This week we have started our gym routine as well, so things are back to normal. Even the weather is nice – some days even too hot – 27C is quite hot here.