This week Brad takes us canoeing on the Waterhen River in Saskatchewan. Sounds like a perfect evening to reshare as we head into the holiday season.
Brad Constantine was selected as one of Greenest Workforce Green Dream bloggers during the summer of 2017. Brad shared some great insight into what it’s like to work in the forest industry. We’ll be re-sharing Brad’s summer of blogs over the next several weeks so you can share in his adventure and more about the great opportunities that await you in the forest industry. For more information on the Greenest Workforce visit: http://thegreenestworkforce.ca/index.php/en/home/
By Brad Constantine on June 29, 2017
Last Friday after work, there were two choices at hand. The first choice was to check out the Meadow Lake Stampede which was occurring that night. The second option was to take a 45-minute drive out of town towards Goodsoil to spend the evening on the water canoeing the Waterhen River. Knowing that the rodeo was happening Saturday night as well, my co-worker Jesse and I decided to go canoeing. We met up with two of Jesse’s friends that he graduated with from the Integrated Resource Management program at Saskatchewan Polytechnic and hauled the canoe and kayaks out to the river.
We were worried that the weather wasn’t going to cooperate because it was raining on and off all day. However, when we left the sun was shining. We departed shore and off we went down the river. I’ve canoed quite a bit over the last few years and absolutely love the activity. Back in New Brunswick, the rivers I hit are very slow and calm. Needless to say, hitting massive sections of rapids with a small canoe is one of the best feelings ever. It was one unforgettable experience.
The river was full of activity, the four of us that went on the trip were all outdoorsy people and had a background in wildlife. We spent most of our evening spotting Common Loons, a pair of Bald Eagles, some Red-Winged Blackbirds and many others. When the group hit one rapid, Jesse was a few boat lengths ahead of me and Maria, and a massive Great Blue Heron flew right in front of Jesse. I thought he was going to get hit.
For the first little bit, I was timid of hitting the rapids because I’ve never experienced them before. After a while, we were hitting the big waves in our little canoe and I thought for sure we were acting like a fishing boat on Deadliest Catch. The wave completely soaked me as it went over the bow of the boat.
Three Hours later, we finally made it to shore, and surprisingly the weather held out. When coming out through Marias field, the thunder started erupting in the skies and the downpouring began. With almost perfect timing, we got to enjoy an eventful canoe trip all evening and witnessed an amazing display as we watched the lighting shoot through the sky on the trip back to Meadow Lake.
The next time you hear from me, I will be writing about my crazy week doing LiDAR Plots. Stay tuned!!!
