Mother's Day Rio Grande Whitewater Festival

What an amazing weekend! Between exciting races and informative talks there was much to see and do at this years' festival! So many great people turned out to learn and celebrate our lovely stretch of river!
The weekend kicked off with some great speakers, Paul Bauer gave an excellent presentation on the geology and hydrology of the Rio Grande, explaining the geologic history of the 30 million year old rift that the Rio Grande runs through.
The wonderful volunteers from the Espanola  Wildlife center brought live Raptors native to New Mexico, giving the audience a rare chance to see these lovely birds up close! The peregrine falcon was a star of the show, the fastest animal on Earth this little bird hunts at speeds up to 240 mph!
But what would the festival be without the spirit of competition?! Day one featured the annual "throw-bag" competition with boaters showcasing their safety rope skills! After the dust cleared four finalists were left standing. 1st place going to Joe Cameron, winning a dinner for two at the Taos Inn, in 2nd was Garret Schooley, 3rd was Los Rios' own Josh Chaumont, and in 4th was speaker Paul Bauer!

Los Rio's senior guide Sherry testing her throw bag skills in the Prelims!

Class is in with Geologist Paul Bauer!

The Peregrine Falcon showing off it's wingspan!

The Red Tailed hawk posing for the camera! 

Throw bag Competition Finals

3rd Place Winner: Los Rios River Runner's Guide Josh Showing off his prize!

Day 2 presented the highlight of the weekend with the Whitewater races! After some challenging SUP board races through obstacles and boat demos, the Mother's Day Race began! This competition began in the 70's and is the reason behind the name of this famous section of the Rio Grande: The Race Course! Featuring class 1, 2 and 3 rapids it's a fantastic 5 mile stretch of river! From the very beginning the Red Lady Rafting from Southern Colorado cut a clear win with a huge lead right from the get-go! Well practiced and totally synchronized they dominated the Race Course! Heather, Jen, Julie, and Hali came screeching into the finish line with an astounding time of 48:30 minutes! 2nd Place was Northern New Mexico's own Santa Fe Rafting at 49:31, and finally 3rd went to New Mexico River Adventures at 49:40.
Other race results can be found at the Mother's Day Rio Grande Whitewater Festival Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/mdrgwf

SUP Race Obstacle Course

Mother's Day Whitewater Rafting Race!

Racers pounding through the dangerous slot near Big  Rock!

That tiny boat in the distance is the Red Ladies with their huge lead!

They're coming in for the win!!!

Victory Hug!!!

Saturday night the winners and spectators alike could be found at Taos Mesa Brewery for the Anthony Leon and the Chain show! Country-rock and a dance-off between whitewater competitors could be witnessed as the boaters took the floor with groove'n moves!

Post Race Jamming!

After all this Whitewater excitement we at Los Rios River Runners can hardly believe it's just the start to the season! Join us on this AWESOME river!!!