: This does not look like a place to bail. There appears to be a lot of hazards
: in the water .

Do you mean those lovely old cars protecting banks? Well, we don't have much choice of rivers for flatwater paddling in eastern part of Colorado. South Platte River is the only one and usually has enough water for paddling in winter/spring season or after some heavy rains. And it looks quite scenic in winter when snow covers everything. Below my CLC Patuxent 19.5 in January paddling on S. Platte.