Sunday, October 24, 2010

Delaware River and Delaware Raritan Canal



As the end of October draws near, the weather is still very mild. The temperature today reached 64 F (18 C degrees), and the wind was calm. I put in  to the Delaware -Raritan Canal at Washington Crossing ( site of George Washington's famous crossing) .

I paddled upstream. There is a towpath along the length of this section and many cyclists and walkers cruised by. 
Ubiquitous Canada Geese 








Fall foliage on the canal. 







                      Old abandoned lock






 Local wildlife The Redbelly Turtle     Pseudemys rubriventris














Canal Scenes 
There were several abandoned bridges crossing the canal 



















The towpath is just visible at the top of the river bank. 













About 5 miles up I pulled out of the canal and dragged the kayak across the tow path and down a bank to the Delaware River which was only about 50 meters  from the canal  at this point. 
This made the trip extra easy, as I was able to do a round trip in the kayak. 
The river was moving fairly well. I was surprised how shallow the river was in parts


 The Delaware River- Border of Pennsylvania and New Jersey 
Titusville



Great Blue Heron - Juvenile 
from Wikipedia... 

Washington's crossing of the Delaware River, occurring on December 25, 1776 during the American Revolutionary War, was the first move in a planned surprise attack organized by George Washington against the Hessian forces in Trenton, New Jersey.
Planned in partial secrecy, Washington led a column of Continental Army troops across the icy Delaware River in a logistically challenging and potentially dangerous operation. Other planned crossings in support of the operation were either called off or ineffective, but this did not prevent Washington from successfully surprising and defeating the troops of Johann Rall quartered in Trenton. The army crossed the river back to Pennsylvania, this time burdened by prisoners and military stores taken as a result of the battle
The bridge at Washington Crossing 



There was no one else on the river; it  was a great day on the water.


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