The weather here in southern New England has been kind of odd. While other parts of the county are baking in the heat or getting dumbed on with rain, it has been cool and dry here. The heat in my house kicked on a couple of times last week – it definitely hasn’t felt like summer.
We are getting some badly needed rain this weekend, but it looked like we would have a window of storm-free weather on Saturday from 11:00 to 4:00, so we decided to take a chance. We had two tandem canoes to run the section of the Assabet River from Acton, MA to Concord, MA. The river was low, so finding the deep channels and avoiding rocks and strainers was the order of the day. This trip ends in Concord at the site of the “shot heard round the world” – the Old North Bridge.
We timed it perfect – the rain stopped at around 11:00 when we put-in, and started up again at around 4:00 when we were driving home. One of my favorite trips – few pictures here:
Fascinating history is everywhere in the NE. It adds another dimension of enjoyment to paddling excursions. Having grown up in CA, I thought US history began in 1848 at Sutter’s Mill. Then I moved to an upstate NY town where half the buildings pre-dated CA statehood!
Thanks for the pictures.
There is a lot of history around here. On just about every river there are dams and 19th century mills/mill villages - one of the oldest is Slater Mill. There are a fair number of 18th century houses around - especially in places like Newport (which is better know for mansions). Not many 17th century structures remain, but there is one house not far from me.
My wife and I went to the Plimoth Patuxet Museums yesterday (formally called Plymouth Plantation). Pretty amazing - not even counting the Thanksgiving story. What a tough way to live. Must have been tough to cross the country and settle in CA as well. Amazing people.
I do like the history - Red Coats from a few years ago at the Old North Bridge.
Very cool - I grew up in that area (Chelmsford) but never any paddling in that area (started after I moved away). The amount of history around the area is amazing though - as a kid growing up it’s just “normal” since you see it all the time.
I believe Ken is not paddling at the moment due to an injury. I’m planning to attend the Kiptopeke symposium in Sept that he usually goes to and was looking forward to seeing him there, but he is not going. Have fun in your class and say hi to Matt for me if you see him.
