Other Watersheds 7: The Delaware Redux

Almost exactly a decade ago I did this post.  Today I decided to add to it and broaden the geographic scope.  Stick with me to see how broadened this gets.

From the Delaware Memorial Bridge to the entrance of Delaware Bay is about 100 miles.  Near the entrance you see big water and big traffic, like a light Ivory Coast above and a working OSG Vision below.  OSG Vision is mated to OSG 350, a huge barge used to lighter crude oil tankers 342,000 barrels at a time.

Forty miles upstream from the Delaware Memorial, there’s the Ben Franklin Bridge, here with Pilot towing La Princesa and assisted by Grace and Valentine Moran.

Some Delaware River boats are rarely seen in the sixth boro like Jack Holland.

Almost 150  miles upstream from the Philly-Camden area is  Hawk’s Nest Highway, the part of the river once paralleled on the nearer side by the D&H Canal.

Of course I paddled the whole way up there. In fact, this stretch of the Delaware has enough current that a 21st century paddler would not choose to go upstream very far, and a 19th century boat-mule canaler would want to keep navigation separate from the river.

Early summer had its share of young  birds,

deer, and trout visible under the canoe.

Some mysterious paddlers shared the waters.

That New York side of the river . . .

if you look close, you can see in places that these are not natural rock formations. Rather, they support the towpath side of the D & H Canal, way up above the river.

Part of Route 97 is also known as Hawk’s Nest Highway.

To digress, the eastern end of the Canal–about a hundred miles to the NE–is in Kingston NY, and a transshipping point was Island Dock, which

has now overgrown.  I wonder if there’s ever been a project to clear the trees and undergrowth and contemplate a recreation of this important site.  Oil is today’s fuel;  coal was definitely king in this other age.

But let’s back to the Delaware.  North of Barryville, there’s this bridge. At least, it’s now a bridge, but when

John Roebling built it, it was an aqueduct for D & H coal boats bringing anthracite out of the Coal Region to the sixth boro.

 

Here’s a preserved portion of the Canal between Hawley and Honesdale PA, just upstream (water has long long) from Lock 31.   Honesdale was once the transhipping point between railroad cars and canal boats and deserves another visit and maybe a whole post, which maybe I’ll getto when the museum there opens again.

Pennsylvania has place names like Oil City, Cokeburg, and Coal Port.  The coal transported on the D & H came from aptly-named Carbondale, another place that deserves more time.  The commodity legacy is seen in these two businesses

and maybe others.

All photos, WVD, at different points over the past 10 years.  If anyone has ideas about high points along the river you’d suggest I visit, please let me know.  Since my jobs for this summer have fallen through, this might be the year to canoe and hike.

Unrelated, if you haven’t yet read this story about an Argentine in Portugal unable to get home because of cancelled flights and choosing to sail across the Atlantic in a 29′ boat to see his father turn 90, here‘s the link.

 

 

 

Inside Beaufort Inlet 2

Inside Beaufort Inlet is quite the archipelago, the largest island of which is Radio Island.  Let’s start from Front Street in Beaufort and circle.  Wild horses are there,

as well as really minimal truckable tugs.

And a fishing fleet in port includes Jessica, Jonathan Ryan and

Colton Scott and Miss Sandy V.

Note the means to keep the fish deck free of fumes.

Over on the Morehead City side, prominent are to phosphate storage domes.  I presume Beaufort Belle pushes the barges from the mine in Aurora to here.  Anyone know how large the Potash corp fleet is.

On the oceanside of the Route 70 bridge, the Moran ship-assist fleet parks between jobs.

Fort Macon, Fort Fisher, and Grace Moran.

Salamina1 loads phosphate.

Jack Holland prepares to move a barge of scrap aluminum bales.

They arrived on this vessel . . .

Sea Baisi.

Robert Burton does the same.  I’m not sure where these bales will be converted into aluminum products.

Over behind Fort Macon, WLB 204 Elm is docked, more or less

across the chanel from the landing zone on Radio Island.  That’s Na Hoku in the background.

Parting shots include this outbound fishing vessel and

an idea about alternative housing . .  if you visit.

All fotos by Will Van Dorp.

Road Fotos 34

Even 600 miles away, I can feel the pull of Saturday’s gathering.  Signs point north even

atop Carteret Academy.

Feral horses can try to hold me here, but after one last look around this area of the Outer Banks, I’ll head north.  This last look will show

Robert Burton,

Jack Holland,

Grace Moran and Fort Fisher,

Beaufort Belle,

and Odell.

All fotos by Will Van Dorp.