Another Way to Wamesit

 

Paddled down the Concord River to Wamesit Falls yesterday.  Back in July I approached Wamesit from the Merrimack River, and a few days later walked the Concord River Greenway Trail between Lawrence Street and Rogers Street in Lowell.  Link to that post.  At that time I snapped this photo of Wamesit Falls from the trailside overlook...

...and made a promise to myself to visit the site (above the dam) by boat.

I started my trip in North Billerica, MA close to the time of the Autumnal Equinox and took a look at the Talbot Mills Dam...

...before following the river's flow northward.  After a couple of miles I passed under bridges for Route 495 and the MBTA's Lowell Commuter Line in the distance...

Approaching Muldoon Park and Fort Hill...

While passing under the CSX Railroad bridge I paddled alongside a long curved wooden trestle which long ago carried a railroad spur...

This spur formerly crossed Lawrence Street and followed the Concord River serving several riverside mills.  A steam locomotive hauling a few freight cars atop the trestle would've made quite a photo.

My trip ended just a bit downstream from the Lawrence Street bridge...

...when I arrived at Wamesit Falls...

The above view is opposite that of my opening photo.

Having approached  Wamesit from different sides I now have a better appreciation for the size of the area and why its name is said to have meant "the place for all".

After my visit to the falls I headed back upriver with help from a busy northeast breeze...

Some trash gathered up along the way...

While picking up a discarded plastic bottle I noticed several dead crabs...

...that I'm guessing were dumped here because, as far as I know, there are no crabs native to this river.

On a side note, after having been on the Richelieu River in Quebec last week and learned of how the river got its name I thought it a coincidence to see the 1974 film "The Four Musketeers" on television last night.  Cardinal Richelieu was portrayed in the film by Charlton Heston.  As near as I can tell Cardinal Richelieu never set foot in North America yet a river was named in his honor.  He must have been powerful indeed.