Delaware River

Thursday, July 10, 2014

Today I am grateful for the Delaware River.  Sometimes I can’t believe I live in such a historic area.  Of course, every area has a past, but the Philadelphia region is ripe with our nation’s embryonic history and that gives me a kick.  That George Washington crossed the Delaware blows my mind.  But he wouldn’t be crossing it this week unless he wanted to wind up in the Atlantic Ocean.

When we tried to fish on the Delaware River a few days ago and found it muddy and moving more rapidly than I’ve ever seen it move unless it was in flood mode, I realized the true power of this large river.  The debris that traveled with it was unbelievable.  We saw kayakers launch and they were down river out of sight two seconds after they hit the water.  They had assured us they were seasoned on the rapid river so I wasn’t worried.  Much.

The colors of the water where the Lehigh River meets the Delaware was unbelievable.  The Lehigh was clean and clear and the Delaware muddy and brown.  Pictures don’t do it justice, but at one section it looked striped, like Neapolitan ice cream only with mocha replacing strawberry.

I’m a fresh water kind of person.  I guess that comes from growing up on the shores of Lake Michigan.  I have a great respect for powerful water but today it’s all about being grateful for the Delaware River.