No damage . . . no power . . . thank you Irene

And I mean that!  Although we did a bit of grumbling, I am VERY thankful that the only trouble we had was 3 days without power!   There are many many with lots of far greater troubles.  A house across the river from us burned down yesterday!   We are not yet sure what happened.  Speculation is that they got a generator and had a malfunction or misused the generator.   But that is speculation!

We live along the Delaware River and the Delaware Raritan canal.  There is a beautiful towpath that runs from Trenton to Phillipsburg.  I would guess some 50 plus miles.   We are but 5 miles from Trenton.   Years ago the mules walked the towpath pulling barges on the canal.  Here's a drawing, not of Titusville, if my words don't describe it accurately.

Anyway, the towpath collapsed a few miles north of us and the river and canal have become one.  They, I believe state road crew type people, were working on the towpath at a spill way to improve a bridge.  Now they have lots more work!  The main road also caved in in the same area.  Thankfully no one was in the area at the time it all happened. It will be quite some time before it is all repaired.   In the meantime, the canal continues to have less and less water.  At some point, there was a train along the canal.  Last night people were "excavating" and finding old railroad pins and all kinds of interesting things. 

Before the rains came on Saturday, I went down to the river to check out the water level at the bridge and the 1955 highwater mark, just for a reference point for after Irene came through.

 

The second white sign on the tree behind my car, and considerably higher than my car, about the middle of the photo or a bit higher, is the 1955 high water mark, August 20, 1955.  When I took this on Saturday, before Irene, the river was to my back and the canal is thru the trees.   Two hurricanes in August 1955 caused the streams that feed the canal to overflow into the canal and the canal to overflow. At least that's the story I've heard.

Back to present day . . . here's the Washington Crossing Titusville Bridge . . .

Saturday mid morning on the left . . .

and Monday mid morning below

Monday neither of us had to go to work so we went to Goat Hill Overlook above Lambertville.  Rumored to be were George Washington had a lookout.   Lambertville was hit hard.  Lots of flooding and extended power outages. We were at Goat Hill Overlook in March so I have a few photos for comparison.

 

This was taken in March . . . Waterworks Condominiums on the Pennsylvania side just below New Hope.  The stone walls along the building in the river create the wing dam which was used by Union Mills.  It was a grist mill and saw mill in the early 1800s and later a paper mill.  There is a dam that come out into the river on the right side of  the picture.

 

Same view taken Monday after Irene.  You cannot see any of the wing dam.  Notice  the tree in the first picture.   It does not have any leaves and see it here?  Yicks!

 

From the open field at Goat Hill Overlook, looking north up the Delaware into New Hope.  Lambertville is on the right side.   This was taken in March.

  

Taken from just about the same spot as the photo above, you can see how much wider the river is.   The bridge had been closed the day before because a tree had hit the bridge as it was coming down the river.   Must have been a BIG tree.

As much as I love the water, my 12 years here near the river have taught me that if I am lucky enough to live on water when we retire, it will be on a lake and it will be up high above the lake!

I hope you and your loved ones are safe and dry from Irene's aftermath.


Blessings,
Colleen