Hampshire & Hampden Canal

I went on a little foray in the rain today. My mission? Seek out a section of the old Hampshire and Hampden canal that runs through Easthampton. Circa 1829.

I think Leah is sure that I have an obsession with this thing. I recently went on a geocaching expedition that brought me to an old section of this canal. Being a history nut I was of course immediately sucked in by the fact that there was an old canal that ran right through many people's back yards and they don't even know what it was.

I'm currently on a mission to take some pics and write something up over at my outdoor website, skinut.net I'll let you know when it is up.

In the meantime, here are some shots from the Arcadia Wildlife refuge in Easthampton. There was ice on the shores already! Shortly after crossing the bridge to the field, which is now closed to vehicle traffic, some sort of raptor-bird announced my presence. I'm not sure if it was a red-tailed or not, because everything was so grey and misty today. Regardless of what bird it was it seemed that he wanted to dry his wings off for a bit. He (or she) was content that it was high enough for me to not bother it, so the winged creature stayed put.

There was a lot of rain on the horizon but I didn't care. I recently took advantage of EMS' seasonal sale and picked up some rain gear. I felt like a duck as the water just ran off my outfit. Yay!


After that little foray I went off to take some pics of the sections of the canal that were still visible. Here's a shot I took. It's amazing...after 179 years the definition of the canal is still plainly visible where it lay undisturbed. A rainy day is an excellent time to take shots, as it still holds water!