The Concord, Conquered - A Tale of Hearts and Crafts

“There is in my nature, methinks, a singular yearning toward all wildness.” 

― Henry David Thoreau, A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers

I've been called thorough, but never Thoreau.  Nevertheless, when the invite was extended to put paddle to water and to represent Middlesex Community College alongside State Senator Edward Kennedy and a team of future leaders from Lowell High School who would be making the first runs on the whitewater currents of Lowell's Concord River, the time was finally nigh.

For me, it was a long overdue experience.  Along with my fellow E Streeters, I had previously conquered the Penobscot, Kennebec, Dead, New, and Snake Rivers in these great United States.  But amazingly, considering I CAN SEE IT FROM MY OFFICE WINDOW at Middlesex Community College, I had never ventured into the Mighty Concord River. 

Time for that to change, courtesy of Jane Calvin, Katie Durkin and the fine folks at the Lowell Parks and Conservation Trust, who organize weekend trips down the Concord River with Zoar Outdoor.

Here we are with our crafts, still dry as a bone (and I might add, basking in the sunlight that would disappear as the day progressed.)

This past weekend, it was the brave hearts from the Lowell High School who took the 2019 maiden voyage along the Concord River to show the rest of the Adventure-Seeking World how it's done.

Give it up for Amina Bangura, Rose Prout, Kimberly May, Youvanny Tim, Anthony Roman, Nicole Bula, Angelia Liang and Sabatini Suon!

They were joined on this outing by Lowell State Senator Edward Kennedy, one of the biggest cheerleaders of Lowell's whitewater rafting program you'll find in these here woods.

At the Inn and Conference Center on Warren Street. the starting point for all the trips, it was time for the first of many group shots.  The wetsuits, life vests and helmets don't allow for a lot of freestylin' pics, but that didn't stop some of the folks from Lowell Telecommunications Corp from giving it the old Middlesex Community College try!  The LTC folks, by the way, chronicled the trip on their video Go Pros, and will be broadcasting the results on their station later this month. 

Senator Kennedy did an amazing job interacting with the Lowell High students.  He reinforced to them how lucky they are to be living in an industrial city that also offers Class 3 and 4 white water rapids options, something you would normally only find in the western, more rural parts of the state.

He alternated between wearing his teacher hat, his State Senator hat, his former County Commissioner hat, and his former Lowell Mayor and current City Councilor hat.

Thankfully, reason and safety won out, and he opted to go with his water safety hat/helmet instead.

From the ICC, your voyage takes you out to Lawrence Street, alongside the Lowell Cemetery, where you unload the rafts and start your adventure.

The LHS students belong to the COMPASS and T.R.E.E.S. and Outdoor Adventure Environmental Clubs, after school programs taught by the folks at Lowell Parks and Conservation Trust and Mass Audubon Drumlin Farm.  Both of the programs are STEM-based clubs that focus on hands-on activities, community projects, and outdoor classroom experiences.

Three cheers for these brave souls!

The Concord River trip consists of two trips along the water, for adventurous rafters ages 14 and up.  Yes, participants are required to wear life jackets and helmets, along with the wetsuits and waterproof jackets which you will be thanking all of your ancestors for once that first wave hits you.

One thing you're NOT required to do is to stage the Tusken Raiders scene from Star Wars.

But for Katie and I, it was unavoidable.

Ladies and gentlemen - grab your oars! 

The Lowell trips are coordinated by the fine folks from Zoar Outdoor (website here: Zoar ) who have this rafting thing down pat - and not just this writer.  They know every nook and cranny along this stretch of the Concord, as can be evidenced in some of these action shots taken by Lowell Parks and Conservation Trust Head Honcho Jane Calvin, who traversed the entire length of the course to capture Pulitzer-worthy pics throughout!

The 1.7 mile long stretch of urban whitewater on the Concord rips you through three sets of Class 3/4 rapids: Twisted Sister

Umm.....not that one

No, this Twisted Sister on the Concord, Three Beauties which can be found on your approach to the Church Street/Andover Street bridge, and the Middlesex Dam alongside the Lower Locks Garage on your approach to Middlesex Community College.

The outing provided some sightings of Lowell wildlife - and we're not talking the Zoar tour guides.  No, in this case, we saw otters swimming alongside our rafts, a heron gliding overhead, and lastly, a beaver watching curiously from the shore near the Bagshaw Mills, marveling at our dam navigational expertise. 

So fun fact via the folks at Zoar - when the water level is right - WHICH IT WAS THIS PAST WEEKEND - Three Beauties becomes an intensely fun surfing hole.

What does that mean?  Well as this writer found out the extremely hard way, surfing involves paddling upstream into a wave or hole with the goal to fill the boat with water.  Let me tell you.  IT WORKS.  It also almost resulted in Ye Wicked Good Blogger becoming a Wicked Good Blubberer when I went @$$ over teakettle and was only saved from a dip into one of the the Beauties whose name I did not catch by the nimble hands of our guide, Tom, to whom I will be eternally grateful, because I think the moment would have been captured via Go Pro, a video that would have gone instantly viral.

Cue your favorite Beach Boys song, here's a couple of said surfing pics:

And here's a smattering of other action pics taken along the course 

Take note in this pic of ALL THE WATER in the front of the Senator's boat! 

Sadly, the voyage needed to come to end, and we had to disembark behind MCC and the ICC (an adventure unto itself, as curious fishermen watched the conquering heroes return to dry land.)

The day after our trip, the folks in this year's Public Matters leadership class run through the Lowell Plan were making their own team-bonding trip down the river.  (We had already broken in all the most dangerous stretches for them.)

It seems unlikely, but on the infinitesimal chance that you STILL have any questions about the greatness that is Lowell Whitewater Rafting, or need more information, the Lowell Parks and Conservation Trust has conveniently put all of the information at your fingertips in one place and you can check out their website here: (trips run weekends through the end of May)

Concord River White Water Rafting

I tried to figure out some heartfelt way to close out the blog post, but then realized Henry David Thoreau had already captured my wonder and appreciation, and said it much more profoundly.

Take it away Mr. Thoreau!

I had often stood on the banks of the Concord, watching the lapse of the current, an emblem of all progress, following the same law with the system, with time, and all that is made; the weeds at the bottom gently bending down the stream, shaken by the watery wind, still planted where their seeds had sunk, but erelong to die and go down likewise; the shining pebbles, not yet anxious to better their condition, the chips and weeds, and occasional logs and stems of trees that floated past, fulfilling their fate, were objects of singular interest to me, and at last I resolved to launch myself on its bosom and float whither it would bear me.

We Put the Owl in Lowell

After decades of living in the city, I thought I had visited most of the hidden prizes in some of our city's neighborhoods.  Come to find out, I was wrong.  And it took the lure of catching a glimpse of some owls to introduce me to the wonder that is the Hawk Valley Farm at 526 Varnum Avenue, nestled between Varnum Avenue and Pawtucket Boulevard over in the Pawtucketville neighborhood (in the woods behind the soccer fields.)

Thanks to Jane Calvin and Katie Durkin from the Lowell Parks and Conversation Trust, I joined about 40 other interested bird-watchers Friday night to go exploring the snow-covered trails of the farm, the entrance of which lies off Varnum Terrace, from the Varnum Avenue side.  The second oldest home in the city stands at the entrance to the trails.

Chris and Brianne Lemay were there, with all four of their daughters in tow.  Some of them, though, figured out the easiest way to traverse the trails would be riding on Andrew's shoulders.

Some history: Hawk Valley Farm has been owned by the Varnum family since 1664, when English immigrant Samuel Varnum bought 1,000 acres of Pawtucketville real estate.  He and his sons grew crops and kept livestock on the land, while living on the Highlands side of the river in a small garrison to protect them from conflicts with Native Americans.  (Two of Varnum's sons would end up being killed in those conflicts.) 

355 years later, five acres of the land still remain untouched and undeveloped, and will continue to be so, thanks to the Parks and Conversation Trust.  Hawk Valley Farm became the conservation trust's first Conservation Restriction, which ensures perpetual protection so that future generations can explore the history of the area.

For more than a decade, the Lowell Parks and Conservation Trust has worked with the Pawtucketville Citizens Council to protect the farm.  The Farm contains prime agricultural soil, unique nut trees, and wildlife habits.  

On this particular night, the intrepid group of explorers went looking for some of our winged friends.

Daredevil's nemesis the Owl wasn't there

but the trust brought an ornithology expert along, who brought her own friend.

Couldn't catch it with a pic, but on the site remains a cabin foundation wall and old farm from the original homestead, centuries ago.

Sadly, while this night provided some haunting and moody skies complete with rapidly shifting clouds and breezes, the owls were apparently in hiding.

We did, however, come across a bevy of coyote tracks, which led off into some of the other trails.

For more information about future Owl Prowls, pay a visit to the trust's website at www.lowelllandtrust.org or give them a call at 978-934-0030.

Me, I'm going to keep looking for new surprises in the Mill City.  And of course, I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for this guy:

ALTHOUGH, as anyone who knows me is aware, I'm big Twin Peaks fan.  And therefore, can never forget this:

Oh, and one last thing - going back to our opening picture, I went in search of an official answer out there as to how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop.

Hint: it ain't a-three.

According to Purdue University, it's 252.

The University of Michigan said it's 411.

I guess it's true.

The world may never know.

Souped Up

souped-up;

to improve the capacity for speed or increase the efficiency of by increasing the richness of the fuel mixture of the efficiency of the fuel; to give spirit or vivacity to; enliven

Exactly when the actual New Years Day E Streeters Soup Run™ officially began has been lost to the annals of time.  If this blog is any indication, it has notched at least a decade of January Firsts, sacrificing countless bowls of chicken stew and vegetable gumbo to the running gods.

Whatever its origin, one thing is for sure - as sure as the 12 foot wide, 11,875 pound geodesic Waterford Crystal ball descends to the screaming throngs awaiting its arrival in Times Square, NYC, so too, does the soup on Dunstable Road, Westford, fill the empty stomachs of E Street Nation, courtesy of John Piekos and Karen Cambray.

This year, the run came with its own menu, complete with a series of choices being offered at First Run Kitchen ©  Points off for no valet parking options.

Also, in this technological age in which we prosper, we have multiple satellite-authenticated course options of varying distances to choose from

All of those best laid menus and maps would be thrown out the windows with a series of audibles, as this year's crew decided instead to order off the Specials menu and extend the course by a mile or two.

This day, we weren't just celebrating the unseasonable 55 degree warm temperatures, we were also celebrating the fact that John's driveway did not mirror its Iditerod ice flumes of years gone by.

To commemorate the occasion, we let John take the lead and set the pace for the run.

It would be a short-lived lead, as Tommy, knowing of the Town Line that lie ahead, made his move immediately.

Ben was already celebrating the multiple bowls of soup he knew awaited him at run's end

These two siblings made a New Year's Resolution to smile all through their runs

Alas, Tommy would not prove victorious in his quest for the First Run First Blood.  And as anyone who runs with the E Streeters knows, if there's no picture, the victory didn't happen.

Luckily, we had multiple cameras at our disposal.  And cameras don't lie.

Okay Ben, we know.  There's soup waiting for us at the end.

Throughout the year's 365 days, there'll be hundreds of runs notched by this stalwart group.

None however, usually compete with this course in terms of the hills required to scale. (Vertical and horizontal shots stand ready to document the mileage)

You are my sunshine, Heather 

The Founders of the Feast 

And....they've already broken their New Year's Resolution.

Did I mention hills?

Barry snagged some great shots on the course, from a unique vantage point.  No truth to the rumors it was because he had collapsed on the roadway from exhaustion after scaling these White Mountain foothills.

Exactly one year ago, Heather was winging her way to London, there to partake in a semester abroad and some unforgettable times with our UK comrades-in-arms.

This day, she was just happy to give a shoutout to the Union Jack we spotted along the way.

What's that U2 song about Elevation?

Back at Dunstable Road, the Deadpool began anew, and the bowls of soup were as plentiful as the tales of Town Line victories of Yore.

Another New Year, another opportunity to pause for a moment and just celebrate the fact that again, we're all still relatively healthy, and able to gather for events like this to share an abundance of inappropriate jokes and recount laughs that encompass stories spanning more than three decades of this motley crew souping up.

I've said it frequently on this blog, and will continue to write it for as long as possible - we're fortunate on so many fronts to have such a loyal and dependable group of friends who've been there through thick and thin for one another.

Running just happens to issue the clarion call that often brings us together in one place - well, that, and soup - but it's important to use opportunities like the start of a New Year to pause and take stock of everything - and everyone - who's been around to celebrate all the years gone by with us as well.

On to 2019, and, I'm sure, dozens more group runs and hundreds more off-color jokes.

To E Streeters, far and wide, including those who either aren't too fond of running, or couldn't make it to Soup Run 2019, here's to you!

As I stated up top, getting souped up is defined as increasing the capacity for speed, the richness of the fuel, to give spirit to, to enliven.

Yeah, that pretty much describes us E Streeters.

One final shot - in which Ben apparently broke the news to Andrew about soup waiting for us at the end of the run!