The James River

My father-in-law gave me a copy of The James by Blair Niles.....very interesting and evocative book. This is the older edition that does not include discussion of the long section of the James above Richmond.....a very different take on race than you would find today...somewhat reminiscent of the scenes on the plantation discussed in "Suwannee: Strange Green Land"....very good and interesting drawings.

The Tidewater James is its own estuarine environment, kind of like a mini Chesapeake Bay.....flat as a pancake but still not the friendliest place for boats...subject to sudden thunderstorms....beautiful tidal creeks and tributaries like College Creek near Jamestown....long views can be had from its banks around the bends of the river...

Much of the Tidewater James looks as it might have looked when Blair Niles wrote, or even much further back in itme

Marietta

is on the "upper ohio" but still some distance from Wheeling

shipbuilding in Marietta 1800-1812

Ohio River photos near Marietta

Ohio River Front, Marietta, Ohio - Travel Photos by Galen R Frysinger, Sheboygan, Wisconsin

"The Ohio" by R.A. Banta

Anoother BIG book, tries to do everything and often succeeds. Great chapters on the prehistory of the river, great and balanced account of the exploration and settlement, including very sympathetic accounts of the Native displacement and the various abrogations of treaties. In the case of the Ohio Native Americans were used by the French and then the British as proxies for colonial war-fighting.

When you read "The Ohio" you realize how much newer the rest of the country is compared to the eastern seaboard.

Crossing the Potomac

at its mouth you may very well be out of sight of all land for a while, like being on an inland sea

The Potomac

is really really wide ar its mouth like 12 miles or so....amazing

North part of the Fraser today

From the wiki. Wiki at the moment has little of the historyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraser_River

The Fraser

Another book full of wild adventures and life-and-death struggles. I have been to Vancouver, which is incredibly beautiful, but knew little of the history of this region or the very important role of the Fraser in the history of both the US and Canada. A very worthwhile read. Very interesting discussion of the Fraser's "Gold Rush" of the 1850's

Brandywine River Museum

http://www.brandywinemuseum.org/

Be sure to visit if you are ever in the vicinity of the Brandywine valley. Many people go to Longwood and Winterthur but don't stop at this excellent museum.