If you mention the anacostia River to most people in DC, if they've heard of it at all (it's our "other river") they'll think of the grimy, industrial portion near its mouth. Just a few miles upstream, however, it's a totally different river.
I launched at Bladensburg Waterfront Park in PG County, Maryland - an under-rated launch, if you ask me. No launch fee. Real bathrooms and a water fountain, and even a hose to wash the muck off your boat when you're done (the river is better up in Bladensburg, but not quite pristine). I did a double-take as I approached the entrance to the park, because I had never before noticed that the Bladensburg Peace Cross, which was the focus of a
recent Supreme Court decision (really recent - like two weeks ago), sits right outside the park's gates.
My choice to launch at Bladensburg was driven by its proximity to Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens. I had heard the lotuses were in bloom and I wanted to see if I could find them from the water. Lotuses are striking, otherworldly flowers - something I I deduce from pictures of them, since I didn't actually find any from the water. I did, however, explore a few interesting side tributaries off the river, some of which I had never even noticed before.
First, I ducked into marshland in the Anacostia River Park (not to be confused with Anacostia Park, which is also along the river, but several miles downriver in DC). I love marshland, and this was really pretty. At water level you'd never know that you were just a few hundred feet from a large concrete plant which sits just outside the park's boundaries. Having failed to find any interesting flowers there, I next explored Beaverdam Creek. This is a dead straight creek which again is peaceful in an urban sort of way, in that it's green and lush and dead quiet, except for every once in a while when an Amtrak train rushes by on the adjacent railroad tracks. About 3/4 of a mile up the creek it turns into a concrete walled canyon as it passes under the Baltimore Washington Parkway. This felt a little creepy to me so I turned around. It appears on the map that you could continue on the creek past the highway, but it wends through scrap yards and other industrial properties - probably not all that pretty a paddle. Still no flowers.
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| Beaverdam Creek |
Finally, I made it into Kenilworth Marsh, which is part of the Gardens. I poked around in several directions but never quite found my way to the area where the lotus flowers are. It's not clear to me that area is reachable by water. But it was more beautiful, marshy paddling nonetheless.
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| Water plants in Kenilworth Marsh |
Finally, I exited the marsh back out to the river. It was my intention to just book the two miles or so back upriver, but the turtles slowed me down. Everywhere I looked, turtles were sunning themselves on logs. I had my nice camera with me (to take pictures of the lotus blossoms, had I found them) and I couldn't resist the opportunity to sneak pictures of the turtles. They're skittish - as soon as they figure out you're approaching them, they plop into the water an disappear. That's what makes photographing them a fun challenge. I try to get up a good head of steam in my kayak while I'm still far away, then stop paddling, grab the camera and shoot pictures while I drift towards them. I find they'll let a drifting kayak approach a little more closely than one being actively paddled. Anyway, I got a few good turtle pictures, but believe me - this is not even half the turtles I saw.
Finally, I made it back to the launch, rinsed the Anacostia goo off of my boat, and headed home.
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| Turtle |
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| Another turtle |
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| Yet another turtle |
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| This is not a turtle. It's a cormorant. I liked the silhouette. |
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