You never know what you’re going to see when walking along the Taunton River.

You never know what you’re going to see when walking along the Taunton River. I like to take walks most mornings and my favorite place to walk is the Fall River waterfront from Bicentennial Park at the foot of President Ave to the  Gates of the City plaza on Ponta Delgada Boulevard. I like this particular walk because there is always something different to see. For the past few weeks boaters have been taking their boats out of the water for the season at the State boat launch. It is interesting to see some pretty good size sailboats and cabin cruisers being hauled onto land on the back big trucks. Sometimes a tugboat will be pushing a barge of some sort up the Taunton River, or a coal tanker will be manuvering just south of the Braga Bridge getting ready to unload at the Brayton Point power plant. Some days there is nothing out of the ordinary, but maybe an egret or heron feeding along the shore, or a comorant diving under the water in search of a snack. I try to anticipate where it may surface again some  40 or 50 feet away from its starting point.  

Today I was not sure what I was seeing as I approached the Fall River Line State Pier. A number of trucks pulling ENORMOUS  flatbed trailers with HUGE white “long things” were all around the area from Battleship Cove to the Gates of the City. Each flatbed was holding one massive structure which had to measure 15 feet high, and half the length of a football field long. I couldn’t imagine how anyone would be able to transport something so long away from the waterfront and down city streets.

After gawking at the sight for a while I finished my walk and headed home. Fortunatly my  Fall River Herald News was waiting for me with an explanation of what I had just seen. Aparently the recently refurbished State Pier played host to a 450 foot vessel from China yesterday. Its cargo were the pieces of a 415 foot wind turbine being delivered this weekend to the Industrial Park. Apparently what I saw were the 150 foot blades of the turbine. Pretty impressive.

 As I said, You never know what you’re going to see when walking along the Taunton River. I wonder if tomorrow’s walk can top that!

For more about the Greater Fall River area, visit my website at  www.stevew-homes.com  or contact me directly at 508-558-8035.