First Try at Hope Mill

Today I went to Hope Mill in Scituate, RI. It's a historic (but now abandoned) mill by the Pawtuxet river. The area is fenced off almost all around, and to enter in the front would be very visible, so I started by going down a nearby side-street and crossing the river in my sneakers to come up on the other side (kind of in the woods) which would lead me to the back corner of the building, but as I came up upon it, I saw in the back an open box-truck, a nearby pick-up truck, and some smoke fumes coming from the box-truck. I'm not sure what was happening here (maybe the property just behind the mill is active), but I only went a little farther toward the side of the mill, then left to go back across the river. Fortunately, I found some wild raspberries on the way there as well as some Jewelweed which I took time to rub on some poison ivy I had gotten from going to another abandoned place.

Entering the building was just a small fence hop away, but I didn't want to try anything because there must've been someone right behind the mill and there was little chance of a subtle get-away if I needed to get out. So in short, I'll have to go back sometime to actually get in, and this time I'll bring rainboots.

The shots I did get weren't all that great, but here they are:

It's hard to get a sense as to how large this mill is without being there in person. This is only the main structure.

See the little orange construction vehicle out front? That makes me worried.

The river going under the mill. It comes out through the tunnel a few pictures down.

The path I came down to get to the river which I crossed.

Where I came up around this fence, the fence keeping me out was even shorter.

The river I crossed--fortunately it had some dry spots.

The remains of an old bridge across the river. It would've been helpful if it were still there.

The tunnel that the river comes out of. I would love to go down there in really tall rain boots or a kayak.