Day on the Cruise: 96
From: Riverlink Park, Amsterdam, NY
To: Canal Harbor, Little Falls, NY
Statute Miles: 42.4 SM
Time: 7.15 Hrs
Cumulative Miles: 2,022.4 SM
On Board: Susan, Chuck, Maggie, Trooper, Peanut
Tonight we are at Little Falls, NY
Little Falls is a town of about 4,500 people East of Utica, NY. It was settled in the 1700's around a series of cascading waterfall that drop the Mohawk River about 45 feet in a half mile. The town is reportedly made up of 60% retired folks. Not a good sign for the economy!
Today we passed the 2,000 mile point on the trip! Still less than half way complete, I think. 2,000 miles in a boat is a big deal to me!
After pumping out the holding tank, we left Riverlink Park with two other boats to get in line for the 8:00 opening of the Canal System and Lock 11. All three boats locked through together in both Lock 11 and Lock 12.
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| First time we have had more than boats than just us in a lock |
Lock 12 is the lock where the dam was severely damaged in the June storms. This is the lock that we drove up and looked at and of which we posted pictures on a previous blog. The scene we saw today was completely different than our previous trip. The contractor did a wonderful job in rebuilding the structure that makes the dam. We passed through with no problems!
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| Watching the dam from the Lock |
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| Great shot of water level differential between the Lock and the lower pool level |
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| Detail of how dam gates attach to the bridge and how they are able to swing up |
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| Water seeping through the wall of the Lock. Where is the guy who puts his finger in the Dike????????? |
After Lock 12, one of the other boats speeded up considerably and blew out of sight. We never saw him again, but we good not loose the other boat. I sped up to try to get to the next Locks to lock through ahead of him, but the Lock Masters made us wait for him so they could lock us through together. So, after about two more locks of having these waits, I just slowed down to run slightly ahead of him so we got to the locks about the same time.
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| Commercial barge along the Canal |
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| Note the low rise tug that pushes barges on the Canal. Low enough to get under bridges |
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| Looking back at the Canal after we are lifted up in a lock |
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| Most locks are park - like settings |
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| Interesting vessel on the Canal |
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| This shows a section of the Canal that deviates from the Mohawk River. It is much narrower. |
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| Amish gentleman fishing along the banks of the Canal. He had unhooked his horse from the carriage and the horse was grazing. |
We went through 7 locks today. With not being able to get ahead of the slower boat, we were only able to average 5.9 mph for the trip, which made for a very long day.
The Mohawk River deviated from the Canal today in several places. This put us in a true "Canal" setting with a narrow waterway with trees on both sides. We passed dredging operations at several locations along the Canal segment. The water was shallow, getting down to about 3-1/2 feet under the boat.
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| The narrow section of the Canal away from the Mohawk River. Better not hit that Log in the Water!!! |
Another interesting sight along today's route was the CSX Railroad on the North side of the Canal. This is the main line, I guess, from Albany to Buffalo, and there was a long freight train barreling along the tracks about every 15 minutes. Commerce is alive and well in this part of the country!
The final lock at Little Falls was the most interesting. It had a guillotine door on the lower end, and the lift is the highest on the entire Canal at 40 feet. Quite an experience! Going under the raised door, "Blue Moon" got a bath of stinky river water that was dripping from the door. Then inside the lock, with walls towering above us, more stinky water dripping off the walls. We have more of this to look forward to on the Mississippi and the Tennessee Rivers. We have transited 16 locks so far on the Erie Canal, and we have 17 locks remaining before we leave the Canal.
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| Guillotine Door on Lock 17 |
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| Inside Lock 17 with the slower boat |
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| Looking at the upper door in Lock 17. This is a 40' lift! |
The ride to Little Falls was comfortable for the entire day. It remained cloudy and cool with a nice breeze. We hit some spitting rain in late morning, but the hard stuff held off until we were docked at Little Falls. About 30 minutes after we got tied up, the bottom fell out for a while and I rained really hard. Then the skies cleared for the most part and the front passed us by.
Little Falls proper is across the Canal, accessed by a bridge that is not in eyesight where we are. We are tied to a wall at a Canal Corporation park that has been turned into a quasi marina. Not much here. The wall is higher than we are used to. We have to get Maggie off the boat using the dog ramp that we stretch from the top of the lower cabin over to the wall. This works well.
Tomorrow we go about 45 miles to Sylvan Beach on the Eastern Shores of a big lake called Lake Oneida. Monday we cross the 22 mile Lake to Brewerton, NY where we will spend a few days getting some maintenance done.
Thanks for Reading!
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