Tuesday, June 24, 2014
The Eastern Section of the Erie Canal
Just a review...We are "loopers" on a great adventure experiencing The Great Loop. This is the continuous waterway of North America including the rivers of America's Heartland, the Atlantic and Gulf Coast intercoastal and intracoastal waterways, the Canadian Heritage Canals, and the Great Lakes. On August 3, 2013, we motored Dream Chaser from Madeline Island in Lake Superior to De Tour, Michigan where we began the loop. Along the way, we have taken side trips to Chattanooga on the Tennessee River, to the Florida Keys and Key West, and to the Abacos in the Bahamas. It has been an amazing experience!
Now, we are on the Erie Canal in New York. The adventure continues!
Dream Chaser has been docked at the Schenectady Yacht Club in New York for two weeks while we reconnected with family & friends, and met our new grandson, Logan! We are ready to continue down the Erie Canal.
Monday night, we flew to Albany, NY and returned to Dream Chaser about midnight. As we were settling in, we were surprised by a lady standing on the dock in the dark next to the boat. She was one of the dock masters and had noticed movement at our boat. She told us what we had missed while we were gone!
A few days ago, the lock masters west on the Erie Canal had decided to release water from the dams, without warning, due to high amounts of rainfall. About 2 am, water came rushing through the canal giving Dream Chaser quite a ride. When the staff saw the water rising, they lashed ropes to the trees to keep Dream Chaser in place, but some of the other boats bounced a bit. We understand it was rather exciting for awhile! Along with high levels of water, the staff saw trees, limbs, and anything that could be flushed from a low area-including a refrigerator-floating down the canal!
Later, we read news reports from June 16, 2014-about how the Erie Canal was closed from Lock E16 (St. Johnsville) to Lock E 22 Sylvan Beach until Monday, June 23rd due to high water. So, it was a good thing we waited until Monday to fly back, because we wouldn't have been able to leave our dock during that week. Thankfully, we left on Tuesday when the locks were open, again!
Due to such a late night and our quiet surroundings, we slept much later than usual.
By noon the prepping for our departure was completed: readying the upper helm, lowering the radar mast (in order to clear the 22’ bridges), and storing the dehumidifier.
When we dock Dream Chaser for more than a day or two, she is closed up, locked, and a dehumidifier is turned on to deal with moisture. Thus, no boat smell! Works like a charm!
We pulled the lines, and Dream Chaser slipped slowly back into the channel of the Erie Canal. The captain made sure that we cleared the debris deposited in the area during the high water. We are on our way!
As we motored west, we enjoyed the thick, green tree-lined Mohawk River of the Erie Canal. The view reminded us of the Tennessee River by Chattanooga with high hills rising up. It has been very peaceful and relaxing morning-no rain yet.
We have been navigating with attention to the red and green channel markers rather than following the magenta line which has tended to be faulty since leaving Florida. All along the way, we see signs of the high water surge. Whatever was previously in the low lying areas along the river is now deposited in the river. There are pieces of dock, limbs, whole tree trunks, tires, and miscellaneous debris all along the way. Dream Chaser worked her way through it all without incident.
The Erie Canal has seen 190 consecutive years of navigation, and the last 5-6 years have been tough due to weather issues like Hurricane Irene. There has been a tremendous amount of repair and rebuilding on the locks and dams. All along the canal, workmen have been busy with projects: jack hammering the lock decking for new cement, continuing construction on buildings and land, and dredging to clear the shoals.
Did you know that...
Work began on the Erie Canal on July 4, 1817 in Rome NY. The workers included over 1,000 Irish immigrants (Ireland had mass starvation going on), Britain, and Germany. Working 14 hours and making $.80 a day, they labored in knee deep muck, removed trees, and smashed boulders with only shovels and horsepower. The crew working west towards Buffalo dug into a marshland and were viciously attacked by mosquitoes which sickened thousands-many died. They also had wildcats and snakes to deal with. Crews working in the Rexford/Schnectady area encountered high cliffs on the sides of the Mohawk River.
In Oct 1825, after eight years and at a cost of $7,000,000, the longest uninterrupted canal in the world was completed. Known as “Clinton’s Folly” (named after Mayor and eventually Governor Clinton who birthed the idea) the waterway paid for itself in just a few years through use of tolls.
Workboats on the canal were about 80 ft long and 17 ft. wide, made of wood, and usually covered to protect goods onboard. They often had barns along the path or a stable on the vessel which would house a team of mules or horses while the other team pulled the boat. The animals had a six hour shift (covering about 20 miles) and walked beside the boat on a path.
Packet boats were 60-80 ft. long with a house-like structure overhead, built for entertainment as people traveled up and down the canal. Up to 60 passengers could eat and sleep aboard and even jump out and walk along on the path. Packet boats were often pink, blue, yellow, or red to appeal to passenger and thus draw business for the canal boat owner. The canals also carried circuses, medicine shows, minstrels, floating saloons, general stores, dentists, and campaigning politicians.
In the early years, the canal was congested with commercial traffic, but these days, we see mostly pleasure boats along the way.
Dream Chaser passed Amsterdam which was once
home to Mohawk Carpets. It was then that we noticed
a red VW Beetle perched precariously atop a tall brick
smokestack in an old industrial section! Apparently,
it is an old marketing gimmick for Dudka’s Garage to
draw attention and let people know that they “literally
put the automobile above all else”.
Fonda, the next little town we passed, is where the Henry Fonda family is from.
About 7 pm, Dream Chaser pulled up to the dock at the Canajoharie Riverfront Park and were assisted in docking by two locals,Tom and his wife, Nancy. They had two of their neighbors' children with them-who were thrilled to get a tour of the boat!
Lobsters were on sale (PriceChoppers-less than $6 per lb.), so steamed lobsters were on the menu for dinner onboard. YUM!
As darkness fell, we were definitely ready for a good nights sleep.
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
We woke early and with cloudy skies and temps in the 70‘s, we headed towards the historic part of Canajoharie for a good walk. We were told that the village was named for a Native American word meaning- "the pot that washes itself" due to a swirling river nearby. Our walk took us by the old Beech-Nut factory and the Village Restaurant on Church Street, and soon we were seated enjoying hot coffee and their specialty omelet!
Our plan was to visit the Arkell Museum and depart about noon, but weather dictated our schedule and heavy rain was predicted for this afternoon, so we prepped to leave. Our plan is to return by car next weekend.
At 8 am, we dropped lines and joined two other trawlers lining up to enter Lock 14.
Our caravan of three locked through Locks 14, 15, 16, and 17 together.
We are still traveling the eastern section of the Erie Canal which follows the natural waterway (mostly the Mohawk River), but so does the highway and the railroads which creates noise at times.
We passed the Herkimer Home State Historic Site which is the home of Revolutionary War hero General Nicholas Herkimer. The general is remembered for winning the battle of Oriskany during the Revolutionary War and an 60 ft. Obelisk stands in his honor.
Lock 17 was an unusual experience due to the guillotine type (drop down) guard gate prior to the lock and this same type lock gate. Lock 17 is the highest lift lock on Erie and one of only two locks in North America where the entrance gate is above the boater. As we entered Lock 17, the water was dripping down from above.
About noon, we arrived at Little Falls Canal Harbor, secured our dock lines, and paid the dockage fee of $1 per ft. It is a good thing we arrived early because it began to pour! Steve loves to scrub the boat down during downpours, so Dream Chaser is now sparkling clean! This stop at Little Falls is popular, and it’s a short walk to town, but we hopped a ride due to the rain. The town is nestled between steep rocky hills with the charm of a small town, but many conveniences.
The old warehouses by the river, like Canal Place, house interesting antique and other shops. They also have a PriceChopper grocery store with lobsters at $5.88/lb! Dinner was a special treat, again!
While light rain continued to fall, we had a wonderful lobster dinner, played a game of Rummikub, and had an early lights out.
Thursday, June 26, 2014
We woke up refreshed after a great night’s sleep. No train noise or wave action!
Little Falls, NY is truly charming and ranks as one of those little towns on our “Charming Areas to Return To list”. Falls colors would be outstanding!
As we depart from Little Falls, the skies are overcast, but sunshine is predicted by noon.
Lock 18 was a simple, charming lock nestled between the green sides of the canal.
After exiting the lock, we passed the town of Kerkimer, NY, famous for its “Herkimer Diamonds” which are really quartz crystals. Not needing “diamonds” or provisions, we continued on down the Erie Canal. This is the point at which the Erie Canal leaves the Mohawk River and becomes a true narrow canal.
The Ilion Village Marina is on our port side. This is a good tie up for visiting the Remington Factory, but we continue on.
By the time we reached Lock E19, locking was becoming quite simple, so might as well just relax!
The view below is of the upper gate when the lock is at its low point-we are locking up, at this point.
We notice more commercial buildings, etc, as we near Utica, NY. was the terminus for the Chenango Canal, but this was one of the canals that was abandoned.
As the sun returns in brilliance, we are relaxed in the upper helm enjoying salmon salad pitas, chips, and coffee. The birds are chirping and singing. All along the way, baby ducks and geese are following their moms in the canal. It doesn’t get better than this!
Lock E20 is located in Marcy, NY and locals are out enjoying the canal. Tuesday was the last day of school for local children and some have chosen to spend part of their day at the lower end of Lock 20. We were lifted to the top of the lock and as we peaked up over the side, we had quite and audience waiting for us. Mary fielded questions and explained to them about the Great Loop and our adventure. Actually, they were impressed by Dream Chaser! “ What a beautiful boat!” Good thing it took a bit to finish locking through, because they had LOTS of questions. After a multitude of good wishes for our trip and waves good-bye, we exited the lock feeling very blessed, again!
Rome, NY, about marker 114, is the location of the reproduced Fort Stanwix, a Revolutionary War wood fort which was built to protected the route from the British. The fort covers an entire city block and takes hours to experience the rich history of the fort. About 5 miles from Rome is the Erie Canal Village located where the construction of the Erie Canal began in 1817. This 1840’s village is a reproduction and gives great insight into life in the early days of the Erie Canal. There is a restored section of the original canal with canal boats available for rides. Open W-Sun.
The Middle Section on the Erie Canal starts at Rome, NY and it is also the highest point of the Eastern Section of the canal. At this point, the canal will drop in elevation and then rise again as it reaches Lyons, NY.
At Lock E22, we entered the lock and started chatting with a local couple and their 9 yr old son, Nathaniel. In minutes, Nathaniel had hopped aboard, rode Dream Chaser down into the lock, and then out the lower doors to rejoin his parents. It was great fun!
We continued down the canal and passed Sylvan Beach, a little summer beach town on Lake Oneida. The amusement park and midway from the 50‘s, a Coney Island of upstate New York, didn’t look open yet-maybe it’s a July 4th opening. Dream Chaser entered the lake before 4 pm and had a fairly smooth 20 mile crossing. We chose to cross late afternoon rather than tomorrow because of predicted heavy fog and a change of wind direction on Friday which would make for a miserable crossing. We enjoyed our grilled cheeseburgers and lettuce salad while we crossed the big water, again.
So good to be docked after such a long day of motoring. Sleep came early!
Friday, June 27, 2014
Because of our wonderful, quiet surroundings, we didn’t wake up until 7:30 am. Our morning consisted of cleaning and organizing, doing laundry, moving Dream Chaser to a different slip, and picking up a rental car for five days.
At noon, we hopped in the Elantra and headed to the Erie Canal Museum in Syracuse. Not only is it an interesting collection of history, but the museum is located in the only remaining canal boat weigh station in America (out of seven). The Weighlock Building was built in 1850 to weigh canal boats. As you can tell in the picture below, the building was open on each end. The canal boat would enter the chamber, the gates would close, and the boat would settle onto a wooden cradle connected to a scale. Water drained out through a tunnel and the registered weight when empty was deducted from the loaded weight. The museum has a replica of a canal boat that you can board.
There was a tremendous amount of stone work in building the canals. Sandstone was first used, but, later, the Onondaga Grey limestone was chosen for its durability.
Our visit brought the days of the Erie Canal to life!
Syracuse is also known for Syracuse China, the first traffic light, and the invention of car headlights.
Early dinner was at the New Century Vietnamese Restaurant in Syracuse which is known for its Pho ("fuh"), a broth-based noodle soup with meat, vegetables, spices, and herbs. To our huge bowls of soup, we added bean sprouts, fresh mint, jalapeno peppers, and a squeeze of lime.
After a nice drive through Syracuse enjoying all the architecture, we headed to Destiny USA, a HUGE shopping mall near downtown Syracuse. Every store and restaurant you can imagine was there along with a merry-go-round, go-cart racing track, and a rope climbing course.
We stopped by to see the movie, “Jersey Boys”. Great music and interesting history of Frankie Valli.
On our return to the marina, we began to hear a loud continued roar of something? airport? planes? We finally figured out that the Brewerton Raceway was nearby. It was so loud that you could swear they were racing up and down the canal past our boat. The races continued until about 11 pm, and then the roar ended. Ah, finally, peace and quiet!
Saturday, June 28, 2014 This morning, our 90 minute drive east
took us to The Arkell Museum at
Canajoharie, NY which is an art and
history museum. There is an extensive
collection of American paintings from
1860-1940, historical exhibits about
the history of the Mohawk Valley, and
the story of the Beech-Nut baby food
company. Bartlett Arkell, one of the
owner of the Beech-Nut company
donated his large personal collection
of paintings to the museum. The
museum also contains works of
George Inness (1825-1894) and
Winslow Homer (1836-1910),
both influential American landscape
painters. The exhibition. “A View
From the Shore”, highlights Homer’s
fascination with coastal and nautical
scenes.
Another 90 minute drive west through the beautiful countryside brought us to the 35th Annual Jamesville Balloonfest at Jamesville Beach-just south of Syracuse. There were craft and game booths, food, music, and hot air balloon rides!
While the hot air balloons were being prepped, we walked to a nearby dam and watched young people take turns sliding 130 ft. down the incline of the dam in the spillway of water to a pool of swirling water below. Unbelievable! The first participants were extremely hesitant, but after a lot of “I dare you” back and forth- finally, down they slid in a whoosh of water. All the participants we watched survived. They had kids posted to warm them, because they expected the police to arrive at any moment!
About 7:30 pm as a crowd gathered, the hot air balloons began to rise from the grounds, and we had a perfect spot to watch as they floated over the lake.
After a full day of fun and as the sun was setting, we returned to Dream Chaser and enjoy another dinner of steamed lobsters, grilled asparagus, and coleslaw. The price was right!
As the dark surrounded us, we called it a night.
Sunday, June 29, 2014
On Sunday mornings, the boaters at Ess-Kay Yards, apparently, wake up slowly. It was 8:30 am when we woke up, it was quiet all around us, and the sun was shining off the water.
By 10 am, we were in the car and off to church services at Vineyard Church in Cicero, NY. The message was an important one from Ephesians 6:11-12: “Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes”.
The locals gave us a recommendation for lunch..a place called the Dinosaur Bar-B-Que.
The Dinosaur Bar-B-Que is a restaurant, blues venue, and biker bar chain in New York and New Jersey. The owner, John Stage, began his career cooking on the open road with two partners. In 1985, they were very adventurous, cut a 55 gallon drum in half to form a makeshift barbeque, and catered to biker shows, fairs, and festivals on the east coast. After a number of years and tired of the gypsy life style, Stage opened this first restaurant in 1988 creating the best BBQ in the northeast. Motorcycles are lined up along the street in front and as you walk inside, it just yells “FUN!”. We shared the “Tres Hombres” which was Bar-B-Que pork, sliced Texas beef brisket and 1/2 rack of ribs. It was served on a 12x18” jelly roll baking pan with BBQ beans, black beans & rice, tomato cucumber salad, corn bread, and green salad. Ally was the perfect server and after hearing about our “Great Loop trip”, she wanted to be adopted into the family.
Our next destination was the reconstructed Fort Stanwix in Rome, NY. The fort, built in the late 1700‘s was located in a strategic position. It was a French design built by 2,000 British soldiers in 90 days and made to house 500 troops. Located on the land path between the Mohawk River and Wood Creek, this was the crucial east-west route linking the Atlantic Ocean and Great Lakes & interior of Canada. This six mile stretch was called the “Oneida Carrying Place” (portage). Consequently, nations (including the French from the north & the British from the east) fought to control this location. The fort was impressive and the displays & videos gave a clear picture of the struggle pertaining to the fort. Finally, the Patriots and George Washington took control from the Loyalists and British.
Also, located in Rome is the Sears Oil Company Museum housed in a 1930's restored gas station. The museum has antique pumps and many artifacts from a bygone era.
Sylvan Beach, a vision out of the 50’s, was bursting with beach goers heading to or away from the sandy beach and sparkling waters of Lake Oneida. Children were spread out on the sandy beach with pails and shovels. Boaters were rafted up for hundreds of feet just off shore. Serious partying was going on! We had planned to visit Sylvan Beach Amusement Park, a 50‘s amusement park with a midway and calliope. However, it didn’t look like anyone was experiencing this piece of history because it was closed down and no one knew when it would reopen. So sad!
There was, however, an ice cream shop with over 40 flavors at the Cinderella Restaurant, and it was a warm 92 degrees. Need I say more?
After a few stops for provisions on the way home, we returned to Dream Chaser, ate dinner aboard, and had a quiet evening including a visit by a local boater.
Monday, June 30, 2014
What a gorgeous day with a prediction of temps in the 90’s! Dream Chaser is docked, so it’s a road trip to the Adirondacks!
We started with a drive on Hwy 49 along the north side of beautiful Oneida Lake. The little towns and cabins were reminiscent of driving along a small version of Lake Mille Lacs in MN- very 50’s and laid back!
Once we reached Rome, NY, we headed up to Old Forge, a hamlet on Rt 28 in the town of Webb, NY in the heart of the Adirondack Mountains. Besides the normal quaint tourist type shops and the very tempting Enchanted Forest Water Safari (largest waterpark in NY), we were surrounded by breathtaking natural beauty. There is also a scenic railroad, whitewater rafting, boat cruises, and endless activities to stretch your visit for weeks. This is another location on our “Places To Return To” list, probably in the Fall when the colors would be overwhelming! However...after enjoying a quick salad at the locals favorite spot, Slickers Tavern, we headed northward.
Our destination, this afternoon, was the Adirondack Museum in Blue Mountain Lake. There were many places along the way where we were tempted to stop and hike, take in history, shop, and a week in the area would have been better, but...
With Blue Mountain rising behind it and Blue Mountain Lake sparkling below, the Adirondack Museum was our chosen place to spend the afternoon. On the 32 acre campus, we visited 22 modern exhibits and historic buildings which told the unique story of the Adirondacks and its people. We learned how the people lived, worked, traveled, and played in the Adirondacks from the 19th century up until today.
Lumbering had a huge impact on the area. If you think you have bad days at work, just think about the days of the lumbermen.
By 1880, the area had become very popular, attracting hundreds of thousands of tourists, sportsmen, and artists. It had become a sportsmen's paradise.
We had the opportunity to walk through the Oriental, a private opulent rail car, built in 1890 and originally owned by the railroad magnate, Austin Corbin. Steve enjoyed seeing Teddy Roosevelt’s buggy that was used to return him to the train which took him to Washington D.C. after the assassination of Pres. McKinley. Other great exhibits were on logging & camps, displays on boats and boating in the Adirondacks, and examples of hunting camps.
Rachael Ray grew up and lives in Lake Luzerne in the Adirondacks with her husband, mother, a cat, and two fish. She is included in an exhibit on food traditions in the Adirondacks. Cooking was a blend of down-home rustic, traditional, and gourmet. In addition to Native American roots, Adirondack cuisine has been influenced by ethnic recipes and customs brought by the French, Italian, Spanish, Irish, German, Hungarian, Lebanese, Jewish, African American, and Polish settlers. Fine dining was prevalent at the Adirondack hotels, and the best chefs were sought after to please the wealthy visitors to the big "camps" owned by the Vanderbilts and others.
Definitely a great museum!
We continued the circle trip on Rte 3 to Watertown, NY and then on to Oswego. Oswego is on the Oswego Canal which opens to Lake Ontario, so we stopped by to chat with the boaters tied to the city park wall. These are the people who have a wealth of information because they are living it!
This painting is on the wall along the canal.
After a 30 minute ride back to Dream Chaser, it was an early lights out for two tired, but blessed travelers.
