OCTOBER 26TH 2010

Ross’s camera has been returned to him and I have discovered how difficult it is to blog about photos and events that you didn’t experience first hand.  Blogger’s block I guess. While I sit staring blankly at my empty page I hear on the TV that 185 years ago today the Erie Canal opened.  Well okay, that’s a start!

So 185 years ago today an engineering marvel at the time linking Lake Erie to the Hudson River opened. This canal opened the country west of the Appalachians to settlers. The canal then was only 4 feet deep, 40 feet wide and there was a ten-foot wide path along the bank so oxen, mules and horses could pull the boats along the 83 locks.

The canal has been deepened and widened over the years and refined to the point of needing only 35 locks.

So while I was back in Minnesota for a few days, Ross and Foote continued on the ODDYSEA up the Hudson and the Erie Canal.

The Troy lock is the first lock on the Hudson. After this lock there is no longer any tide change.  Just south of the lock there is still about a 5 foot tide that rises and falls 5 feet twice a day.  This is about 150 miles from the ocean!






At this sign the guys hung a left off the Hudson and entered the Erie canal.  There is another route to the north through the Champlain canal which heads up toward Montreal, but the height of our boat will not allow us to take that route.

Lock E2, the first on the Erie Canal.

Foote tying up the boat while they sat and waited for the green light to enter the lock.

Some of the locks are extremely close together.  At the eastern end of the Erie canal there are 5 locks within 3 miles that lifted the boat up to 184 feet above sea level.

The guys noticed these dog silhouettes at the lock houses along the way. They finally asked what the deal was and were told it scares away geese.  Really? They than asked if it worked. The answer….nope.








Setting up fenders along the side of the boat is different for passing through these canals. They hung fenders not only at the water line, but also along the gunnels for protection against the cement wall.  The water in the locks rises so high to the top of the lock that if you didn't have fenders at both heights you would be grinding fiberglass against the cement, YUK!

This is one of two guard gates which are used to divert water down the Mohawk River. This one is down all the time and needed to be lifted for a boat to pass. And according to the guys, when you pass under it there is a lot of grungy water that drips on to the boat. Since the water in the locks and the man made canals is so high, these barriers will keep any flood waters from entering the canal and lock system and damaging the canal works.

The beauty of upstate New York in the fall.

Some remnants of the original Erie Canal.  From earlier times when the canal was used for smaller vessels these interesting ruins give a clue as to the appearance of the canal during earlier times.

This is Lock E7. It may look like a car bridge, but its not. It is a typical dam on the Erie and the bridge is for the crane to travel along to tend the dam gates.

The guys spent the night in Amsterdam, New York.

The actor Kirk Douglas was born in this town shortly after his parents emigrated from Russia. Born Issur Danielovitch you can understand why he took a stage name! His parents eventually took on the surname of Demsky so Kirk grew up with the name Izzy Demsky.

By the way, Kirk is 93 years old and still goin’.

 The Beechnut baby food factory.

Lock 17 is unique in that it is the only lock where there is a concrete gate that lifts up and you drive under it to go into the lock. The rise was over 40 feet. At one time, this was the largest rise of a lock in the world!

The guys have risen 363 feet up since the first lock on the Erie.

It was Sunday and just after exiting lock 17 the guys could see rock climbers who had gathered to picnic and enjoy the rock walls near Little Falls, NY. They stopped in Little Falls for the night and biked into town.  Luckily they found a place that had the Vikings game on and even luckier the Vikings actually won the game. 

They stopped in Ilion, New York. As many sportsman will recall that is a name etched on many firearms.

They walked up town for breakfast.  It was like walking into a local rural Minnesota restaurant in any small town in our home state.  Listening to the local banter and eating a hearty breakfast just before the rain started.

After breakfast they walked to the Remington Arms factory. Went through the museum but had to wait and come back a little later for a guided tour of the Remington Arms Custom gun shop.  There was a hand etched shotgun on display for only $175,000.00.  Pocket change I guess.  Many celebrities, including Clint Eastwood have visited this shop and had custom firearms crafted for their own use.

Bet you thought they only made guns? They also made bicycles, with wooden rims.

And even though these items were only manufactured for short period, they also sold typewriters,

Cash registers


















And sewing machines.

The guys toured the museum and there were many, many firearms on display.

Annie Oakley used a Remington rifle for trick shooting in her Wild West show. Her hubby just happened to be an employee of Remington. You think maybe they got a discount?

Love these little derringers!

This was a bridge in front of one of the locks. It angles across the canal and really is an odd visual.











It was raining as they approached lock E20. They are at the highest elevation (420 feet) on the Erie Canal between the Hudson River and Lake Ontario.

They met the GRANDE MARINER. It’s a small cruise ship, and as you can see has a very low profile and clearance above the water. The GRANDE MARINER offers a 12 day cruise this time of the year and it travels the Erie and Champlain Canals on its way from Rhode Island to Quebec. The many low fixed bridges on the NY canal systems determine the maximum height that any vessel may have if they don't want to get stuck under a bridge!

They also crossed paths with the LOIS MC CLURE.  She’s a full scale replica of an 1862 canal sailing vessel. She obviously has her masts stepped in order to travel the canals and bridges on her way someplace. They are wrapped and lying on top of the canvas. Probably headed for warmer climes.

They guys stopped for the night at Rome, New York. They walked to Fort Stanwix to check it out. The Fort was built here in 1758 by the British because of its strategic location. This area is a crossing point, or portage between the Mohawk River, which you can travel to New York City and Wood Creek, which you can travel to Lake Ontario.

The British abandoned the fort in 1774 after the French and Indian War as they felt it was no longer needed. The location made the Fort very important during the Revolutionary War and the rebels took over the abandoned fort in 1776.  Once the revolutionary war broke out the local patriots immediately occupied the fort and improved it for the protection of the Hudson river from Lake Ontario and the English army in Canada. The English army arriving on the scene to conquer the fort were disappointed to find an impregnable fortress and laid siege to the fort. One of the bloodiest battles of the Revolutionary war was fought near here when General Herkimer leading a group of soldiers toward Stanwick was attacked and after being mortally wounded early in the battle was able to direct his forces in a most desperate situation to finally overcome the combined English and Indian fighters.  Soon, after rumors of a large force being lead towards Stanwick by none other than Benedict Arnold were circulated the British abandoned the attempt to control the portage and never returned, leaving the patriot soldiers here a life of endless drilling and standing watches until the end of the war.

The fort is built completely out of wood. This is the shot of the front gate. Since this fort was originally built by the English it makes sense that there would be a moat and a gate a lot like a European castle.

Even if you got past the moat you still had to deal with spiked poles to breach the fort.

Life had to have been tough up here, especially in the winter. This is one of the beds where the soldiers slept. It is covered with straw. They slept propped up against the wall. It was believed you would catch sicknesses if you slept lying down. That’s the reason so many of the beds look so short, they weren’t extended on beds.








Close quarters and poor sanitation made illness commonplace. The soldiers cooked and slept in their quarters. Can’t imagine it could be a well rounded diet with most everything coming out of the same pot.

They enjoyed wandering around the fort.

For dinner they headed to Vigneto, the oldest restaurant in Rome, New York. Rome got its name because some of the first early settlers were a group of immigrants from Italy that found what seemed like a great place to live.

The Rome fire department practicing with a water cannon. Bet its fun!













The Rome walking bridge at night.

If the water rises as little as 4 inches in the canal portion of the Erie, they close the canal.

The weather forecast was for a significant rain event to move into the area.  Being on a tight schedule to get the boat to Brewerton they didn't want to risk the canal being closed down. So they decided to make the entire trip in one day before the rain was to begin. This proved to be a very wise decision.

The water was so calm that day that it truly was like a mirror reflecting the image of the bridge.  I guess there is a calm before the storm.

The reflection of the sky on the water make the ODDYSEA,  appear to be traveling through the clouds. (Very cool photos Roscoe!)