• C-TravelerErie Canal, Eastern HalfTraveler
    Foggy morning. It was a lot worse. This was after most of it had lifted.
    Fonda Canal corp maintenance yardFonda Canal Corp maintenance yardOld Erie Canal aqueductOlf Erie Canal aqueductOld Erie Canal aqueductLock 11 approach wallVW Bug on top smoke stack in AmsterdamCanal tug and bargeAmsterdam Riverside ParkCransvile Block CompanyCanal work barge at lock 10Cushing Stone companyErie Canal / Mohawk River Bluff with crossLock gate and valve control panelLock gate gearsCanal tug and barge st lock 8Panoramic view of Canal tug and barge at lock 8View of tug helm and view of bargeTug's head is large porta potty on stern!View at tug's bow of barge tie upApproach wall and lock 8Dam at lock 8

    Lock E8 Scotia

    September 12 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 59 °F

    Well, between I90 and the train tracks, it wasn’t exactly a super quiet night. But we still managed to sleep through the “traffic”. Today was a little longer than we planned. Started out pretty foggy, but soon the fog lifted to a beautiful and sunny day in the mid 80’s. The low last night was 56. We got right through lock 13, and then passed the Canal Corp maintenance facility in Fonda. Just before lock 12, we turned into Schoharie Creek to see the remains of an original Erie Canal aqueduct, which crossed the creek at this point. Arrived at the lock 11 approach wall in Amsterdam where we planned to stop for the day/night. However, checking email, I read in the New York Canals notice, that the Waterford flight of locks (E2 through E6), would be closed on Monday and Tuesday due to maintenance on E2. (These locks are closely spaced, so you have to do all five without stopping in the middle.) That would put us a couple days behind with our schedule in returning home. So rather than having to spend extra days in Waterford waiting for the locks to reopen, and then being a bit rushed to get back to our truck and trailer, we decided to continue on another 15 miles today, so we can make an easy day to Waterford tomorrow, and then turn around on Sunday to get through those locks again before they close. Tonight we are on the west side of lock 8 on its approach wall. Many of the locks allow you to spend the night free on their approach walls. We plan to stop at Amsterdam again on the way back, since we weren’t there long today. From a distance, we could see a VW Bug on top a smoke stack there in Amsterdam. I’ll have to try and get a better view of it on the way back. There was an interesting old building near lock 10 that was the Cransville Block Company. However, before they took over the building, it was the former coal burning power plant of Adirondack Power and Light. Then there was the Cushing Stone company just beyond that. After tying up here at the lock wall, I walked over to the lock facility to look around. Nearby, at a cul-de-sac, I found another geocache. This one was in a magnetic key box stuck under a street guardrail. There is also a Canal tug and barge docked here behind us on the lock wall, that looks to be collected floating trees.Read more