July 22-26 Western Erie Canal - The Final Leg - Thisiswhats Travels On The Great Loop

Bruce and Diane made it to Syracuse and we were off on the rest of the Erie Canal adventure.

The first thing we had to do was lower the antennas and the mast and remove the top of the bimini (the sides were already down) due to short bridge heights along this part of the Canal. Wouldn’t you know it, once the top shade cover was off we were subjected to 5 of the hottest temperatures and sunniest days we have experienced the entire trip so far!

Locks are sure a whole lot easier with extra hands.

Along the way there were several free dock and sea walls that we stopped at for the night and explored the towns. Most of them even had power and water available.

**Lyons, NY where it’s always 5 0’clock. And as usual for this trip, the Peppermint Museum was not open!**

Michael did his usual wonderful job as tour director of finding the obscure attractions along the way where we would pull up and tie off for about an hour to explore.

**Diane with the map on her phone. We thought we were lost in the woods while looking for the elusive waterfall. But we found it!**

The sights and historical remnants along the Canal were interesting and thanks to Google we were able to figure out what they were once upon a time. Below is what is left of an old aquaduct system within the Canal and an old bridge and roadway across the canal.

**Remnants of a basket making factory along the Canal in Lockport, NY. They put it here because they could use the power from the 51 foot drop in water height from the river above.**

**The Lockport Lock – Erie Canal locks 34 & 35. This lock is two separate chambers that meet in the middle to lift 51 feet to the Niagara River.**

**This is the right side of the picture above and is the original 5 step lock system in which donkeys hauled boats up and down the 51 feet.**

**The first section of the double lock as the back door is closing**

**Diane at the front of the first section of the double lock. Yup, that’s a tour boat in front of us.**

The huge farms and fields throughout upper New York amazed us all with their sheer size and many, many miles fields of soy beans, corn and apple orchards.

The simple beauty and peace of the Canal is so calming, especially since we were essentially the only boat the entire trip. It wasn’t until we came out of the Canal and into the Niagara River that I realized just how peaceful and quiet the Erie Canal was.

**Reflection of bridge on the calm water**

**The crew enjoying the peace and quiet of the Canal**

The entire journey through the Erie Canal took 24 days, and what a trip it was. It was so great that Bruce and Diane were able to meet up with us for this leg of the adventure. We hope as we go along and continue this cruise into next season that some of you may also join us for a once in a life time experience, and what an experience it is! Love to all, Gina and Mike

July 22-26 Western Erie Canal – The Final Leg

July 22-26 Western Erie Canal – The Final Leg

About Captain Gina

July 22-26 Western Erie Canal – The Final Leg

July 22-26 Western Erie Canal – The Final Leg

About Captain Gina

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