During morning coffee on Thursday, we were amazed to see the "Half Moon" glide by our window. The Half Moon was the ship Henry Hudson sailed up the Hudson opening that magnificant river to the Europeans in the early 1600s. There are many legends about Dutch ghost ships sailing on the Hudson, and when this black hull flying no sails ghosted by it was a moment of sheer wonder. Evidently someone is building a replica, and for some reason she was travelling West on the Mohawk.
We left Lock 12 at 7:30 and traversed lock 13. Later we passed between the "noses" which is the pass through the Appalacians (Adirondocks to the North and Catskills to the South) many of our forebears travelled. It is one of two such passes, the other being the Cumberland Gap which we have visited by car.
Our cruising guide told about the floating docks at Canajoharie and the water and electricity available at no cost which make this an appealing stop. Unfortunately, we found that the docks, water and electricity were gone, evidently washed away by the floods the canal were subjected to last year. We had to tie up to a concrete wall with very limited maneuvering room in shallow water, but we were successful and found Canajahorie a quant little village. Of course one of our main reasons for stopping was the art museum said to be one of the best small art museums in the US. At the heart this museum 's collection of more than 350 paintings by American artists is oils and water colors by Winslow Homer. Naturally the museum was closed for renovations. So we had to be satisfied with a slushy the "20 below Choco" at Perussi's Meat Market and Grocery which is mainly a furniture store.
We bicycled extensively, too extensively, around Canajahorie (the bike path was filled with wild phlox) and across the river to Palatine Bridge where we bought groceries.
On Friday we departed Canajoharie at 8:30 and traversed locks 14, 15, 16, and the most impressive, 17. This lock is the highest lift on the Erie Canal at 40' and one of only two in the US where the entrance gate, instead of being opened like a set of french doors, is actually lifted above your head like a guillotine. You pass under the gate as it drips on your head!
At lock 16 we left the Mohawk River momentarily, following an excavated canal for a short while, then back to the River, which is narrowing considerably.
We have been using the term ":Erie Canal" quite loosely. That canal was finished in 1815 and was more than twice as long as any canal in Europe. It was an engineering marvel from several aspects and was a tremendous economic success. At the same time the Champlain Canal was dug to allow boat travel north from Waterford to Lake Champlain, as the Hudson become too shallow for ship travel above Waterford.
The Erie Canal was only 40' wide and 4' deep. All commercial travel was by small barges pulled by horses or mules. The stable was in the bow of the barge, and the living quarters in the stern. When night fell the barge was tied to the side of the canal and the beasts of burden went aboard and were fed. In the morning they were brushed and found their way out to the traces to begin the next days labors.
This canal was dug along the course of the Mohawk River, because the river had naturally found,or perhaps formed, the best course through the mountains over millenia. There had to be a tow path next to the canal, so the river itself was not suitable, and the canal was beside the river.
The canal was renovated several times over the years. In 1915 a new project was completed called the New York Barge Canal. This canal was built for self propelled craft of much larger tonnage, not requiring a tow path. The Barge Canal uses the Mohawk River extensively for its course, and its construction, and that of I-90 and other "improvements" has largely obliterated the original Erie Canal. There are historical sites where one can see remnants of the old canal but they are few and far between.
What this means is that we have not been on the Erie Canal! We have been on the NY Barge Canal, and that is nearly always the Mohawk River up to this point. So if you think we have been travelling down a narrow ditch with concrete banks, we have actually been on the beautiful Mohawk River most of the time.
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