Waterford Flight and Mohawk River

I couldn't help feeling today was the beginning of the end, because this is the last "leg" of our crusing adventure.  We were on the Erie Canal at long last.  This is the day we've been training for.  We were a bit intimidated.  Today we were going up the Waterford flight, a series of 5 locks over less than 2 miles, that raised our level by about 165 ft! (And that's just the beginning.. we'll be doing 15-20 locks before we are done)

It was a gray morning and most boaters seemed to be hanging out thinking they were waiting out another storm.  We decided to proceed as we weren't actually anticipating a long cruise... about 3 hours to get us up to where our car was parked in Schenectady.

We donned our gloves and older clothing, knowing that these locks were going to be covered in greasy grimy gopher guts..

So, here we went, into the maws of the lock:

Check out this picture....  

Pretty good reflection, huh?  Yuck those walls were slimy!  Today I earned my field promotion from "Activity Director and Co-Purser" to "First Mate".  I'll gladly take a demotion tomorrow, Cap!


The locks might have been slimy but the river itself was lovely and peaceful.  We only passed two boats all day and shared a lock once.  The water was like glass in most places.  These pictures don't do it justice, primarily because it was a cloudy day, but it was a very pleasant run.

We approached the last lock and saw this massive white wall, wondering what it was... Most locks just spill the water, creating a little man made waterfall.   This lock is next to a very large dam and power plant.

As we reached the top of the lock, we could look across and see the rushing water.  This particular dock attracted observers as well... but by this time we had our act together and looked like pros.