Loopers lined up in Waterford NY-FUN!! |
A great place to warm up for a run - great steps...or the ramp! |
Friday morning the majority of the group went to breakfast
at the local diner – I went for a much needed run! The weather forecast predicted rain later in
the morning & 100% chance of rain all day.
Mistakenly, I thought there was no chance we would travel so I had a
great opportunity to really explore. WRONG!!! About 1.5 miles into my trot I received a
text saying “we’re getting ready to leave”. HUH??
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Waterford NY |
But in true Robin fashion, I was not paying attention to the
streets & turns on my route. I stopped and looked around – nothing looked
familiar! I turned around and saw the dam head!! YAY! I knew we were docked
just around the bend from lock #2 so I headed that way. Upon arrival, I realized I ran to lock #3!!
Uh-oh!! So I tried to follow the water from the streets but that was REALLY
confusing! So I saw a couple walking & I asked them “which way to town?” The man replied “which town?” GULP!!
Where am I?? He doubled with
laughter!!! WHEW!!! After a brief
conversation, I was on my way…exploring yet another part of Waterford! What a funny & memorable encounter!!
A waterfall captured between rain showers on the Mohawk River |
Meanwhile, back at the boat…everyone was prepping to
leave!! Am I the only one who read the
weather? I didn’t protest &
dutifully went about my responsibilities…grrrr!
Since I try to keep this blog family friendly & positive I will fast
forward to…6 ½ hours and 6 locks later I was completely soaked (& freezing)
and we were anchored in a back channel off the Mohawk River. The silence was deafening both on our boat
and the radio chatter. Hmmm….
Saturday 6/17/17 Erie Canal/Mohawk River - better weather! No kidding! |
Saturday morning brought warmer temps, no fog & a much
better weather forecast…all that equaled improved morale! YAY!!!
By the end of our cruising day it was HOT, sunny and humid…NOT complaining!!! As we past Amsterdam NY, Moon Shadow &
Southern Cross pulled out of the group – docked for the night. Later, Moon Shadow shared that they took a
cab to the ER – Captain Dave has kidney stones!! Prayers please!
Sanctuary locking through with us - note the natural beauty all around! |
Sanctuary and The Lower Place continued cruising west! We cleared several more locks (some more challenging
than others) and picked Canajoharie New York FREE dock as Saturday nights
stop. It was quite crowded but in true
boater fashion – another looper boat saw us scouting out the dock wall. He guided Sanctuary into place on the wall
then instructed us to raft to Sanctuary.
Sure, there’s no power, water and we have to walk across Steve &
Teresa’s boat to reach land…but you get what you pay for, right?
View from the fly bridge in the filled chamber |
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Sanctuary on the wall - The Lower Place rafted to them - COZY! |
Canajoharie was having an anniversary celebration…smoked
chicken, slaw, baked potato, roll and drink for $10…well, happy
anniversary!! YUM!!
We plan to travel on Sunday but wherever we dock or anchor
we will be there until Tuesday…rain & thunderstorms predicted for Sunday
night until Tuesday morning. This
skipper is sitting still during all that activity!!
Think: street cleaner except on the waterway. Serious debris! |
All in all, our journey west has been very nice and a much
appreciated change in geography. Plus,
the lock and dam environment reminds me of home!!
Happy Father’s Day to all the dads and “dad-like” fellas out
there! I hope you have a blessed day!
God Bless!!
PS. Have I mentioned the first mate on our traveling buddy Sanctuary is a published author? Teresa has a must-read devotional named Life is good, fragile, precious. Check it out. We met Steve & Teresa on the Tenn Tom River when we rafted to them in Bashi Creek AL. Great couple from Michigan!
How many loopers are traveling together daily?
ReplyDeleteNormally 3-4 boats seem to meet together in a lock or marina or anchorage. But sometimes we've had as many as 15 docked together. And we have traveled many days solo. There is no set plan or schedule but most loopers seem to enjoy the company of at least one other boat while traveling.
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