To the right is the Champlain Canal which ends at Whitehall and lies at the base of Lake Champlain. Due to time constraints and the fact we would like to see our families in Ohio and Michigan we hung a left to the Erie Canal.
Waterford sits at the junctions of the Hudson and Mohawk Rivers the Erie and Champlain Canals. It is referred to as the gateway to the Erie Canal.
The Erie Canal opened in 1825 and runs 363 miles from Waterford to Buffalo; hence, connecting New York City and the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. It is sometimes referred to as the first superhighway. The opening meant a larger volume of products could be shipped and moved faster than by horse and wagon, thus slashing shipping costs by almost 95%. "The completion of the Erie Canal spurred the first great westward movement of American settlers, gave access to the rich land and resources west of the Appalachians and made New York the preeminent commercial city in the United States." Canal towns and villages sprouted and blossomed along its route. By the late 1950's competition from the growth of railroads, highways and the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway caused commercial transportation to decline and by the 1990's commercial traffic became all but extinct. Today, recreational traffic accounts for almost all of the activity on the canal.
There are 36 locks on the canal to navigate which includes Lock 1- Troy Federal Lock just south of Waterford and Lock 36 on the Black Rock Canal in Buffalo.
The first 5 locks (E-2 through E-6) are called "Flight of Five" because they lift boats a total of 169 feet in 1.5 miles making it the highest lift in the shortest distance of any of series of locks in the world! Above is part of the brick pattern on the Waterford Visitor Welcome Center Promenade which symbolizes the canals; Erie, Champlain, Oswego, and the Cayuga-Seneca.
The Visitor Center holds a farmers market every Sunday morning. As luck would have it a group of cyclists heading east on the Erie Canalway Trail to Albany stopped by for a rest and a bite to eat. Look at the promenade and you can see the canal pattern laid out in the gray bricks.
Read the sign above for details on the Side-Cut Locks and Lock E-2 below.
This Side-Cut Lock was built in 1860 to allow boat traffic from the Hudson river to the Champlain canal and vice versa. Today they serve as spillway for excess water to flow. The flow was raging when we were there due to all of the rain the area has had over the previous 6 weeks.
This is Lock E-2 which is a several hundred feet north of the Visitor's center.
Just in front of Lock E-2 are 3 sailboats and 2 trawlers that have been waiting for the locks to open for 6 weeks.
This is a Wheaten Irish Terrier - adorable. They have hair (don't shed) not fur so they have to have regular appointments at the beauty salon for a style and a cut. Take a look at the eye on the left and get a gander at his eyelashes! He has to have those trimmed as well! I so wished he could have met Becky, a lovable golden doodle, on one of the trawlers but she was out on a walk.
A trawler in Lock E-2 heading west on the canal. You can see the waterline above and how far the water had to be lowered, 33.6' to be exact, to make him level with the Mohawk and Hudson rivers which he was entering.
The original Champlain Canal cut through the town of Waterford and opened 2 years before the Erie Canal. Bill and I walked the trail and tried to imagine what it had been like back then when the canals were filled with barges and the donkeys pulling them along the towpath.
Canal travel did not come free. There were tolls to be paid based on the weight of the cargo. The plaque above explains how this was accomplished.
This 1880 Gothic Revival mansion on the SE corner of Third and Middle Street reminds me of the older homes in New Orleans.
You can see the carriage house in the rear. Gorgeous wrought iron fence encompasses the right side of the mansion.
Love the half moon Victorian porch with roof cresting. Across the street and sitting on
the SW corner is this Steamboat Gothic home. Another historical home
on the NE side is the 1826 Isaac Eddy home.
This is a Federal style home featuring a high stepped end wall called a "Waterford Gable" which became quite popular during this timeframe and region.
Would someone PLEASE paint me?
I've been waiting for a long, long time.
Looking down Waterford's main thoroughfare, Broad Street.
Our favorite restaurant is located on Broad Street, McGreivey's.
They serve up an excellent pint of Guinness and
their food is de-lish as well. Here McGreivey's chef and owner, Art Riley, takes a few minutes to pose with us. Starting from 6 am and continuing clockwise are; Cindy and Larry (Bucket List), Moi and Bill (Tour de Loop), and Caryl, Larry and Millie (Prime Time).
On our way back from dinner we spied this red colored plume in the air. Toxic, we all hoped not.
Another beautiful old church who's doors are closed.
Attractive old wood frame home on the border of the village.
Another stately Queen Anne home heading to the Canalway Trail.
Waterford Village sits on the outskirts of the town. The Village residents are very proud of this distinction.
Additional information on the region.
Attractive hillside mansion which belonged to the sloop builders in the region.
Fuchsia centered hibiscus.
More old hillside mansions built during the heyday for the wealthy residents.
Sunset over the steel bridge leading to Peebles Island State Park.
Right after crossing the bridge to Peebles Island you come across this unusual historical site. Canons were laid betwixt these mounds in anticipation of an invasion from the British during the American Revolution. An American victory in Saratoga stopped their advance.
Thaddeus gave these earth mounds an appropriate name.
Watching the continuous change of a sunset from our fly bridge.
and Bill was also watching me.
We had a couple barn swallows on top of our bimini who were also watching the setting sun but their focus was on the flying insects that were coming with it. Visually, I was able to spy the birds catching (see bird between the V) or missing the bugs. One time, the first bird swooped and missed and the second bird who had come from a different angle swooped and missed the same insect as well (lucky for him). All the while, I was describing what I was seeing and then the "challenge" came. Could I catch a bird in flight as he was about to land on our top?
Snap, snap, snap. Got his tail.
A couple more snaps but he is partially hidden.
Snap, darn. Snap, missed again. Snap, I got him but before I could show Bill he had requisitioned my iPhone and told me to watch the master.
And watch I did. This was his first picture.
Snap, snap, snap, still getting the legs. Come on honey......
Well, he didn't get a bird landing but he did get one in flight!
Fellow boaters on the dock wall in front of the Waterford Visitors Center who were also waiting for the remainder of locks to open.
Here we are a little further back on the wall. In the early morning on the 7th day we received excellent news. The remaining closed locks, Locks E-11 through E-15, would reopen for business the next morning at 8 am.
With that being said, like the "flight of 5" locks, 5 boats took flight that morning. We wanted to make sure we made it through the first 10 locks and tie up in Amsterdam so the following morning we were in position to pass through the reopened troubled locks, E-11-15, before they had any more problems and closed again. Here is Bucket List bringing up the rear.
Good Bye Waterford. Thank you for your hospitality!
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