First a confession. We ate at McDonalds tonight. It was the only thing, other than a gas station, within walking distance of the motel. I don’t even remember the last time I ate at McD’s and that’s likely because it was completely unmemorable. Likely it will be a long time before we eat there again – hopefully. Anyway, I feel better for having confessed.
Apparently the west is wild. Until today we’ve been (mostly) on unbelievable nice, paved trail. As we moved further and further west today, the trail seemed to fade away for a time. Gloria had a little PTSD from our Great Divide days when it went down to single track. Of course in this part of the world, single track is smooth and bordered by wonderful, smooth, green grass and the chances of injury are slim to none.
As promised, here’s an aqueduct. It is difficult to appreciate but if you look closely you see water (Oneida Creek) in the background. It appears to run into the canal in the foreground. In reality it goes under the canal. The canal is running from right to lift in the picture through an aqueduct which is a stone bridge for water. What’s most amazing about these structures is that they were used in building the Erie Canal in the early 1800’s. There weren’t exactly big bulldozers to move rocks in those days. One of the original aqueducts was still partially in place until the 1990’s!
The original work to help move people and products from inland to the coast in New York began with some short canals going around the rapids on the Mohawk River. That work was expanded eventually to be hundreds of miles of canal – with lots of locks – to move people up and down waterways. According to Britannica: “Taking advantage of the Mohawk River gap in the Appalachian Mountains, the Erie Canal, 363 miles (584 km) long, was the first canal in the United States to connect western waterways with the Atlantic Ocean. Construction began in 1817 and was completed in 1825. Its success propelled New York City into a major commercial centre and encouraged canal construction throughout the United States.”
Amazing to me, beyond the work of people in the early 1800’s, is the continued use of canals today. We saw lots of boats today going down the canals. And we even had a chance to cross over a couple of the locks – one which was emptying after “lifting” a boat to the next level. It was amazing although I realize it isn’t too exciting to read about it.
Even if the canals weren’t active, the route is just endlessly remarkable. Sometimes it feels like we are a 100 miles from the nearest town (likely only 2) as we ride almost flat trail through the endless miles of woods. And if you are wondering – Gumby has survived the entire trip. Likely because I’ve simply strapped him to my front bag and the only time I took him out for a photo I road off – BRIEFLY – without him.
Grumpy Grandpa's Great Bicycling Adventures 