JACKIE B III Going Loopy

The early morning hours saw 4 boats leaving Little Falls bound for Sylvan Beach. We began the day following the vessel Stardust.  But they took a port tie up while we went starboard.  Suddenly we’re in the lead.   We were the first vessel in and the first vessel out for 8 locks. Here are some shots of the crew following us. It was another beautiful day.  This is some remains of the old Erie Canal and another waterfowl over a dam. The water was so calm when we noticed something swimming across the canal.  It was a fawn! The Erie Canal is truly and engineering marvel .  This section was the straight and narrow I had pictured in my head, views fore and aft of our boat. We arrived in Sylvan Beach.  We had 14 Loopers on our boat for docktails .  Guess who forgot to take a photo. Our Journey  “Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined.” ‭‭Titus‬ ‭1:8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

  This is a “Guard Gate” on the Erie Canal.  They protect the locks in the event of a catastrophic failure of one of the dams. Our new friend Carmine travelled with us through 8 locks on this day. I was very impressed that he could do this all by himself. He is only 5 years younger than my Mom. The most intimidating lock so far was lock 17. This is a sluice gate.  It comes down like a guillotine and we went up an impressive 45 feet.  This guard gate protects lock 17.  This was the last lock before Little Falls NY. The Geology here is amazing. This is Moss Island popular with rock climbers. The town is below the level of the canal. It’s almost as if we are coasting along an aqueduct. The photo on the left is the view from where we are tied up for the night.  The rocks below is what we are avoiding by using the canal. there also used to be a 40 foot falls closer to lock 17. Our Journey “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” ‭...