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| First night of Plan B: Fireworks in Phoenix on the Oswego Canal. Expectations frequently exceeded. |
While Salty Paws and her crew executed Plan A and moved ahead into Canadian waters, Sally W and her ailing crew recuperated at home in Vermont. One week later they returned to their tug in Oswego on Lake Ontario. It was too late to catch up with Salty Paws, so Plan B was activated: backtrack 160 miles to the eastern end of the Erie, and head north to rendez-vous with Salty Paws as she exited Canada into Lake Champlain. These are the highlights of the Plan B followers on their return journey through the Oswego and Erie Canal routes through the land line portion, rivers, and lakes and 29 locks to Waterford. Groundhog time.
Sylvan Beach is on the eastern end of Lake Oneida. High winds made good conditions for kiteboarding. There were so many boarders screaming back and forth that an entanglement was surely inevitable. But not on our watch.
Instead, we took to observing body art, as did the police on beach patrol Hard not to stare. If this is so popular, do Sports Illustrated's swimsuit beauties adorn their bodies too? We did a quick check and found that body painting was preferred ... it's temporary.
The folks in Utica wanted boaters to be sure they knew where they were.
A quiet resting place in Little Falls. After dinner we walked into town for ice cream and got caught in a downpour on the one mile return.
The good news was that the little storm cell passed quickly and brought wonderful light at dusk.
Great skies afford beautiful images. We took this shot to talk about the canal as a transportation corridor not only for boats ...
... but other forms as well. The New York Thruway takes the same route along this stretch on the south side of the canal ...
... and the railroad parallels on the north. There are many many trains each day, 24 hours a day. At first their frequent whistles seem annoying, especially when overnighting near the tracks. But eventually, at least for some, they became just part of the complex mystique of it all.
We waited quite a while above this lock and couldn't figure out the delay until the gates opened and out came this contingent. The length of the barge dictated the tug to position itself at a 45 degree angle for all to fit.
During the recent heavy rains on our trip west we skirted much debris, some of which eventually snagged at bridge abutments.
Others were fished out of the water. On the return trip, the water levels were fairly normal for this time of year.
The dams and guard gates did a good job of controlling the high waters and preventing washouts at the locks.
Ever vigilant from his high perch. Eagles are not uncommon.
Even more common are blue herons. And they're not shy to venture into manmade spaces.
The 160 mile backtrack ended in Waterford. We were the only boat tied to the wall with plans to go the "other way." Everyone else is poised to start locking just out of the picture on the left.
The familiar whir of a drone brought us out of the cabin at dusk. The couple on the white boat on the far right were the operators and asked us if we'd like a shot of our boat. Allan went to talk to them. Sally decided to pose on the bow.
At this point, Jeanne and Bob on Salty Paws were halfway up the Rideau Canal. It looks like we'll be together once again around the Fourth of July.
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