Waterford has been a great host and I encourage other Loopers to stop here for at least one night before entering the canals. I am very thankful for their excellent wifi that allowed me to restore my iPhone to normal operation. It was a long few days when I had only basic services and I'm happy to have my apps back.
Following a quick pump-out this morning, we pulled forward off the city dock in Waterford and inched closer to the welcome sign for the Erie Canal. The majority of folks on the Great Loop do take the Erie Canal route. We, however, are going through Lake Champlain so we made a quick U-turn and re-entered the Hudson River. Before we knew it we were entering Lock No. 1 of the Champlain Canal ... all by ourselves. No worries of playing bumper boat with others.
The Hudson River becomes both very narrow and shallow at this point and is a No Wake Zone. We were moving very slow and enjoying the sights: a fox strolling on the riverbank at about the same pace as we were keeping, interesting rock formations, and a pair of male cardinals having a loud conversation.
We passed through the Lock No. 2, our final of the day, cut across to the west bank to tie up at the free Mechanicville city dock. After a shower and a nap we walked to the local grocery store (Price Chopper) to pick up a few items. There is no better way to limit your purchases than knowing you have to carry them back to the boat. I had the heavy cans and bottles in the backpack and lighter/fragile items in a race bag. Barry carried the cold goods in an insulated bag.
This is a nice little town, with a few national drugstores, fast food, and small general stores. The main street had cheerful daisies along the shoulder ... another good sign.
We had rain showers on and off today, but none when we were locking though or walking the town. A front moves through tonight and the wind is supposed to be gusty tomorrow so we're going to stay here another day. Our next two stops along the Canal will be at Fort Edward, and then Whitehall (the entrance to Lake Champlain).
Our journey for today:
I’m really digging y’all’s journey - but wondering why most loopers don’t take the Champlain canal route and y’all are. Btw, the pics are gorgeous!!
ReplyDeleteThe main reason most folks go the Erie Canal is that on the Champlain route you go against a pretty strong current on the Saint Lawrence River. We did not have any problems, it was just a bit slower going. Doing the Champlain route also let us visit a friend in Burlington, VT. We have no regrets, it was a gorgeous trip.
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