Erie Canal Day 6 - Clyde to Hibiscus Harbor, our last stop.

10/15/2016 - So I think this was the only day where we did actually do fifteen miles - no mule named Sal though (oh, come on, I had to refer to that song at least once in this writeup!), and only part of it was on the Erie Canal - part of it was on the Erie Canal, part of it back on the Cayuga-Seneca Canal, and the last leg back on Cayuga Lake. Locks 26, 25, and C-S 1. I forgot to write in my journal on this day, we had to hand Nameless Nomad back at 10 the next morning so I think we just got really busy collecting our stuff and cleaning up, and then I just didn't think of it. I did take all sorts of pictures though!

Morning in Clyde 

We were off to see the Mill Museum, which is run by the Galen Historical Society, and which was recommended highly in the touring info provided by Cruise-USA. 

Unfortunately, we missed the bit about how in the off-season you should call to make arrangements to see the place. There was actually a telephone number on the door which you could call if you wanted, but we didn't want to see it quite badly enough to call this person and ask them to drop whatever plans they already had for the morning, so we just checked out the farm equipment they had outside and then took off. 

The local fire department was having a demo day. I think if they'd set this car on fire, we would've gone down to watch them put it out, but there was no actual fire involved, so we watched from the bridge for a bit and then headed back to our boat. 

Erie Canal from the Route 414 bridge

Back on Nameless and heading east again. Never did get a shot of an Amtrack train but here's another CSX train passing a grain elevator, just outside of town.

Locking through at Lock 25. I must have been driving at Lock 26, no pictures there. Everything is so neat and well-kept along the canal (or at least the pieces I've seen now) - yesterday's "post post" was  just a joke, but I took the photo because I liked how even a simple stencilled sign like that looked so sharp in the canal system's blue and gold. TQ was lucky enough to even get a look at some of the lock machinery at one lock - we'd sounded our horn to let the lock master know we were there, and then nothing happened for a surprisingly long time, so TQ went ashore to see what was going on and found the lock master just finishing up some routine maintenance. He said it was pretty neat to see. 

Tender #1, just outside of the lock. I was sorry we didn't have the good luck to run into the Urger, but I was glad to get a nice shot of this smaller tug. 

Approaching our exit from the Erie Canal -

More NYS Canal System work vessels

Hello Cayuga-Seneca Canal,

So long Erie Canal. What a good visit.

Another hawk (and I would bet that there were more herons and kingfishers too, but the day before had been so good for bird photography, I think I was finally satisfied that I was bringing home some acceptable shots to share).

Lock CS1. From the Cayuga-Seneca Canal Page: "Lock 1 is in a scenic location and lifts boats 25 feet. The area and lock is traditionally referred to as Mud Lock due to the soft land (a former swamp) it is built upon. When leaving Lock 1 to Cayuga Lake be mindful of the buoys and your depth. This area is quite shallow outside the channel. Once in the lake, there is the option to continue south to Ithaca or immediately turn to the west and continue along the Seneca River to Seneca Lake." Our itinerary did give another overnight in Seneca Falls as an option, but with a good cleaning needing to be done before we handed the boat back over at 10 the next morning, we decided it would make life simpler if we just spend our last night at Hibiscus Harbor.

Back to Cayuga Lake

Home again home again jiggety jig

Sunset at our journey's end. Or at least the part of the journey that was on a boat. Where shall we go next? Hmmm. To be continued!

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