Continuing on the Erie

Monday after breakfast, we said goodbye to my folks and carried on westbound. Initially headed for the little town of Amsterdam, 20 miles along, our plans were changed at the encouragement of the lock staff because of heavy rains expected. Amsterdam is just downstream of the Schoharie Creek, which sounds peaceful enough. Not so, they said 'keep going!'. They were adamant enough about their recommendation that they said they would keep a lock open past their normal operating hours to get us through. We had a look at our guidebooks and found that the Schoharie (kind of sounds like 'So Scary!') is known for it's strong currents and outflow of debris after rainstorms. It is just off the Erie Canal that a NY State Thruway collapsed over the Schoharie in 1987, taking 5 cars with it. No more encouragement needed! We carried on to the dock at Fonda (where the Henry Fonda clan is from). At lock 10, we encountered a crazy approach, with strong current from the dam overflows, and a maze of buoys that looked more like a slalom course!

We were glad to finally settle in at Fonda for the night, and even had power cords long enough that we could make use of their power! An added bonus on a chilly and damp night.

Tuesday was more canal, more locks. The highlight of the day was Lock 17. With an overall water level change of 40', it is the highest lock on the Erie Canal.
The other impressive feature is that instead of having doors that hinge open, the east gate lifts above the boats. This is only one of two locks in North America designed like this, the other being on the Ottawa River.

The walls sure look high when you're inside...

At the high water end of the lock, the doors only have to open to allow a depth of about 14' of water. That's why the doors don't go all the way down.

We thought Little Falls would be a good place to stop for the night. It was a bit of a frustrating arrival, as the first dock we tied up to wasn't securely attached to shore. Then we moved to a more secure wall and were all set to head into town when the dock master came out and said we had to move further from their pump-out station. So, we moved the boat forward to the spot she said (though not, in our opinion, enough to allow a boat that would be of sufficient size to require a pump-out to fit on the dock. And with only 30 minutes left until they closed, seemingly a silly request). By the time all this happened, the shops in town were due to close, and dark clouds were looming, so we settled in at the boat for the night.