This morning was a little cooler as we left Lockport. We entered the Erie Canal by the museum and were on a trail just a few feet from the canal for the rest of the day. The Erie Canal, built with muscle and no concrete, was a marvel for it’s time, it was called the 8th wonder of the world. It seemed strange to follow a path that’s been in existense for 185 years and yet still doesn’t show up on GPS. The path beside the canal has been improved, but is still not paved. And instead of barge traffic, the main water use now is tourist boats. There are a lot of little towns in existense because of the canal, and of course, roads and bridges crossing the canal. We stopped to watch as a boat passed a lift gates near one of these towns. Afterward we talked to the bridge liftgate operator. He said the canal is open 12 hours a day and that he runs 2 bridges. When he gets a call he drives to whichever bridge to operate the liftgate. He told us he rode his bike across the US, from San Diego to St Augustine Florida 8 years ago. As we were talking, another canal employee walked up. We had seen him earlier walking on the opposite bank. His job was to inspect the levys every day for leaks. If they find a leak they drive a sheet of steel down so that it promotes silting in around the leak. Also, we learned that in the winter the canal is drained, and the canal is winterized. Every few miles there are hydraulic gates suspended above the water; their purpose is to stop and limit the flow of water if there is a catastrophic leak. There is a single historic road which goes under the canal instead of over, it’s called culvert road. The culvert is 7 feet 6 inches at the top, it’s rounded, one lane, and leaks water a lot. Pretty amazing to have been there for over 185 years. After noon it started getting warm again, we stopped for the night in Spencerport.

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