Friday-Sunday, June 28 – 30, 2019                                                          

Little Falls Canal Harbor at Rotary Park

We woke up to our power out about 7AM, so we didn’t waste any time to get going. By 8:20 we were on our way and into the first lock of the day, Amsterdam’s lock #11. Today we were going to cover 40 horizontal miles and 108 feet vertically through seven locks. The last lock of the day was at Little Falls, NY, lock #17. It is the highest single lift on the canal at 40.5 feet. (Since the Flight of Five is a combination of five single locks for 169 feet, it doesn’t count when considering single lock heights.)

After the lock, the Canal Harbor at Rotary Park is only a half mile away. The Rotary Club of Little Falls arranged for an old warehouse to be reconstructed into a transient marina. Staffed and maintained entirely by volunteers, if provides a face dock for boats to dock along and has beautifully landscaped grounds with a park that is available for use by anyone in the local community.

We decided to stay a couple extra days due to predicted rain and possible storms which gave us a chance to get some chores done. Everything was fairly new and very well kept. The laundry room had a nice, clean, extra-large machine and payment was on the honor system … $1.50/load in the washer or dryer, just add your payment to the decorated coffee can on the folding table.

Brian spent an entire day making multiple strategic attempts to replace the new head’s hose from toilet to holding tank, but the old one just wouldn’t come out. Once again, we encountered a hose that was put in before the floor was laid on top of it, thus trapping it there for all eternity! After much frustration, he finally decided he didn’t have the hole-saw he needed, so we’d continue using the forward head until a suitable mechanic could be found.

The main area of town is across the river and water falls, but a sidewalk on the bridge offers safe passage by foot or bike. We walked into town for dinner each night, just over a half-mile each way which was a good way to work off the great food! The Copper Moose was highly recommended, and for good reason. The local Italian restaurant was also highly recommended and we overstuffed ourselves with excellent food there as well.

At this point, we’ve had a few days away from the ocean and tidal waters. We’ve accepted the fact that we can no longer watch dolphins at play or see amazingly clear blue water. On the up-side, we appreciate not having salt spray all over the boat! We were doubtful about there being no spiders when boating in salt water, but we did find that to be true, so we had to get the spider repellant back out. The muddy river “moustache” has begun forming again on the bow and will need to be removed – not an easy process. All things considered, we are happy to be heading toward Canada which is supposed to offer some of the loveliest scenery of all!