Oct 11, Erie Canal, NY

We started from the west side of lock #8 on the canal at 7:30 am and immediately entered the lock as it's first boat heading westbound.

KOKOMO II's overnight location last night was under the trees in the center of the picture. There is nothing around us but countryside. Here we are just clearing the lock at 7:30 am.

Locks are usually located next to dams on the Erie. Here is the spillway next to lock 8

We motored all day and finished through lock #18 about 5pm just as the locks were all closing for the day. As the locks are only open from 7am-5pm, no boat can go further than the next lock after 5pm until the next day. We covered about 60 miles today and 11 locks and it was a long day.

Many of the locks have pretty grounds

This was an industrial area and many abandoned plants still line the Mohawk River waterway

A Volkswagen atop an old chimney. A point of interest in the travel guide. Not much else around.

Lock #17 was the most interesting as we rose 40 feet on that one lock alone.

Linda getting ready to handle a line in our tallest lock as we prepare to rise 40 feet. The lines from the lock are hanging over the side for us to grab to stabilize the boat while locking through. These lines have been in the water all summer and are dirty and so the boat, the fenders and the line handlers gloves all got dirty from handling the lines.

Sky was overcast all day and we had some drizzle. It seemed cool enough that we thought it might snow. Low temperature today was in the 50's but it was damp and felt colder. We ended the day a few miles past lock #18 at the Iloin RV Park and Marina, where there is a nice park setting and seawall with power. Again we feel like we are out in the middle of nowhere. There are four RV/travel trailers here tonight and no other boats. But we are happy and secure after a long day on the water. However, the Erie Canal is nothing like the Canal du Midi.