Oswego, NY
Spent the day going through 7 more “down” locks - Same slime factor as the “up” locks, except when you start off you are above the water line and are lowered DOWN to the slime instead of starting off with the slime in your face. Several lock walls were covered with invasive zebra and quagga mussels. They can cause significant ecological and economic issues and are considered dangerous to the fish population because they disrupt their food sources, and because they selectively filter out certain types of algae while potentially promoting the growth of harmful algae and cyanobacteria (blue-green algae). This can cause taste and odor problems in drinking water and pose risks to aquatic organisms and humans. So much we don’t know about the ecological state of bodies of water until you are in a situation where it’s in your face.
This is the end of the Erie Canal for us for the time being. The boat is too tall to go under some of the bridges on the western portion of the Erie so we have to turn north at the Three Rivers junction and take the Oswego River and locks to Lake Ontario. This was a highly populated portion of the rivers, lot of homes and canal action. One of the locks has a bridge that needs to be raised before the boats can exit. One of the pics posted below shows a statue of Elvis on the front porch of a home we passed on the Erie Canal. Just what everyone needs. There was also a well-traveled goose crossing. They were brazen but gave way eventually. Oswego has a Revolutionary War era fort guarding the entrance to the river from Lake Ontario, too bad it was closed when we were there.
Needless to say, at the end of the day hopping in to a hot shower can’t happen quickly enough. And don’t even get Ann started on “boat hair” as brushing and styling your hair is a total waste of time….hence the saying “boat hair - who cares” The look is simply “wind-blown, crazy bird” style - Enough said on the un-pleasantries of living on a boat. We docked with no assistance (for Ann, a scary event but well handled) on the wall of the town’s Best Western Hotel and Conference Center - right at the mouth of Lake Onterio-in Oswego NY, had dinner and called it a night. Tomorrow is a 56-mile trek across the lake and down part of the St Lawrence River. At times we will be 12 miles off shore. If you look at a map you can see that this lake is 50 miles at its widest point, and is the passage used by many cargo ships heading in to and out of the Atlantic Ocean…yet another interesting fact. Good night 😴
Go here to find the Nebo summary and track for the day.
