Little Falls to Catskill - August 27 to 30, 2009

On the way out of Little Falls we stopped at Benton’s Landing to refill our extra propane tank at the lumber yard a block away from the dock. While we waited for Knot-A-lot so we could go through lock Number 17 together we met a couple across the road who are restoring these 150 year old brick and stone buildings. They will use the larger one as their own residence and will build a garden between the two. Lock Number 17 is the highest lock on the Erie Canal System with a vertical lift of 40 feet.

For much of the day the Interstate 90 paralleled the canal on the south side and the CSXT railway track paralleled it on the north. When we travelled o Alberta in July we took the I-90 west to Wyoming and now we were following it east through New York State.

When we stopped for the night at Amsterdam we were about 100 feet from the railway track. Just across the track was Russo’s Grill where we had dinner with Mason and Claire from Knot-A-Lot. If the place had not been given a nod of approval by the locals that Tom traded his last Canadian beers with we would not have even given the place a chance. This little Italian Restaurant has been in business for 90 years and the outside of the building has not seen much upkeep in that time. The windows on the second and third floors have even been boarded up. The atmosphere on the inside is warm and bustling. The food was tasty, portions generous and prices very reasonable. They have a chalkboard on one wall for boaters to leave their boat name and any other details they want to add. Unfortunately, it was too dark and rainy to get a photo.

When we left Amsterdam in the morning it was raining. Another Dubarry day. Our two day canal passes had expired and we had expected to be able to purchase more from the lockmasters as we needed them. Instead we were given an Unpaid Toll Report with an address to send the payment to. There were a couple of delays during the day; one at Lock Number 10 where there was a concrete pour in progress to repair damage from a flood in 2006 and the other at Guard Gate Number 2 which is at the beginning of a flight of 5 locks that were being managed by two lockmasters. They had to drive back and forth between the locks to coordinate opening and closing as we passed through. The shoreline along the canal in this area is quite marshy and populated with herons, egrets, ducks and Canada Geese.

The Erie Canal ends at Waterford where the Mohawk River meets the Hudson. Waterford is very boater friendly with free docks, showers power and wi-fi at the Visitor Center. There is a Price Chopper grocery within walking distance or you can use their dock temporarily while you shop. They don’t mind if you borrow their carts to haul a couple of cases of Budweiser back to the boat. We timed it right for the Sunday farmer’s market at the docks and picked up some garden fresh tomatoes and dried herbs.

Heading south on the Hudson River there was lots of current in our favor once we passed through the final lock plus we time our departure from Waterford with the outgoing tide so were able to make good progress. We were boarded by the coastguard for a safety check just past Troy and passed inspection. They approached us again on a different boat a few hours later but were satisfied with the boarding report from their colleagues. There is much more traffic on the Hudson that we have seen anywhere else so far. We have also seen a lot of commercial development and passed by Albany, the state capital.

We are now sitting at the Hop-O-Nose Marina in Catskill waiting to have our mast put up in the morning. There is only one boat ahead of us sowe should be ready to go before noon so we can ride out on the tide again.