July 27, 2017 Thursday
We loved all the activity at Pittsford, kids feeding the ducks, Pittsford Crew practicing for their regatta, tourists waiting in line for a day trip on the Sam Patch Canal Boat, people walking, bicycling, kayaking, and eating ice cream at the local Pittsford Farms Dairy where they still sell milk in glass bottles. So many of the small towns along the Erie are struggling but the pulse of Pittsburg is strong.
Rain on the canal kept us at the dock until 2:00 pm, a little late in the day to leave but we were only going seventeen miles and the rest of the day was beautiful. We went through Locks E32 and E33, both 25 feet. In Lock E32 the leaks in the lock doors create a waterfall effect below the upper doors. We also passed through the East Guard Lock and the West Guard Lock, these gates were installed at the Genesee River crossing to protect the canal from flooding and to maintain pool levels. The Genesee River is the only river on the Western portion of the canal that is at the same level as the canal. You can see in the picture how, if both gates are closed, it would create a lock.
We saw several waterfalls along the canal today, evidence of how much rain we have had and there are still predictions of more rain. By the time we reached Spencerport we were a little tired and decided to have dinner on the boat and do our sightseeing in the morning.
