Rome, NY

Erie Canal near Rome, NY

We exited in a leisurely fashion today from Little Falls, NY.  The other four looper boats docked there planned to go all the way to Sylvan Beach.  We planned a shorter trip:  35 miles and 3 locks.  We let them get ahead of us by an hour, so we could get a pump out and go in the locks alone.  About an hour into the trip, Dream Girl pulled in behind us and went through locks with us, which was fine.

We dodged trees and logs all day.  There were also stumps in the waterway.  George did a great job driving the boat.  We had cloudy skies, light rain, and moments in which the sun broke through.  But the clouds won the day, and we never got the promised sunny skies.

"Look," George says.  When I look up, I see a barge coming at us, carrying pipes.

Lots of dredging is happening on the canal.  These pipes are probably going to a dredging site. 

About ten minutes away from the Rome City Dock, we got a call from Pat on Gypsea, one of the boats that was ahead of us.  They could not get a spot in a marina at Sylvan Beach, so three boats had stopped at the Rome dock.  She wanted us not to freak out when we came around the bend and saw that the dock was full.  They would make room for us.  I appreciated the call.  We got our lines and fenders out on the starboard side.  Bob from Field Trip called and said we could raft to them.  Four loopers were waiting to grab our lines as we slowly eased up to Field Trip.  We are in a safe spot for the night, and we will move out early tomorrow, hoping to get a space on the free dock at Sylvan Beach before another storm comes on Tuesday.  

Parts of the canal west of here closed today due to high water, so boaters are piling up again.  This happened a week ago too, but we were in Atlanta and missed the crowded docks.  I wonder what it would be like to go through the Erie Canal on sunny days.