Eerie (sic) Canal

This canal is really strange.  Some days we see 1 or 2 other boats; other days we don't see any at all.  It is really beautiful, but so far away from civilization when we are on the river.  I feel like we are on one of the larger rivers in Northern Wisconsin or Minnesota.

There are towns all along the Mohawk Valley, but most of them are not exactly on the Erie Canal.  They were started along the Mohawk River (possibly by native Americans). The river often is separate from the newer canal; and now the towns grow along the New York Thruway (the Interstate). This makes it hard to get supplies, do laundry, or even take (real) showers. 

Today we found a real marina in Ilion, New York, that has showers and laundry (we walked a mile yesterday for groceries). So we are set again for a few days. We only motored for 5 miles this morning – were glad to find this marina and stay still for the rest of the day.  I'm catching up on my sleep – motoring all day, day after day, is pretty intense.  But it is easier than the Trent-Severn Canal: wider, deeper, and a whole lot less boat traffic. I guess that makes up for the lack of services.

Ilona is catching up on boat cleaning - Ihana looks really beautiful again.

For the last 3 nights, we have been tied up on the wall at the locks (3 different locks).  And we were the only ones there!  Really quiet (except for the trains and Thruway which share this river valley).  Great views of the Adirondack Mountains that we are traveling through.

Haven't heard any Drums Along the Mohawk, yet ...  And I guess there aren't any more Mohicans ...