Spencerport

There's a 10 mph speed limit on the canal.  Through towns or locks it's 5 mph.  So you can't go a long distance each day. The other problem is that the locks and lift bridges only operate until 5 pm.  We bought a cruising guide for the canal (a good thing because both my laptop and android tablet with Navionics only show a single line for the canal.)  The guide is just that--only a guide.  The lock numbers are not always right, and the distances shown are only sometimes close to being right. 

The Fall foliage is in full force here--if you like looking at dead leaves.  If the sun ever comes out, I'm sure it would be bueatiful.

The old path where the mules walked to tow the flatboats follows alongside the canal.  It's now the Canalway Trail.  A bike and walking trail that goes from Buffalo to Albany--365 miles.

 This part of the canal appears to be cut out of the rock.

There are lots of bridges over the canal.  These are close to Rochester.

There's also lots of guard gates.  These things lower down into the water to prevent the entire canal from draining in the event of a break in the wall.  Such an event happened a couple of months ago west of here.  They shut these gates, and repaired the damaged walls without loosing all the water in the entire canal.

We're staying in Spencerport tonight at the FREE wall with FREE electric and FREE water and FREE showers.  Here's the view from the bridge.

The rental canal boat came in shortly after us.  You can see the guy in the red shirt on the boat.  Imagine my surprise when I got closer and saw his shirt.
My new best friend Stan.

We have been curious about these boats, so they let us peek inside.  It has a small diesel engine.  Travels a little over 5 mph.  They steer with a tiller on the transom.  Pretty spacious.

Stan and his wife, Dawn are on the canal boat for a week.  They are from East Lansing, Michigan.