Buffalo to Tonawanda, NY—we’re on the Erie Canal

This morning started with a surprise dense fog advisory, which delayed our departure from Buffalo Harbor until 9:45 AM. While we were waiting, we got in today’s wildlife sightings:

We proceeded north through Buffalo Harbor in calm conditions, except for the occasional fishing boat wake. We passed many of the sights on the city waterfront that we had seen from land and a few new ones. We also went under the Peace Bridge, with Canada on the other side.

After leaving Buffalo Harbor, we were briefly in Lake Erie, a first for us, then entered the Black Rock Canal and through the lock of the same name. This canal and lock were built to bypass the reefs, rapids and fast currents on the Niagara River as it first exits Lake Erie and heads north to Niagara Falls. We dropped five feet in the lock (Fun fact: This was our 50th locking on the Great Loop) then entered the Niagara River, with a 2-3 mph boost from the current; still brisk but nothing like the 7+ mph that we avoided, not to mention the reefs and rapids. A moderate north wind was against the current, creating a meaningful chop, and that and the frequent powerboat wakes roiled the waters until we turned right to enter the start of the Erie Canal in Tonawanda.

If you’re familiar with the Erie Canal, or are the rare human who knows the lyrics to the Pete Seeger folk song (yes, Evans family, I’m talking about you), you are aware that the original canal went from Albany to Buffalo. The strong currents on the Niagara River were too powerful for the mules and horses pulling the barges in 1825 and the Erie Canal was extended (with pickaxes and shovels) parallel to the river all the way to Buffalo. When mechanized propulsion came into being later in the 19th century, the canal was shortened to Tonawanda and the river and Black Rock Canal were used to get to Lake Erie. The same was done on the Hudson River at the other end of the Erie Canal, and it now stops in Waterford, NY, not Albany. It’s a good thing that Pete Seeger didn’t have to rhyme anything with Tonawanda.

We traveled 15 miles today and are docked at Gateway Harbor in North Tonawanda, On both sides of the canal here there are docks and walls for vessels to tie up to, some with services and others without (we have electric, water, bathrooms and showers). Map Link: North Tonawanda Gateway Harbor

The docks, walls and canal are a parade of holiday weekenders, many engaged in informal competitions to see who has the loudest voice, stereo system and boat engine. We have had several visitors to Dragonfly, some attracted by our AGLCA burgee and others with the all-too-familiar question of “is that a sailboat?” The weather was beautiful, so we escaped the hustle and bustle for a couple of hours on our folding bikes, heading south along the Niagara River on an outstanding bike path that basically retraced our steps on the land side of the river we had just traveled on. We turned around at the Black Rock Lock and returned.

Back in North Tonawanda, we walked a few blocks to dinner at Spring Asian Cuisine, where we both enjoyed excellent Thai food and saved enough for another meal. After a FaceTime video chat with our daughters, we hung out in the cabin and waited for the noise to settle down so we could fall asleep. It’s expected to storm tomorrow, so we’re staying put.