Kim's Thoughts
Just a few thoughts I feel worthy of jotting down!
Maple Syrup and More Adventure
A big spring crop that is very plentiful around here is maple syrup and all things maple! There is an abundance of sugar shacks in the area that harvest the sap from maple trees and produce the sweetest of delights….fresh, pure maple syrup! There are two weekends in the spring that are considered “Maple Weekend” – this year, they were March 21-22 and March 28-29 – where you can visit all the maple producers for tours and the chance to purchase and, in most cases, taste the freshly made treats! One place is particularly popular this time of year! Cartwright’s Maple Tree Inn near Angelica, NY. They open their business for just a few short weeks each year – this is their 53rd season and they were open Feb 10th thru Mar 12th – and serve up all-you-can-eat buckwheat pancakes and their own fresh maple syrup! People come from all over the state and beyond year after year to visit this little shack tucked away on a back road in the middle of nowhere to enjoy the best breakfast of the year!
Each year, a group from our church makes the one and a half or so hour trek to Cartwright’s. Every year for the past three years, I have planned to go with them. Every year, something comes up to prevent me from going. THIS year, I blocked out my calendar with stern notes warning me of consequences if I should try to book anything else on that day! This year, I got to go! And……I had the best time!!!
I got up and dressed and ready early. The group was meeting to carpool at 9:00 at the church, but, as usual, I was planning to drive myself so that I could do some exploring afterwards – I was going to be in an area of the state that I had never been in, before, so wanted to check it out! I plugged in my trusty GPS, Gabby, and entered the address…..uh, oh……Gabby didn’t recognize the address! So, I tried to find it in a few different ways…..no luck! So, by then, I assumed I missed the carpool group…..I figured I’d get as close as I could using the GPS and then go by the written directions I had. But, as luck would have it, the group was still there and just starting to leave when I drove by the church! So, I took a couple passengers and followed the leader! We took an awesome rural route that snaked through the country side….I saw towns I’ve never heard of and things I’ll likely never find again! But, it was GREAT!
When we got there, I was surprised to find that we hit it at the exact right time…..no line going in the restaurant (I’m told that is extremely unusual – even on off days)! We got to sit right down and the food started coming! We ordered “family style” – which means you don’t order off the menu – they bring your choice of beverage and a plate with three hot buckwheat pancakes, a slice of ham, and a hand pressed sausage patty – then, they keep replacing the stack of hot pancakes in the center of the table until everyone is stuffed and stops eating…..for as along as that takes!!! I, personally, ate SIX pancakes – in my defense, they are thinner and a little smaller than the ones I make at home or find in other restaurants, so maybe I ate the equivalent of 2 or 3…..that’s my story and I’m sticking to it!!! And were they GOOD!!! I have never had buckwheat pancakes OR fresh pure maple syrup before…..what a treat — I have really been missing out all these years!
After we left Cartwright’s, we went into Angelica, NY to get some of their claim to fame – salt-rising bread – and to do some browsing through the many antique shops that line their historic downtown area. After that, one of my riders works at Letchworth State Park – recently named the #1 Best State Park in all of the United States – so we drove through there on the way back home. I left the house just before 9:00 am and returned just after 4:00 pm…..exhausted and happy! It was a GREAT day!!!
Here are photos from my wonderful adventure:
FROM CARTWRIGHT’S MAPLE TREE INN
I can’t take credit for this photo – I “borrowed” it from Cartwright’s Facebook page
Posted in 2012, it shows the exterior of the building and the line of people waiting to get in!
We were greeted by this happy fellow! Love his feet!
Cooking the buckwheat pancakes
And, later, another of the continuously grilled batches being flipped
My tea came in this HUGE and very pretty mug
My second helping…..I was so excited to dig in, I didn’t get a photo of the first helping with the meat!
Their gift shop is full of wonderful maple products and souvenirs
Downstairs, they have some cool items from their original business
This is the evaporator – you can watch the guys processing the syrup
That room smelled so sweet……it gave me a sugar high just breathing in there!
FROM ANGELICA, NY
One of many antique stores along the downtown area….and a cow!
You know I can’t resist photographing a cow or horse statue…..my friend, Diane, got in on the fun!
Their claim to fame is “salt-rising” bread – it is a very heavy, dense bread with almost a sour-dough taste – best when toasted!
What a great name for a shop…..
….and, compared to the other buildings on the street, it WAS the little building!!!
The Angelica Legion Post
There was a huge traffic circle around a park with this memorial
Most of the buildings had some beautiful brick work
A display of vintage hats…..no, I didn’t buy one!
Angelica Bakery – where they make their famous salt-rising bread!
This lovely bed and breakfast inn has a “For Sale” sign in the window!
Angelica Free Library
And, there were a couple of these really cool looking stone houses!
FROM LETCHWORTH STATE PARK
The frozen fountain at the Glen Iris Inn in Letchworth brought national attention, this year – it got bigger than usual and stayed longer than usual…..this is what it looked like yesterday – starting to melt down, but still VERY large and impressive!
This photo – from the Glen Iris Inn Facebook page – shows it at its peak!
My friend, Diane, and her Dad rode along with me and I was telling her I’ve never been able to find the Lower Falls, so she took me to it! Here is the gorge and rapids just downstream from the Lower Falls
And, here it is……a horrible photo of it, but I finally found it and it was very nice in person!!!
So, there you have it…..my Maple Syrup Adventure…..wonder where I’ll go exploring next???
Just a Block Away….
Tradition and change…..they tend to contradict each other…..one is comfortable – a part of us…..the other upsets our lives, our emotions, and our sense of security. Everyone has some traditions they hold dear and everyone has some level of adversity to change….and, the older we get, the more we cling to traditions and the more adverse we are to change.
I am a fifth generation member of the Albion First United Methodist church! I attended services there as a child, my mother was a member from the time she was a little girl, my grandmother attended with her mother, who attended with her mother! When I retired and moved back to Albion, I also returned to the church of my roots. I quickly made many new friends that have become very dear to me. I joined committees and the choir and I looked for ways to be active in events and missions. I settled in nicely! So, it was very much to my dismay to discover that they had been dealing with some very heavy issues with the building. Apparently, about 100 years ago the congregation at the time wanted to reorient the sanctuary and, at the same time, created a vaulted ceiling and installed a magnificent stained glass window depicting the Good Shepherd that was gifted by their pastor. To do all this, they cut the cross beams that spanned across the sanctuary ceiling. Fast forward 100 years and we find ourselves in a precarious and extremely expensive situation of having approximately a million or so dollars worth of structural damage……$1,000,000 that we just don’t have and, despite the best efforts over several years, have been unable to secure any grants or other sources of funding to pay for it!
So, we’re moving…..that is a simple statement that fails to convey the years of agonizing over options and decisions and heartache, but it is the fact……we’re moving! We have worked out an agreement with another one of the seven historic churches sitting around the Courthouse Square – a district listed on the National Registry of Historic Places – to share their church. Beginning tomorrow morning – Easter Sunday – our congregation will move just one block away to the Christ Episcopal Church on Main St in Albion. We will hold our services at 9:30 am and they will hold theirs at 11:00 am…..and, together, the two congregations will serve the community as we always have….just from a shared space…..just one block away!
This hasn’t been easy on our congregation…….reread that first paragraph about tradition and change! It has been so very emotional for us all. But, we’re staying together as a congregation and as a church family of friends, so we’re OK!
Here is our new church home……the Christ Church……and what a lovely new home it is!!! (For a more detailed accounting of the events that compile the last of the last things we did in our church, click on over to the blog I write for the church)
Here’s to change, new beginnings, transferred traditions, and new traditions……
Wordless Wednesday – Early Spring
OK, so Spring officially started this past Friday. I’ve been waiting for a good day to get out and snap some photos around town showing the early signs of the season change…..today was it! We had a forecasted high of 51 degrees, today – it didn’t quite reach it and, when I was out and about this morning, it was heavily overcast in anticipation of the rain that came a little later in the day. But, it was still a nice morning and I think I got some fun shots! Things may still be kinda brown and dingy from the remnants of winter, but you can find the beauty in ANYTHING, if you just look for it!!!
Here is what I captured – with as few words as possible on this Wordless Wednesday:
Let’s start with the Erie Canal….the Main Street lift bridge in Albion closed just before I was there taking photos – much needed repairs will be completed in preparation for the canal season!
Barges, tug boats, tenders, and equipment lined up at the bottom of the canal over the winter months are waiting for the canal to be filled so they can start their work when the canal opens in May.
Canal workers performing maintenance on some pieces of equipment to prepare for the upcoming active season.
The boat launch on Albion-Eagle Harbor Rd looks pretty lonely hanging out there way above the lowered water level.
A couple seagulls enjoying the cold water below the boat launch.
Looking up the canal towards the Gaines Basin Rd bridge.
When I was down town taking photos, most of the stores weren’t open, yet, and Main Street looked pretty sleepy.
The Perry’s Ice Cream sign at the par-3 golf course on Gaines Basin Rd teases of the possibility of cool treats on warm summer days.
Farm equipment dormant over the winter stands in wait for the chance to irrigate the fields when needed.
This farm field looks like it was just freshly plowed up…..but, upon closer look, it is obvious that the dirt is WAY too saturated from melted snow to even think about taking any equipment out on it…..surely even a person trying to walk across this field will sink down into the bog, let alone a heavy plow!
This cracked me up when I saw it…..when the snow plow pushed the high banks back from the road, it dug up some sod and it ended up laying on top of the snow bank……now that the banks are pretty much melted down, all I could think of was a “toupee on top of a snow cap”! Hahahahaha!!!!
This one has nothing to do with spring, but I took it today, so wanted to include it! It is the Good Shepherd Window in the Albion First United Methodist Church. I was there this evening for choir practice and snapped this shot to fill a request and, as always, it took my breath away!
Happy Spring, y’all……stay tuned for more photos as I get out and about in the much improved weather!
…and then there was one!
They say that dogs leave paw prints on your heart…..well, I have had my share of great dogs in my life – from my first dog, Hansen, when I was just barely a toddler, right up to the one that is stamping her paw prints all over my heart currently…..so, my heart is blessed to be beautifully decorated with these wonderful paw prints!
For a few months between late 2006 and early 2007, there were four – Puddles, Katie, Megan, and Amy! They were all rescues that found their way to me – I was not looking at the time they came into my life, they just found their way to me, were in need of someone to love and care for them, and I just couldn’t resist! Click here to read an old blog post with their stories.
At first, there was only one……Puddles – for about 14 years, she was the lone Princess! Then, Katie joined the family and for about two years, there were two…..and they became best buddies!
But…..Puddles was old and not well, so not too long after Megan and Amy joined the family, Puddles passed on! So, for almost eight years, there were three!
Just this past November, Katie had what we believe was either a stroke or a heart attack and went to join her old friend, Puddles……and then, there were two, again!
Amy came into my life with her sister, Megan, when they were tiny little pups. I was absolutely not going to keep them – my intent was to foster until a fur-ever home could be found……well, they enjoyed their 8th birthday with me this past August! About October, Amy started having some serious problems with her right eye. Our vet recommended we see a veterinary ophthalmologist, which we did. It appeared that Amy may have had a mass of some sort behind her eye – either an abscess or a tumor! The recommendation was to start with steroids to see if it shrinks…..if it does shrink and doesn’t return after discontinuing the treatment, then it was likely an abscess and all would be fine! If it either doesn’t shrink OR does shrink, but comes back after discontinuing the treatment, then it was likely a tumor…….surgery was not an option because of where it was and how these types of masses typically grow. So, we did the prednisone treatment…….and the mass shrunk…….we kept up the prednisone at decreasing doses until the last week in December…….and, for about three weeks, she was her old self, again – playing and barking and enjoying life! And, then, she very rapidly began to relapse…….she was not doing well, at all……and then the bulging in the eye returned! Options were to try another steroid or let her go in peace…….I decided that, since surgery wasn’t an option and she didn’t feel well on the steroids and that she was obviously showing signs of suffering, confusion, and of neurological symptoms, that I would not put her through any more…….so, on January 31st, she very peacefully, in my loving arms, went to be with her best friend, Katie. And, my heart is broken……..but forever stamped lovingly with Amy’s paw prints!
RIP, My sweet Miss Amy!!!
Amy kissing on her best friend, Katie!
So, now there is one…….Miss Megan!!! May we have many years and many adventures to share together…..and may she leave many more paw prints on my heart!!!
Saturday Snow Shots
I thought I’d take a quiet drive through Mount Albion Cemetery this afternoon to see the snow covered monuments. It is always so peaceful and beautiful there – no matter what the season. I even saw one lone walker there, today, even though it was barely 30 degrees, a little dark and dreary, and the roads through the cemetery were a little slick in places – that is a dedicated walker, for sure.
January has been a crappy month for me — I’ve been ill most of the month – in and out of the ER and hospital for procedures – but, hopefully, that is all past me now after last night’s procedure – fingers crossed! So, time spent with family this morning and a leisurely drive to snap some photos was just what I needed!!!
And, then……on the way back from the cemetery, I noticed how lonely the Tastee Freeze looked all closed up with the parking lot coated in snow! I think they should stay open all year round….just cause it is cold outside doesn’t mean people don’t want ice cream! I can honestly say that a nice dish of soft serve frozen custard would feel pretty good on my throat that was left pretty raw from airway tubes during anesthesia yesterday! But…..I understand the economics of running a seasonal business – not very profitable to keep open when the majority of people would typically drive right by during the “off” season!
Have a wonderful day……stay warm!!!
2014 Blog Review
In just a few short hours, another year will close and a new year will open and breathe new life into us…..bringing with it new adventures, experiences, and memories to blog about. But, before I begin to write about all the exciting topics I know 2015 will inspire me to write about, I thought I might take a look back at what I wrote about in 2014.
It was an active blog year — 73 posts, including this one, which, technically, should be counted as one of the topics I wrote about in 2014. As I skimmed through the year’s blog posts, I discovered something that made me stop and think……I really got into going out and deliberately looking for things to take photos of – mainly because of the Sunday Stills Challenge I participated in and the Wordless Wednesday posts I challenged myself to do. In doing those posts, I found that I really enjoy taking photos and working on making my composition and framing better – just because I use my iPhone to take the pictures doesn’t mean they can’t be GOOD photos!!! Well, about mid year, I stopped both types of posts…..the SS Challenge because the host of that blog ran into technical problems and stopped hosting it for a while and I never started back up when he did……the Wordless Wednesday posts because I tried to make it a challenge other bloggers might join in on, but that made it too “forced” and took all the fun out of it. Regardless of my reasons, I stopped and so did the joy I got from going out and looking for reasons to take photos! So…..I think I am going to get back into that in 2015 – maybe not so structured in an every week sense, but definitely more often and definitely just because “I” want to do it – if I particularly like the Sunday Stills topic, I’ll do that one……if I’m out and about on a Wednesday, you may see a Wordless Wednesday……and, I think I just might put my own spin on a concept I like on a friend’s blog – his is “Nilly Willy Friday” – think mine might be “Mismatched Monday” – the point is to post a few photos that have nothing in common except that they were all taken on the same day by me! We’ll see how it goes and what I might bring you all to enjoy!!!
So……back to my blog review – click on any of the blog titles to go read the posts:
- Like I said earlier: I wrote 72 posts before this last one, making the grand total for 2014 to be 73!
- My most active months were February (10 posts) and August (12 posts)
- I wrote seven (7) movie reviews – 2 were given a B+ rating, 2 were rated A-, and one received a solid A…..but only 2 were given the coveted A+ rating:
- I wrote about several great day adventures in, around, and within a fairly short drive from Albion. I also went on three major adventures / vacations – 1 inside the New York state borders (barely) and 2 out of state……one of which I was surprised to discover I didn’t actually write about!!!
- Sanford, NC – no post….WTH!!!???
- Hammondsport and Corning, New York – my favorite major adventure
- Lancaster, PA
- Here are my favorite posts for each month of 2014 (click on the post count to read all the posts written for that month):
- January (9 posts) – my favorite was:
- February (10 posts) – my favorite was:
- March (8 posts) – my favorite was:
- April (6 posts) – my favorite was:
- May (6 posts) – my favorite was:
- June (1 post) – my favorite was:
- July (3 posts) – my favorite was:
- August (12 posts) – my most active month had TWO favorites:
- September (7 posts) – my favorite was:
- October (5 posts) – my favorite was:
- November (5 posts) – my favorite was:
- December……well, this is the only post I wrote this month, so let’s just leave December be!
- My favorite “discovery” was:
My overall favorite post to write was:
DRUM ROLL, PLEASE…….
FUN WITH A TUGBOAT CAPTAIN
Some of my very favorite photos of the year:
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
Visit me throughout 2015 to check out my thoughts!
Dragons In Our Midst…..
So, you know how much I love finding unusual things! Well, about a month ago, some friends took me to the Lumber Yard Restaurant in Perry for my birthday lunch. On the way, I spotted one of the coolest unusual things I’ve seen in a long time! I thought I missed out on the chance to get a closer look, but, luckily, we took the same route going back and I watched for it……and there it was, again! We stopped and I snapped some photos, but wasn’t able to find out any information on it. Without the details on what it was and why it was there, it was just a cool photograph……not an interesting treasure that was discovered! So…….ever since then, I have been trying to find a good time to see if I could find it, again, and gather some information about it. But, you see, I wasn’t driving and I had very little to go on to figure out exactly (or even approximately) where it was located!!!
So, today was “Adventure” day! I took off to see if I could find my wonderful discovery and, hopefully, gather some information about it! To find it, I had to put several pieces of a puzzle together…….first, I knew that we headed south out of Clarendon on Rt. 237 through Byron…….second, I knew that we connected with Rt. 63 somewhere around Pavilion……and, third, I knew that we barely left a sweet little gift shop in downtown Pavilion when we came upon it on the return trip that day. So, I thought that it was on Rt. 63 just a couple miles north of downtown Pavilion. I found out I was wrong, but not that far off!
I took Rt. 237 south out of Holley, through Clarendon and Byron. Then, I came up on a sign that marked the end of Rt. 237……I was sure (sort of) that we didn’t make any other turns off that road before we got to Rt. 63, so I took a leap of faith and kept going on the road that was no longer technically Rt. 237. I went through Stafford and just after I saw a sign for Bethany, there it was……..my destination…….my unusual treasure discovery!!!
A humongous DRAGON!!!
Yes, I said dragon……and I said humongous!!! But, wait……all you dragon slayer wanna-be’s……this is not the fire breathing, princess guarding type of dragon! No, this is an amazing work of art! Luckily, there were cars in the business that the dragon resides at, so I pulled in and went inside. I was greeted by a nice gentleman named Tom Stringham, who told me that he was, in fact, the artist that made the sculpture about 15 years ago – just for something to do! It had been in the garage for years until his employees convinced him to put it out in front of his business for the world to see……and for me to eventually find and write about! hehehe
So, where, exactly, can someone else find this gorgeous creature? It is located in front of Tom’s business – Emerald Models – on the east side of Transit Road right where Pavilion and East Bethany meet. I’m not sure how much further south Rt. 63 is from there, but it can’t be too far.
And, here he is…….Tom said he is made out of steel and that he hopes someday to put a tail on him, but since it has been about 15 years since he made it, that is probably not gonna happen any time soon! I asked if he had a name and Tom said, no……..personally, I think Rusty would be a cute name for him – appropriate, yet not too menacing sounding! Isn’t he fabulous? Just look at those wings — incredible — and, of course, the photo doesn’t do it justice – you really have to see it in person to fully appreciate it!!!
BRAVO, TOM!!!
Great job!!! LOVE IT!!!
Oh, and on the way home, I started thinking and got real curious about Tom’s business – Emerald Models – so I Googled them and found a very cool business! Click here to check out their website – be sure to click on the Gallery tab and see some examples of their work. From what I can tell from their website, they take an artist’s concept that is too big to manage in a limited space and fabricate it into reality – “enabling artists to create without boundaries”! They work with all kinds of clients from individual artists to large R&D departments of major companies. Their work can be found all over the world! I wish I had known this before I went there – I would have loved to talk more to Tom about it and maybe con him into a tour and interview!!! AND…..the dragon sculpture perfectly reflects the purpose of the business!!! How cool is that???
It was a great discovery……and adventure!!!
Farewell, my beautiful redhead!
I lost a cherished friend and companion last night……my sweet and beautiful Katie passed away! She lived a good life and was pampered and spoiled to the very end…..but, the knowledge of that doesn’t do much to ease my broken heart!
Click here to read Katie’s Story – a blog post I wrote for her 7th birthday!
Rest In Peace, my gorgeous girl…….
Katie Elizabeth Pritt
April 14, 2004 – November 11, 2014
10 years, 7 months
Fun with a Tugboat Captain
I had an amazing experience over the last couple of days! I also write a blog for the Albion High School Alumni Foundation, which includes interviews with alumni who have an interesting story or career to share with other alumni. I contacted David Starkweather from the class of 1985 to talk to him about his career as a Tugboat Captain on the Erie Canal. He is the Captain of the DeWitt Clinton – the oldest working tugboat on the canal. What started out as a quick interview and a few photos quickly turned into one of the most interesting and fun conversations I’ve had in a long time and 175 photos over two days!!! Of course, if you’ve read this blog at all, you know I love the canal and find everything I can learn about it to be absolutely fascinating…..so, you’re probably thinking: “duh!!! Did she really think she’d ask a couple questions, take a couple photos, and move on???” 🙂 He invited me on the tug to sit and talk to him in the galley – I would have loved to have my picture taken at the wheel, but I was too chicken to climb up into that room……I kick myself now for letting my fear of heights and ladders to stop me and for not just sucking it up and making myself get up in there – maybe I’ll have another chance, someday – now that I have a new friend who is a Tugboat Captain! hehehehe
So, here are just a few of the photos and a little about what I learned. To read more about David, specifically, you can go to this link: “Where are they now? – David Starkweather“.
This photo is of Captain David Starkweather on the Dewitt Clinton – the oldest working tug on the canal. This vessel was built about 1925 and commissioned in 1926.
So, what does a Tugboat Captain do? When most people think of the canal, they think about it being a part of NY State’s history and a great place to take a boat ride. Most people don’t have a clue what it takes to keep the canal open and available for those boat rides – I know I didn’t. In the early days, it was a major waterway for commerce – an important path for goods to be transported from the Atlantic Ocean inland to the Great Lakes and beyond. Barges and tugboats were a common sight hauling materials and equipment along Governor DeWitt Clinton’s dream. Today, most people forget that these vessels are still essential to the maintenance and life of the canal. Today, tugboats, like the DeWitt Clinton, and Tenders move anything that doesn’t have an engine – barges loaded with materials and supplies needed to maintain the canal system and equipment, such as cranes, G4s (“gradalls” – essentially an excavator), among other equipment that is used to dredge, do tree work, literally anything that can’t be done by the ground crews. The difference between a tug and a tender is simply the size and engine – tugs are bigger and more powerful – and a tug has living quarters on it, but a tender does not.
David has been Captain of the DeWitt Clinton since about 2005 and he takes great pride in his job and his tug – tours, hosting photo shoots, and appearing in festivals and shows all help him show it off!
She’s in great shape for being close to 90 years old, isn’t she? Because of her age, she had some unique quirks that the newer vessels don’t have, but it is still amazing that this vessel is still going strong and working hard every day!
Home port for the DeWitt Clinton is Albion, NY. Once the last run of the season is complete in the next few days, the DeWitt Clinton will be docked for the winter between the Main St and Ingersoll St bridges on the north bank of the canal, along with several other vessels – tugs, tenders, barges, and equipment – that will rest on the bottom of the canal after it is drained for the winter. I always thought that they just sat there during the winter – I know whenever I go by, they look so lonely in the frozen remains of the drained canal. But, that is definitely not the case! David, the other captains, and all their crews are hard at work all winter overhauling each vessel to ensure each and every moving part is inspected, repaired, or replaced, as needed, the floors are all redone, and everything is in tip-top shape for the next season! They also spend the winter making new braided rope bumpers — check out the bumpers on the photos and whenever you see a tug or tender up close – they are a work of art and the crews make them by hand!
These vessels are tenders — much smaller than a tug, but just as important to the canal system!
This is a barge docked in Albion awaiting the end of the season.
These two photos are of a crane that is also currently docked in Albion for the winter. In the second photo, the bucket on the crane is hanging over the barge that is docked in front of it.
I believe these are tugs – at least one of them will move on to Lockport for the winter before the season ends in a few weeks.
Front shot of the two tugs in the last photo.
I interviewed David and took all of the previous photos on Thursday afternoon. Then, David told me he was making a run to Hulberton on Friday and would be returning with a G4 (Gradall equipment – essentially an excavator) to dock it in Albion for the winter. We agreed that he would let me know when I could catch him for photos of him in process of moving the equipment and passing under a bridge or two. I ended up having so much fun watching him do his job…….waiting for him to get to each bridge, rushing to the next one to catch him in different locations, and finally watching him dock the G4 and his tug in Albion! It was all so fascinating and exciting! It was rainy and snowy and cold and windy, but I didn’t care — I was having the time of my life!!!
Here are the shots I got of him tugging along the canal:
This is the Transit Road bridge – a one lane stationary bridge – looking west towards Albion.
Transit Road bridge looking south
Here comes the DeWitt Clinton from the east approaching the Transit Rd bridge
Tugs travel at an average speed of 5 mph when pushing a load such as this G4
Passing under the Transit Rd bridge
And coming out the other side
And on they go down the canal!
There were a couple other bridges before this one, but I decided to wait for them at the Brown St bridge
It took them about 1/2 hour to travel from Transit Rd to Brown Rd
North side of the Brown St bridge with the old St. Mary’s Catholic Church steeple just beyond the end of the bridge
The Brown St bridge is also a single lane stationary bridge – it is currently closed because of needed repairs
Pretty shot of the snow coming down and the haze in the distance facing west along the canal
And, finally, here they are passing under the Brown St bridge
Clearing the Brown St bridge
And off they go…..next bridge: Ingersoll St
The Ingersoll St bridge is a lift bridge – notice the red lights hanging from the bottom of the deck indicating it isn’t safe for boats to pass under unless they are below a certain height. When a boat notifies canal personnel that they are approaching a lift bridge, the lift bridge operator arrives at that bridge in time to stop traffic and lift the bridge for the boat to pass.
Traffic is stopped and the bridge is lifting
Bridge not yet fully lifted – lights are still red
Bridge fully lifted – see the center light is green, indicating boats may now pass through
There is the DeWitt Clinton and her load passing under the Ingersoll St bridge
The crew is out preparing to dock just ahead
Clearing the bridge as the snow starts to fall, again……they will dock between here and the Main St bridge just one block away
Passing through the canal behind Bank St in downtown Albion
The next few photos show the docking procedure…..it was incredibly fascinating to watch them literally parallel park this humongous floating piece of equipment by pushing it into place in a spot barely bigger than the vessel itself! The crew (Roy, Russ and Tim on the G4 and Steve and Steve with David on the tug) were all out on the decks watching all the edges and corners and yelling directions to the Captain to help guide him into place without hitting the bank of the canal or the other vessels he was maneuvering around! I was extremely impressed!!!
All snug into place — fitting like a butt on a night pot, as my Mom used to say!
…..and with barely a few feet from the tugs docked in front of it…..
…..and the barge behind it!
Job well done, guys — now, to go dock the DeWitt Clinton!
Coming in to the spot designated for the DeWitt Clinton
Getting into position
Ready to lasso the tie bars
And, tying her down to secure her for the night!
The line up of tugs, tenders, barges, and equipment along the bank of the canal between Ingersoll and Main streets – all ready for the season to end!
David and the DeWitt Clinton will make one more trip before securing her in her spot between the Main St and Ingersoll St bridges in Albion for the winter. Soon, the canal will be drained and all the vessels docked along the canal will rest on the bottom – enjoying a much deserved overhaul – until next spring when the canal will be refilled and their work will begin, again! And, David will once again take the wheel for his 5 mph races up and down the canal moving equipment and materials wherever it is needed!
What an amazing experience this was — a true adventure full of fun and excitement and education! I will not forget this day and hope to have more chances to pay more attention to the incredible work that is done on the canal each and every day throughout the year!
Kim's Thoughts 
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