Day 74:Born in the USA, "Low Bridge - Everybody Down"

Day 74:  Monday August 18th, 2014.
Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada to Rochester, NY, USA.  92.7 miles.

I used the deck outside of the hostel to gear up in the morning before leaving.  The covered picnic table was a popular spot for meeting other travelers and conversation during my stay.

My morning started out following the river along the Canadian side for several miles on my way to Queenston before crossing the border back into the U.S.  Along the way, I passed through beautiful parks, by a golf course, a butterfly exhibit, bird atrium, and a cable tramway that suspends tourists out over the gorge.

Getting close to the border crossing, I passed a large hydroelectric generating station.

The infrastructure of this power plant in the gorge was impressive.

From the power plant, I could see the bridge, my path back to the U.S.

As I made my way onto the bridge, there were several solid lines of cars all the way across to the U.S. Customs checkpoint.  On my bicycle, I rode by all of them to the front of the line.  It was awesome.

I then pedaled for about 20 miles, passing through the Tuscarora Indian Reservation to the town of Lockport.  Looking ahead on my map, upcoming towns included Gasport, Middleport, Brockport, and Spencerport.  "What's with all these "port" towns?", I wondered.  Then, It became clear.  In Lockport, I crossed over the Erie Canal at the site of a lock.  I then immediately turned right, riding through town parallel to the canal.

In the same block, a really impressive display of sidewalk chalk art.

I had to carefully navigate around these art pieces on the ground.

I then descended down a path alongside the lock infrastructure.  Right on the lock, I found the Erie Canal Museum.

I stopped in for a few minutes to examine the old machinery, photographs, and stories on display.  The canal digging began in 1817 and was completed in 1825.

Since construction was first completed, several widening and deepening projects have enlarged the canal.  Still fully functional and in-use today, most of the navigation along it's waters is in the form of recreation.

But, for a time, it was the most important of America's inland waterways, facilitating the opening of the American frontier and providing a route for tens of thousands of homesteaders and immigrants.  Numerous settlements and towns popped up alongside the canal, and a connection was made for commerce between the Hudson Valley and the Midwest.  It's opening transformed New York into the Empire State, and helped the nation achieve its economic superpower status.

By the 1960's, modern modes of commercial transportation via trucks, trains, and larger barges too big for the canal, and the St. Lawrence Seaway transportation corridor, meant that the Erie Canal lost it's economic viability as a commercial transportation route.

The canal connects New York City to Lake Ontario and Lake Erie.  From New York City, one could take a boat up the Hudson River to Albany.  At Albany, the Erie Canal begins and extends all the way to Lake Erie at Buffalo.  Along the way, it connects with the Oswego River that flows into Lake Ontario.

Back outside, I examined the lock at Lockport and learned about how it works.  The side channel in the photo below is to allow for water release from the canal upstream of the lock.

My route would take me along the Erie Canal Trail, a bike path running alongside the canal for almost 100 miles.  Starting out on this trail, just 100 yards or so from my starting point, I was able to look back and see the big steel doors of the lock that boats would pass through on the left.

Looking ahead, the scene was beautiful.  A fisherman was trying his luck in the canal while relaxing on the grassy margin.  A forest of trees on the right descended down a hill to the edge of the canal.  And, on the left, a park-like setting.

Eventually the trail transitioned from paved to crushed limestone/dirt.  There were lots of people out taking advantage of the great weather, walking, riding bikes, some pulled by their dogs, and lots of fishermen.

The occasional small town along the canal, steeped in rich history, and developed as a result of the canal, offered a glimpse into the past during the heyday.  In Middleport, the old buildings on main street were well-preserved.

Occasionally I found large gates spanning across the canal, presumably used to control the flow of water.  At least one was always raised up well above the water surface to allow boats to pass underneath.

I stopped at Medina, another canal-side town, for lunch.  A bustling port along the canal through much of the 19th century, Medina developed a reputation for apple production.  Wooden barrels of apples were brought into Medina from the surrounding orchards and loaded onto barges to be sent via the canal to market.

Just outside of town along the canal trail, a big reminder of Medinas current and past reputation as an apple-growing region.  Another cyclist stopped to get a photo of the large red delicious using his bicycle for scale.  So, I took advantage of the opportunity as well.

It wasn't much further and the landscape was dominated by apple orchards.  Corn and soybean could still be spotted here and there, but orchards of apples, peaches, and plums were common.

I stopped a nice couple walking on the trail and asked them to take a photo of me next to the Erie Canal.  The weather was spectacular, and I made good time on the trail all the way into Rochester.

In Rochester, there were several people out on the canal and connected Genessee River in kayaks , canoes, and motor boats, soaking up the sun.

I made my way to AJ's house, a WarmShowers.org host, in the Southern outskirts of the city of Rochester.  AJ was very welcoming and he opened up his recently-acquired home to me, providing a guest bed, shower, and storage of my bike in his garage.  I was his first cycling guest, which I thought was neat.  His dog, Faith, is a total sweetheart.

I was glad to have a bed for the night after a long day of riding.