Trip Day:
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103
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Latitude:
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43°02.09 '
N
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Locks Today:
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5
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Miles Today:
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32
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Longitude:
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074°51.93' W
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Locks Total:
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25
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Total Miles:
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2,033
|
Location:
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Little Falls, NY
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As we had breakfast this morning we discussed the amazing fact that we have travelled over 2,000 miles on our boat. Going home, seeing friends, spending time with our family, living our old life for a week has reinforced that after several years of planning, we are actually doing this trip!
With temperatures in the eighties today and a nice breeze we got an early start and hit lock 13 at 8:00 a.m. By 10:00 we had reached the town of Canajoharie and tied up at the town dock to go ashore and check out the Arkell Museum and American Art Gallery. Arkell was the founder of Beech-Nut and the early marketing campaigns for Beech-Nut products mentioned Canajoharie by name and the marketing artwork was based on paintings of the Mohawk Valley.
Arkell was an avid art collector and wanted to bring European art to the common people. In the early 1900s he commissioned replicas of famous paintings including a full-scale replica of Rembrandt’s Night Watch which hangs in this gallery. The original art collection included oil portraits of George and Martha Washington by Gilbert Stuart in 1820.
The gallery is most proud of it’s Winslow Homer (1836-1910) collection including Watching the Breakers: A High Sea, 1896
Watercolor and pastels were media used by artist as drafts for oil paintings. Winslow Homer was among the first Americans to sell watercolor paintings and his work was admired by the American Impressionists. Shown is The Pumpkin Patch from 1878.
The museum and gallery were well worth the stop and the lovely grounds completed the experience. Settled in 1730 the Village of Canajoharie has a remarkably inviting historic downtown with well preserved buildings and welcoming residents.
Our final lock of the day, lock 17, was the Macdaddy lock of the Erie Canal. This lock has the highest lift of all locks at 40.5 feet and is the only lock built with a guillotine gate. As we rounded the bend approaching the lock, we hesitated with concern at the frothing water discharging from the lock.
This section of the Erie, which departs from the Mohawk River, has a section of homes that literally cantilever over the canal bank.
Tied up to the Little Falls docks for the night, we plan to walk to the farmer’s market before getting underway in the morning.
Google Map us by clicking on Location: Little Fall, NY in the footer below.
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