Category: Erie Canal

Recount: To Relate in Detail; Narrate

Many, O LORD my God,
are the wonders you have done.
The things you planned for us
no one can recount to you;
were I to speak and tell of them,
they would be too many to declare. 
(Psalm 40:5 NIV)


As I put together a page recounting our recent adventures on the Erie Canal, I thought about how wonderful it is to relate in detail God’s faithfulness. To write down God’s blessings, to speak grace to one another, to retell the story of Calvary, these are just a few ways to recount God’s wonderful deeds in our life. To read the narratives of Moses, David and Daniel or to immerse ourselves in the account of the gospels, these, too are ways to reflect upon the goodness of God. 

If you didn’t get a chance to read about our adventures or want to find them all in one place, now you can by clicking on the header or here.
Where do you see God at work, 
 accomplishing wonderful 
things these days?
Posted on by kelrohlf 2

Count: To Rely or Depend on Someone or Something {Intuition Diaries}

Teach us to number our days aright,
that we may gain a heart of wisdom. 
(Psalm 90:12 NIV)

Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.”
(Exodus 33:15 NIV)




10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 . . . 1! We made it! We finished the Erie Canal today. We officially locked through forty-one locks, 34 on the canal itself and 3 twice on the Cayuga-Seneca canal and the first one out of Buffalo, the Black Rock Lock.

What an adventure we’ve had together. Truly we sensed God’s presence each day through His marvelous creation, the ingenuity of the locks and His tender care of providing food, docks, laundry, showers, companions along the way and even some interesting challenges.

Over the past two days we planned to go through Locks 10 through 2 and spend a couple days in Waterford. But the Tugboat Roundup is scheduled this weekend, so we weren’t able to stay on the wall both Wednesday and Thursday night. We regrouped and found a marina near Albany, which really ends up being very convenient to catch the train back to Buffalo, get the truck and trailer and then on Friday morning take the boat out of the water. Then we head to visit my sister in New Jersey and then home.

The last days of a journey are bittersweet. The last couple of days I felt like saying good-bye to each lock, enjoying the majesty of the doors opening and closing, the soothing fountain effect while the “tub” filled with water and the scenic waterways always opening up before us. 

Our last night on the canal (really the Mohawk River) was behind the south wall of Lock 7. The lock master at Lock 8 questioned our choice, because “there’s really nothing to do there, but you will have peace and quiet.” We tied off to the wall arriving around dinner time. We went over and met the friendliest lock master yet. A young man following in his father’s footsteps. His father had been a lock master for thirty years. We talked with him, while a sailboat locked up. They were going to stay on the wall, too. So much for a remote place. 

We shared our boating stories. They had been cruising and and sailing since the end of May, having left from Toronto, their hometown and were circling around down from Canada, Maine and now the across the Erie Canal up to Oswego and back across Lake Ontario to Toronto. They were traveling with their 13 yr old daughter, their dog and their cat. 

In the morning, I went for a run. I had wanted to do a 5K run one of the weekends we were out, if we happened to be in a town hosting one. Never did find one, so I made my own today along the Erie Canalway Bike Trail. (The trail follows fairly close along the route we took; it’s another fun way to see the canal.) We headed out to go through Lock 7 and then to the “Flight of Five” in Waterford, where five locks are within a half mile of the next one. It was a great way to end this trip. At the beginning of the day, we thought we wouldn’t get to see the Hudson River or do the last lock, but as I said, we decided Albany was the better place to take out, so this is where we say “bye” to this journey.

Until the next time. 

Photos of the last several locks and highlights along the way:

Lock 10

Dam next to Lock 9

Lock 8


Sunset at Lock 7
Moored with our new neighbors from Toronto behind Lock 7 wall
Good-bye, Lock 7!

Lock 6, first in the Flight of Five

Lock 5

Lock 4

Lock 3

Leaving Lock 3

Leaving Lock 2, looking out into Waterford

Lock 1

Good-bye Erie Canal!

Posted on by kelrohlf 4

Tend: To Stand By (As a Rope) in Readiness to Prevent Mischance {Intuition Diaries}

I myself will tend my sheep and cause them to lie down in peace, says the Sovereign LORD.
(Ezekiel 34:15 NLT)

Ropes secure our boat to the dock. We hold onto ropes to keep our boat from banging into the lock walls. Ropes tend to keep us out of mischance, except for that time when someone untied our ropes earlier in the trip. (Since that incident, Les bought some cable and a lock to deter any more mischief.)

Tied up securely in Little Falls

Yesterday, we made our way though seven locks, including Lock 17, which is the tallest lock on the canal, a forty foot drop. (Most of the other locks range between 8-20 feet deep.) Quite a massive piece of engineering, the downstream “gate” comes down like a guillotine rather than opening like doors.

Waiting at the top of Lock 17
Going down

Downstream gate opens

Leaving Lock 17
A catamaran entering to lock up


We left Lock 17, with six more locks to pass through to get to Amsterdam. After Lock 16, we took my bike off the boat at a tall wall below the lock. It was quite the feat since Les had to stand on the side of the boat, lift both bikes off and not get knocked into the wall or on the head with a bike. (Which unfortunately, I was not able to prevent, but at least it was a tire and not the frame of the bike.) We parted ways and met seven miles down the canal at Lock 15. It was an beautiful bike path, wooded with yellow wildflowers and cattails and wild sumac and rain puddles and the cidery scents of autumn in the air.


Les leaving the Lock 16 wall, after heaving my bike ashore,
and putting his bike back on the rack.

We haven’t mentioned much about the lock masters; they are the shepherds of the locks. I noticed yesterday one young man washing down the guard hut, another cleaning the windows and yet another staining a split rail fence. Also a couple of the locks had damage from flooding, so we noted the reconstruction of the grounds and other revamping. Each lock master has his own personality; we’ve only met one female lock master so far. They comment on our boat or let us know that they will tell the next lock we are on our way. Their attention gives us a sense of peace and human kindness along the way.

This section of the canal merges with the Mohawk River and meanders through the Mohawk Valley. The scenes along the river were serene and spectacular.

The pastoral setting reinforced how God speaks quiet delight over us each day, whether on vacation or attending to our daily routines.

I leave you with some more pictures of the day.

Caught this tender moment while waiting for Lock 17,
 a lock master saying good-bye to his girl
Moss growing on the cliff

Lock 15

A house down by the river, looked abandoned. 
The remains of another aqueduct that used to
carry the canal across the Mohawk River

The dam next to Lock 12
In Lock 12 above the Mohawk River
An eagle soaring over the river

We finished our day locking through Lock 11 just above the town of Amsterdam, where we docked at the riverside park, just us and our Intuition. A cold front was moving in, but we had time to grill some hot dogs and beans for dinner, wash down the boat, and start some laundry. We weathered the storm inside the laundry/bathhouse, each of us sitting in folding chairs reading a book. Once the rain slowed down, we ran our dry laundry back to the boat, settled in for the night to the sound of the trains blaring their horn and rumbling down the tracks every hour or so. We both put in our earplugs and slept pretty well.







Posted on by kelrohlf 4

Hold: To Maintain a Grasp on Something {Intuition Diaries}

But you are to hold fast to the LORD your God, 
as you have until now. 
(Joshua 23:8 NIV)





Oftentimes on a journey, we don’t know what the next moment holds.

Little plants growing in the lock wall

On this journey, we have been going through several locks and each time we enter, I sit on the front of the boat, while Les drives us slowly next to the wall. I have a long hook that I grab a rope with and then I hold on while Les backs the boat in place to grab his rope. Then we both grip our ropes until the water drains or fills. Most of this trip has been locking down, but a couple time we go up to get to the water level of a lake or connecting river.

A lock being filled up makes this soothing fountain effect.

On Saturday, where our anchor held us securely near the beach, Les took the time to wash off the sides of the boat, while I walked the beach. After that we took the boat around the bend to the canal wall to tie up for a few hours. I wanted to ride the roller coaster at the old amusement park.
Boats moored along the wall for the day at Sylvan Beach


We ate lunch at Pizza King. Pizza for Les, a sub for me, and some hot wings Buffalo style for us to share. At the amusement park, bought tickets for each ride. We eased into the excitement with a ride on a carousel that had been there since 1896. 


Then we found the Himalayan. This ride was supposed to simulate skiing, I guess. We were the only ones on each ride. We laughed so hard on the Himalayan, holding onto the safety bar keeping us in. The ride made me a bit nauseous, so we walked to a shaded area to watch the roller coaster. 

The Himalayan

Self-portrait after riding the Himalayan

I finally got my courage up and we boarded the coaster. It really was a very tame one, with two drops that were probably half of any regular roller coaster. The best part was being up on top looking down at all the boats gathered at the beach. Again Les and I were the only passengers on the ride. We each had our own car. That way I could scream as loud as I wanted, which I did. We ended our afternoon with ice cream, since the fried dough or funnel cake machine wasn’t working. 



We cruised for about five miles and went up two locks. That night we decided to just tie up below the lock on the wall. It was a very quiet uneventful night, except for the light outside our boat that shone in my eyes through the hatch every time I rolled over.

Today, we woke up and decided Les would ride his bike and I would drive the boat again. It was a wonderful morning to enjoy the quiet and beauty of God’s creation. We joined up at Lock 20, got ourselves situated. We ate our lunch (taco salad) while we cruised to Lock 19.

Les’ path took him along the original  Erie Canal

My view from the helm 


When we arrived three or four boats that had passed me during the morning were moored on the wall. We were shortly informed that the lock was having trouble closing the western doors. We chatted with the other boaters, comparing boats and stories of why we each were there and where we were headed. After about 2 hours, they were able to get the doors closed and fill the lock with water to let us through. All five boats fit in the lock.

If you look closely, you can see only
one side of the gate
 was able to open, when we exited.


We each held our place, then one by one emptied from the lock like a mini parade. We had one more lock to get through before 6pm. We got to Lock 18 by 5pm. The lock master told us that the next lock was having problems as well, which we will have to face tomorrow because we were done for the day. We found a spot at the Little Falls wall to spend the night. 

You never know what a day may hold.
Posted on by kelrohlf 2

Experience: The Act of Directly Perceiving Reality {Intuition Diaries}

Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.
(Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV)



Our anchor still holds.
Experience tells us that we can trust certain things to be true. After the sunset at Sylvan Beach, we decided to stay anchored to the sandy bottom of the lake, while the other boats, one by one left for their home ports. We heard thunder and saw the lightening in the distant sky, yet we decided to weather the storm while anchored out. 

I went to bed uneasy about the anchor. Would it keep us in our spot? Even though experience has proven over and over that being moored to an anchor is safe. (We also have an anchor alarm, if we do start to drift.) But neither experience nor the alarm kept me from waking in the middle of the night wondering if we had drifted out to the middle of the lake or inched toward the shore.
The storm passed us by, leaving a gentle rain pattering on our boat off and on all night. In the morning, we woke up in the spot, which we anchored at the night before. Experience proved true. 

I would think by know I would trust the anchor, but each time I have to experience its security before I praise its abilities.

Not unlike my trust relationship with God. I know He is good, faithful, loving, just and holy—but I have to experience His goodness, faithfulness, love, etc to affirm my faith over and over again. And each time that I trust and acknowledge Him, my faith deepens and His character remains trustworthy.

Experience secures my heart to the LORD, whom I trust.
Posted on by kelrohlf 1