Saturday, September 26, 2009

Lyons, NY


Another day on the water, this time from the launch at Abbey Park in Lyons, NY. Instead of tracking the Erie Canal this time we explored the Clyde River, just north of the canal. Located in midway between Rochester and Syracuse, driving through the village of Lyons is like stepping back in time. I wish I had more time to linger but the forecast had called for afternoon rain so we had to hurry.

This is the fifth launch site we have tried on the Erie Canal (Pittsford, Fairport, Palmyra, Newark and Lyons). While they are all very enjoyable, I believe Widewaters is still our favorite. The launch here at Abbey Park is located between Lock 27 and 28A with about a mile of canal in between, rather a short distance. I wanted to come here to check out the peculiar shape of the canal. Not sure why it is like that...maybe it's made so that large boats can get out of the traffic between the two locks.

The winding Clyde River was quite interesting. With many large trees fallen in the river making it less navigable for larger boats, we saw no other boat traffic during our 4-hour excursion. As the wind picked up in the early afternoon we turned around and headed back to the launch. The river is mostly calm with current only in isolated spots, rather strange. Fall has made its presence known here. As we paddled through the rustic countryside autumn leaves fell around us and are taken up by the current. With the Erie Canal book in hand, I too felt inspired by the early explorers that sailed through this part of Western New York.

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