canal days

These past two Saturdays, we enjoyed life on the Erie Canal. The first Saturday, we joined  a few other senior missionary couples for a cruise on the 1800's packet boat replica, called the "Sam Patch".

Packet boats were built long and narrow to accommodate the constricted dimensions of the early canal.  "Sam Patch" is named for the colorful daredevil who jumped Rochester's Genesee Falls in Nov. of 1829.  Although Patch had twice jumped Niagara Falls and survived, he failed to surface after leaping 97 ft. to the base of the Genesee Falls.  His body was recovered at the mouth of the Genesee River the following spring.

At Lock 32, (locks along the canal are necessary to compensate for the change in elevation from sea level at Albany to over 600 ft at Buffalo), we passed through massive 40 ton gates to enter the lock chamber from the low water side.

 Once inside the lock, the lower gates close and the chamber fills with 3 million gallons of water, raising the boat 25 feet. 

 

Then the upper gates open, and we continue the cruise. We turn around and re-enter the lock, ending up at the starting point, Schoen Place, in the historic village of Pittsford, which retains much of its original charm and character.

 

 

The following Saturday found us again on the Erie Canal, joining members of our Brockport ward Church group for the annual 43 mile  Bicycle Trek along the canal path way, which is  protected from any car traffic.

We started off in Spencerport (you can see the canal in this picture) and hoped that the old bikes we found in the garage of the mission home, would make it. We didn't know how we'd make it either -- it was sheer grit and determination and our love for a challenge. You might say we are just a pair of old fools.  

 

We couldn't have made it without the help of our support crew, who met us at designated rest stops, supplying us with snacks, drinks, lunch and a hot dog roast at the finish. They cheered us on as we made it up the last few killer hills leading up to our final destination, the Hill Cumorah, in Palmyra.

Brother Donoghue was one of our happy support crew. (Happy to be in a car)

 

Here we are, at the final rest stop before the hardest part of the trek -- the final very hilly 10 mile stretch to the Hill Cumorah.  We had started out at 8:30 a.m. and it was now  2:00 p.m.  We were all so tired, but somehow got that final burst of adrenalin needed to make it to the end.

 

It was one of the most physically demanding things I'd ever done, but I was determined to ride it the entire way. I had to keep chanting, "I can do hard things", while another part of me said, " You are crazy to be doing this!".

 

Luckily, Carl had traded bikes with me midway through the trek, otherwise I would have never made it. Here he is with my girl's bike, which had clunky gears and a slightly wobbly front tire.  In spite of that handicap, my "iron man" conquered those final hills with amazing speed, coming in first at the Hill Cumorah.

 

 

Here I am, minutes after finishing.  It took two people to help me off the bike.  I was so relieved and shocked to have finished a 43 mile bike ride. (Longest I'd ever been on a bike) The girl with the bandaged arms bit the dust early. Going down a very steep incline along the canal, she took a terrible spill and was lucky to have sustained only some severe road rash.  Other than that, we all made it safely and were amazingly able to walk into church the next morning.

 

So grateful to have spent the last two Saturdays enjoying travels upon and along the Canal!

Since we have been on this mission, we've learned of the important role the Erie Canal has played in the Restoration of the Gospel.  There is no way the first 5,000 copies of the Book of Mormon could have been printed without this great waterway enabling the largest and newest state-of-the-art printing press to be transported from New York City to Palmyra.  The vast amounts of paper needed to print such a large order was also shipped to the printing shop in Palmyra via the canal.  Early church missionaries, such as Parley P. Pratt, and many of the early church members, used the canal as a vital means of transportation.