Alebrijes at Cantigny Park

 31 July 2022

Cantigny Park in Wheaton, Illinois, is the former estate of Col. Robert R. McCormick, longtime editor and publisher of the Chicago Tribune. The estate was named for Cantigny, a small town in France, where where Col. McCormick commanded an artillery battalion in 1918 in the U.S. Army in WWI. The 500-acre estate has extensive gardens, a golf course, a "tank park" (as in army tanks), and the First Division Museum, dedicated to the First Division of the U.S. Army. When I was growing up in Chicago, Cantigny was always pronounced "can-TIG-nee", but today the French pronunciation, "Can-TEE-nee" is preferred.

Currently, 49 sculptures are on display in the gardens. "Alebrijes: Creatures of a Dream World" showcases vividly painted creatures created by six artists from Mexico City. Nineteen of these are large "monumental" pieces, while 30 are smaller (but still large) creations. An alebrije is an imaginary creature, usually incorporating two or more animals, and is associated with the Mexican "Day of the Dead". On our trip, we managed to see all but one of the Monumentals (we didn't see the one at the golf course), and most of the smaller creatures.

Patapez. A deep-sea fish that can walk as well as swim.

Firulais. A dog + salamander, guardian of the night.

Malucan. The official description is "Toucan + Monkey + Jaguar + Frog + Eagle + Butterfly + Bull." I can see all but the monkey (the eye, maybe?)

Nochipa ipan noyoltsin. Meaning "Forever in your heart" in Nahuatl.

Octavio. The Octopus is a collaboration from all six artists, ...

... and the tentacles extend many feet from the body.

Chopilin. "Cricket" in Nahuatl. One of the small pieces.

Totolt. "Bird" in Nahuatl. I'd love to have one of these woodpeckers in my woods!

Kutz. "Peacock" in Mayan.

Alleghany Highlands Favorites

 19 July 2022

When a long-time friend (college roommate) comes to visit, it's an opportunity to visit local attractions that we haven't seen in some time.

The "LOVE" sculpture at Humpback Bridge (in the background). Local industries, railroads, and forests can be found in the in the letters. This wayside is a few miles west of Covington on US 60.

Falling Spring can be seen from US 220 a bit north of Covington. It plummets 80-some feet, making it one of the tallest free-falling waterfalls in the eastern US.

The base of the falls is covered with mist and moss.

Wildlife Babies

 It's time for young animals to emerge!

One of our trail cameras caught this black bear cub.

Our other trail cam got pictures of this doe and fawn twice, about 3 hours apart. The fawn is very young and barely able to walk.

One of the concerns about mowing a hayfield this time of year is that the tall grass is a favorite spot for does to hide their fawns while foraging. Lon spotted this young fawn as it moved away from his mower and into the neighboring forest.

Heading into the woods.

At the same location as the photo above with doe and fawn, this is quite possibly the same fawn about three weeks later.

More About the Erie Canal

A bit of background on the Erie Canal.

One look at this topographic map of New York state ("borrowed" from the Raven Maps website - please go look at their fabulous maps!) makes it clear where to build a waterway to connect New York City to the Great Lakes. The Mohawk River is the only waterway that goes completely through the Appalachians, splitting Adirondacks to the north and the Catskills and Appalachian Plateau to the south. We saw a 3-D map like this in the Visitor Center at Schoharie Crossing State Historical Site, and were stunned by the immense gap the river created.

The Erie Canal has been rebuilt twice since the original. The first canal, dubbed "Clinton's Ditch" after NY Governor DeWitt Clinton who championed the project without federal assistance, was only 40 ft wide and 4 ft deep. The Canal was such an economic success, that a larger canal was built only a few years later. By and large the "Enlarged Erie Canal" was built right next to the existing canal. At 70 feet wide and 7 feet deep, it accommodated larger boats. Finally, in the early 20th Century, a modern canal system, the "Barge Canal", was built to accommodate larger motorized boats. It is a minimum of 133 ft wide and 12 ft deep. In many places it diverges substantially from the original route, and makes use of natural waterways (rivers and lakes) where possible. This canal system is still in use today, but is now recreational, since canal freight cannot compete economically with rail and trucks. (Illlustration photographed at the Schoharie Crossing Visitor Center.)

These maps show the original route of the canal, and the current canal route. (Photographed at the Erie Canal Museum in Syracuse.)

Elevational profile of the current Barge Canal. The canal drops 571 feet from Buffalo to Albany, with a slight rise between Syracuse and Utica. (Graphic photographed at the Schoharie Crossing Visitor Center.)

Erie Canal - Little Falls to Albany

 Wednesday, 18 May 2020 - Little Falls to Amsterdam (44 miles)

It was a long day's bike ride from Little Falls through/near St. Johnsville, Fort Plain, Canajoharie, Sprakers, Fultonville, and Fonda to Amsterdam. Fortunately, it was mostly paved. I-90 (NY Thruway) was our almost-constant companion on this stretch of the trail.

We're back to following the modern Canal - this is the dam and lock at Lock 14 near Canajoharie.

We noted that horse-and-buggy were prohibited from the using the trail. Then a minute or two later we saw horse and buggy on the road paralleling the trail.

Some might call this a "gap" or a "water gap", but here this is known as "The Noses" - where the Mohawk River threads between the Adirondack Mountains and the Appalachian Plateau. No surprise that the river, the canal, the railroad, and the modern highway (I-90, NY Thruway) all follow through the same path.

The remains of the Schoharie Aqueduct. At one time this aqueduct over Schoharie Creek was the longest aqueduct on the canal - 624 ft long. There's also an excellent Vistors Center here in Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site.

The start of the Amsterdam Gateway Bridge - a pedestrian bridge over the Mohawk River at Amsterdam. The bridge pays tribute to Amsterdam's neighborhoods and history.

"Mother and Child at the Mohawk River" by Dimitar Lukanov. "This veritable symphony of life, as in a miraculous orchestra of flora and fauna native to the Mohawk River Valley, is lead by the inviting, uplifting gesture of a woman - the Mother with whom the world begins."

The pedestrian walkway.

Dam and Lock E11 near Amsterdam.

Our lodging for the night was at Amsterdam Castle. Now officially a B&B (without the second B, it must be said). The site started as an 18th Century mansion that burned down. A National Guard armory was built on the old foundation, and it was converted to a private residence in 1995, and became a B&B/boutique hotel a few years later. It was certainly a unique (and comfortable) place to stay.

The Great Hall (and restaurant/banquet room) at the Amsterdam Castle. Currently the Castle is booking functions, but does not offer breakfast or operate as a restaurant.

Thursday, 10 May 2022 - Amsterdam to Latham (29.6 miles)

Today we rode from Amsterdam to Rotterdam - and beyond. The most challenging portion of the whole trip was the route through Schenectady, where we had a substantial hill going through the General Electric research grounds.

The top of the hill in Schenectady (see sign below). Several miles of the trail go through the General Electric research campus.

This warning sign (over the trail in the photo above) is a bit alarmist. It's steep, but not that steep. A few miles ahead there was a similar warning telling all bikers to walk their bikes down a much steeper hill. We didn't walk, although we did give our brakes a workout!

We're getting close to the end! This mileage sign was where we left the trail to get to our evening's hotel - the Hampton Inn Albany Airport.

Friday, 20 May 2022 - Latham to Albany (21 miles)

We always try to have a short ride on our last day. We rode through Colonie, Cohes, Green Island, Watervliet, and Menands before getting to Albany - riding through industrial parks, main streets, and beside major highways on dedicated bike paths. Albany was somewhat confusing, but we managed to get to our rental truck without incident and drove back to Buffalo to pick up our truck at the airport.

Downtown Albany is not very far at this point!

Mileage post in Albany.

Completed! We bicycled 402 miles in 12 days.

Erie Canal - Weedsport to Little Falls

 Sunday, 15 May 2022 - Weedsport to Syracuse (35.9 miles)

We rode through the towns and villages of Jordan, Memphis, Camillus, and Solvay before getting to Syracuse. We then continued through Syracuse to get to the east side and finished our day across the canal from Green Lakes State Park. We spent the night with friends in Syracuse, so that meant our stop for the day was not limited to being within a short bike ride to lodging.

The remains of Lock E51 on the old enlarged canal near Jordan.

A snapping turtle crossing the trail - note the line left by the dragging tail.

A turtle head rising above algae in stagnant canal waters. We were surprised by how few turtles we saw.

Nine Mile Creek Aqueduct in Camillus has been restored and now holds water.

The side of Nine Mile Creek Aqueduct.

A small canal boat just beyond the Nine Mile Creek Aqueduct.

We were confused when the trail took us through the New York State Fairgrounds. At first we thought the gate was closed, but we were mistaken and found our way in. At that point it became a game to find the path through the fairgrounds. As you can see by the map, it zig-zags around buildings and through parking lots. Then it climbs to a bike/pedestrian bridge over railroad tracks and a major highway to the remote parking lots. Finally there is a nice "rest stop" overlooking Onandaga Lake before the trail descends back down to lake level.

The view from the overlook.

At the end of Onandaga Lake, the trail goes over a new bridge over railroad tracks.

The bridge ends at the Syracuse sewage treatment plant and then follows an obscure path through Syracuse on the Onandaga Creek Walk. From there it follows Water Street through downtown Syracuse where the old Erie Canal has been filled in. We stopped at the Erie Canal Museum which is well worth a visit.

Monday, 16 May 2022 - Syracuse to Rome (39.9 miles)

Picking up where we left off east of Syracuse, we rode past/through Chittenango, Canastota, Wampsville, and Durhamville on our way to Rome. In Durhamville the trail is on-road for about 2 miles. The signs were so faded that we missed one, and went about a mile before we decided that we should consult a map and see if we were still on the trail - we weren't - and had to backtrack a mile to search for the proper route.

Sometimes there are days where there just wasn't much to photograph. We also wanted to get to Rome before forecasted severe thunderstorms swept through the area in the afternoon. We managed to get to our hotel in Rome with about 10 minutes to spare!

Tuesday, 17 May 2022 - Rome to Little Falls (39.9 miles)

There are a lot of former industrial towns in the Mohawk Valley between Rome and Little Falls: Oriskany, Utica, Frankfort, Ilion, Mohawk, and Herkimer. We had a fabulous fresh-squeezed lemonade at the Melrose Supermarket in Frankfort. Wonderful!

While I've been places where it's "Shhh! Don't disturb the ospreys!", I've seen plenty of osprey nests on power poles in busy, noisy areas - like this one atop a pole near Utica along a well-traveled bike path with I-90 (NY Thruway) just off to the left and the modern Erie Canal on the right. 

A closer look at the osprey nest.

The stairwell at our hotel, The Inn at Stone Mill. This B&B occupies the third floor of a 19th Century mill building along the Mohawk River in Little Falls. We had by far the best dinner of the trip at the restaurant in their sister B&B across the street, the Canal Side Inn.

The Mohawk River and falls behind our Inn. The canal is just off to the left, paralleling the river.

Repurposed old mill buildings along the Mohawk River.

Yellow flowers on the bluff along the canal.

The bluffs near Lock 17 at Little Falls are a popular place for rock climbing. You could infer that the rocks are the real attraction because the park benches face the rocks, not the canal.

Lock 17 is a very deep lock - it raises boats 40.5 feet in a single chamber.