Evening in Little Falls



By the time Tal and I returned from our
stroll the tender, the Egret, had been
launched and repairs were underway.

Once through Lock E17 arriving at the Little Falls Canal Harbor took less than half an hour.  It had been a good day, but many of us were ready to go for a walk.  Rather than explore the harbor, hike to the falls, investigate the neighborhood, however, the first thing most of us did was walk to the bow of the boat to check out the damage from mid-day -- to the captain's good-natured horror.  His words were and I quote, "Oh, you don't want to go up there."  But, of course, we wanted nothing more.

The walk was invigorating even though we had no idea where we were going.  The double tracks that had provided my lullaby last night were still across the Mohawk from us.  Train traffic continued to be steady, but moved much more sedately given being in town and the grade involved.  We passed over an old section of the Erie Canal.  And, here's a building I found especially intriguing -- for the shadow-patterns cast by the light fixtures and the doors on the second floor.

The harbor was crowded with boats headed west into the Great Lakes and other locales for the summer.  After supper aboard the Grande Mariner I went back out to enjoy some evening photography and was treated to a rather dear sight: a covered dish dinner.  Folks from the six or so vessels moored for the night pooled their resources and met for conversation and a meal on the large after-deck of one of the boats.  I understand that often those traveling the canal at the same time strike up friendships and end up staying together and looking out for each other until reaching their various destinations.  Anyway, good scents and lots of laughter.  The way life is supposed to be.

I had a wonderful time with the tripod and camera before dark, as you can see.

The Mohawk River, looking west from the beyond where the Grande Mariner was moored for the night.

A detail of the fountain near the entrance to the Little Falls Canal Harbor.  I had to stay out until after 8:00 for the light to fade enough for the length shutter speed I wanted.  The harbor master left the water on until I'd finished.

We were treated to musical entertainment for a second night in a row.  Of course, it wasn't supposed to happen that way, a near double-feature.  On the long-forgotten original schedule we were to have heard Skip Parsons late last week.  Mike Kornrich wasn't supposed to entertain us until we reached Rochester -- where we are now not going.  To their credit, these two drove the three hours from Rochester to Little Falls.  They were terrific.