After three days of travel and 17 locks, we were ready for some downtime and rest. We docked at Ilion Marina and RV park because they had room for all three boats. It ended up being a great spot: no wakes, beautiful scenery, nice area on the land, directly on the Erie Canal Bike Path. With all the positives were able to forget about the fry vent and trains.
We spent time reprovisioning, chatting with fellow loopers, doing more research for upcoming stops, and docktales. Over our three day stay, we biked almost 60 miles taking three trips to Frankfort, Utica and Little Falls. Truth be told, each bike ride involved a stop at a local brewery, along with a little walk around town.
A short bike ride to Frankfort brought us to Heelpath Brewery. A small spot along the water. where we sat with 4 locals including the bar tender and exchanged stories and learned about the area. Off to Utica where we visited a Farmer’s Market, Coffee Shop and a brewery. Riding through the town gave us a feel for the town that seemed to be down on their luck. We walked and biked around The Bagg Square neighborhood which efforts of revitalization has some booming businesses. The day ended with docktails.On the third day, we biked south along the canal to Little Falls, NY. We stopped along the way to check out lock 18 from the top. The lockmaster explained to us how the lock was 100 percent gravity fed. Valves are open above the lock to flood the chamber, we float up as it fills to reach the higher level and the doors are opened to allow us to float out at the new level. In reverse, the flooded chamber is drained to the lower level and then the lower doors are opened. The day ended with a community prepared rib dinner for Father’s Day
