Hinton Happenings: Ken Bikes the Erie Canal in New York

The second week of June, Ken went on a biking adventure with friends. This group goes on an adventure each summer. Here is Ken's account of his trip:

I missed last year's ride in the Dakotas while we were on our mission. They were kind enough to wait for us to get home so I could go on this year's trip. We biked about 200 miles along the Erie Canal Towpath from Downtown Buffalo to Syracuse, New York.

Our biking group in front of the bike shop (Rick's Bike Shop) that we rented our bikes from in Downtown Buffalo, New York. From LtoR: Scott Seegmiller, Jeff Adamson, Greg Last, Patsy Last and Derena Adamson.

Jeff, Derena, and Patsy checking out the local wares. There was a festival going on in the neighborhood of the bike shop when we picked up the bikes and so we explored and enjoyed the sights and sounds of the fun event.

Greg in front of the General Mills plant. As we rode out of downtown Buffalo and reached the bike path on Buffalo's Lake Erie waterfront, we discovered this General Mills' manufacturing plant. We could smell the sweet aroma of Captain Crunch Cereal while we were near the plant.

Greg and Scott mounting up to begin biking along the Lake Erie waterfront trail.

Checking out the small sailboat regatta along the Lake Erie shoreline.

Greg, Jeff, and Scott checking out the historical marker at the point the Niagara River leaves Lake Erie. All along the trail, historical markers have been placed periodically. We seldom passed one without stopping to read and learn about the area and of the Erie Canal's history as documented by that marker.

Derena studying the same marker as seen in the picture above this one.

Jeff, Derena, and Greg at the base of another historical Erie Canal marker in the suburbs of Buffalo, near Niagara Falls.

Highway bridges across the Niagara River, leading to Grand Isle (?) and Niagara Falls.

Jeff, Scott, Derena and Greg enjoying a small respite and the beautiful view along the side of the Niagara River.

Derena, Greg and Scott enjoying a quick break shortly after we reached the western-most end of the Erie Canal Trail.

I finally allow myself to be captured by the camera, along with Greg and Scott.

An Erie Canal ferry boat leaving one of the few active locks on the Erie Canal.

A picture of the active lock as it begins to drop the ferry boats to a lower water level.

Ferry boat entering the lock from below (downstream).

Scott taking my picture as I take his. This is the final picture from day 1.

Jeff, Derena and Greg enjoying the waterfall of a stream that flowed underneath the Erie Canal. This is the first picture on Day 2.

Jeff, Scott and Derena hiding behind Scott.

A lift-bridge over the Erie Canal. When a boat approaches the bridge, the boat's captain radios the bridge master in his control tower (on the left end of the bridge) and he sounds the alarm and flashing lights on the road approaching either side of the bridge in order to stop any approaching cars or pedestrians, etc. He then causes the bridge to raise up so the boat can pass under it.

The lift bridge in the "up" position, allowing a boat to pass under it.

Jeff, Derena, Greg and Scott with a fallen tree in the background. There was just enough room to skirt the fallen tree and continue along the trail.

A cute decoration along the trail, advertising a trailside bike shop in one of the many little villages along the canal.

Derena and Scott just outside the trailside bike shop.

Scott, Patsy, Greg and Derena, just outside our 3rd night's hotel in Rochester, as we were preparing to start our 3rd day's ride.

Derena, Greg, and Scott taking a short photo-opportunity stop on a bridge at the intersection of a river and the Erie Canal in Rochester, NY.

A panoramic photo of the bridge over the Erie Canal at it's junction with a river in Rochester, NY.

My bike is between Scott and Jeff.

Looking back down the canal from the same bride as shown in the pictures above.

The only barge we saw plying the Erie Canal while on our ride.

Greg, Derena, Scott, and Jeff in front of a cute little store in Fairport, NY, where I bought my T-shirt commemorating my biking of the Erie Canal Towpath.

Greg and Scott (clowning) on a bridge in the Erie Canal park, which we stopped at as we arrived in Palmyra, NY.

The above picture and the following 3 below show the 4 churches at each of the 4 corners of the intersection in downtown Palmyra, NY. We stopped in Palmyra for a day to see all the church historical sites.

We stayed at an old bed and breakfast just a few houses behind this church.

Scott and Derena just in front of the E.B. Grandin Print Shop Visitor's Center.

We visited the beautiful Palmyra NY temple, but didn't get to go inside and do any temple work because they didn't rent temple clothing in this temple. We were sad, but still enjoyed the wonderful spirit/ambience at the temple grounds.

The temple's front doors. The following shots are taken from different sides and angles of this beautiful edifice.

Inside the attic of the Smith's log home, where the Angel Moroni appeared to Joseph Smith three times during one night.

Outside the Smith Family log home.

Jeff, Greg and Joyce Seegmiller leaving the newer, bigger Smith Family home. Joyce flew into Rochester and joined us on Day 3, while we were in Palmyra, and then rode with us the rest of the way to Syracuse.

Entrance to the Sacred Grove.

Inside the Sacred Grove at dusk. It was beautiful, peaceful and serene.

At the beginning of day 4 at the E.B. Grandin Print Shop Visitor's Center. One of the original Book of Mormons printed here in 1830.

Patty Mickelsen's friend, who was serving a mission at the E.B. Grandin Print Shop Visitor's Center.

The front of the Martin Harris Home in Palmyra, NY.

The church visitor's center at the western foot of the Hill Cumorah.

Greg (lying down at the left), Scott, and Patsy enjoying the historical marker at the top of the Hill Cumorah. Patsy did not ride the towpath with us, but instead kindly drove our "support wagon", a van that hauled us around when we weren't using our bikes.

The view to the west from the historical marker at the top of the Hill Cumorah.

The front of the Whitmer Home in Fayette, NY, where the church was organized on April 6, 1830.

The church and visitor's center at the Whitmer Farm site in Fayette, NY.

A picture of the Savior that I felt was moving.

At the beginning of day 5. Taking in a mural painted on the wall of a building along the Erie Canal.

At the park in Palmyra, NY.

An abandoned lock in an abandoned section of the Erie Canal. When the canal was originally constructed about 1820, it was 40 feet wide and 4 feet deep. Within 2 decades thereafter, construction was started to widen "Clinton's Ditch" as it was originally nicknamed (for the then-serving New York Governer, who championed the Erie Canal's construction.). The widening project took twenty to thirty years, but was then 70 feet wide and 7 feet deep. The canal was widened again to 120 feet and deepened to 12 feet in the early 1900s in order to better handle the canal's burgeoning traffic. The Erie Canal successfully opened that era's western front of the U.S. to commerce to and from the country's east coast and, indeed, the world.

In this section of the trail, we saw a number of places along the edge of the towpath that had been disturbed. I wondered what had done the disturbing until I saw one that had been raided and I noticed a number of turtle egg shells that had been opened and their contents eaten by some predator. Shortly thereafter, we happened on this Terrapin, which was busy digging out a nest in the ground with its tail so it could lay its eggs therein. All the disturbed spots were terrapin egg nests.

On the trail on day 6.

A side view of the only currently active/operating aqueduct on the Erie Canal today.

A sign marking the half-way spot on the Erie Canal. We ended our ride at a park just a short distance east of this spot.

After acquiring a trailer in Syracuse and using it to haul our bikes back to Buffalo so we could return them, we went to Niagara Falls and stayed at a nearby Comfort Inn. This is a picture taken from the American side.

At Niagara Falls at the conclusion of day 6. Each night they shine white, red, green and blue lights, in succession, on the Falls. Then at 10 PM they shoot off fireworks over the Falls from the Canadian side. It made for some beautiful sights.

I wasn't successful at capturing a very good "green" picture of the Falls.

As you can see, it was shoulder-to-shoulder, standing-room-only on the American side of the Falls that night. Many of the tourists were foreigners. I saw many east Indians and heard a lot of Russian being spoken in that crowd.

On day 7, we rode on Maid of the Mist to get "up close and personal" to the Falls and get a rather, wet and cold view from just below the Falls. It was exhilarating! This is Jeff and Derena Adamson taking a selfie.

The elevator tower accessing the Maid of the Mist boats on the American side.

Looking downstream from the base of the Falls.

I was more than a little bit concerned about how wet my iPhone was becoming as I tried to take pictures and videos in the mists of the Falls. I eventually concluded that "enough was enough" and just tucked my phone away in a safe pocket under my plastic raingear.

A view of one of the Maid of the Mist boats as it docked, taken from the observation deck of the elevator tower.

View, looking up-river at the elevator tower and Niagara Falls, taken from the bridge, which we walked across to get to the Canadian side of the Falls. The boats loaded with people wearing blue raingear are Maid of the Mist boats from the American side and the boats loaded with people wearing red raingear are boats from the Canadian side of the river.