I may just have to visit the rest of the Erie Canal Parks to earn my “Traveled the Erie Canal” achievement (Hey, Erie Canal Heritage people, if you like the idea, all I want is 1% of the gross sales 
).
This was a quick trip for me 8 miles or 15 minuets from door to dock. The draw for me was the restoration of the Nine Mile Creek Aqueduct. I’ve read of aqueducts and seen sketches and pictures of them, but, I’ve never seen one ‘in the flesh’ or walked across one. This aqueduct is reputed to be the only working aqueduct in New York, and perhaps the only one in the country. So why waste a chance at an opportunity like this, when it’s so close to home?
I started my journey by Sims Store (the museum) and walked a little over a mile to the aqueduct. Along the way there were dozens of people walking and riding bikes enjoying the towpath and it’s scenery. If you look at a map you’ll see that the canal runs next to route 5 (it’s really the other way around, but, hey…),but, you rarely hear the noise from the passing cars.
View Erie Canal Lock 50 and the Aqueduct in a larger map
I took a few pictures long the way, but was primary interested in seeing and getting some snaps of the aqueduct. I did like the boats and enjoyed the reflections they cast:
Upon reaching the aqueduct I was a little underwhelmed. It’s in the last stages of construction and from the Canal surface, not really pretty. There are still two earthen dams blocking the full waters of the canal, and there is water in the aqueduct. This is for testing the tongue and groove construction of the wood and to find any leaks the may need to be fixed.
This is going to look fantastic in a few weeks when the waterway is opened for service. I’m going to go back and get more pics when they’re done 
The real beauty is the stone and woodwork from the sides, where Nine Mile creek passes under the aqueduct. These kind of scenes need to be done in HDR….So that’s what i did
The top two are the upstream side of nine mile creek, above the arches is the towpath.. The small grey square in the second picture is a sluice to let water out of the aqueduct in case the water level is too high and to help drain the aqueduct for winter (this section of the canal is drained for the winter every year.) You’ll also see a line in the water where the creek suddenly drops off. That brown line is the remains of a wall constructed to diver the creek under the arches of the aqueduct, the guide wasn’t certain when it was built or why. It does, however help give a nice contrast to the water The area where I took these pictures will be made in to a little landing where people can sit and enjoy the view.
The last two pictures are on the downstream side of Nine Mile Creek. You get a fantastic view of the wooden structure here! The area Where I stood to take these pictures was marshy and filled with little frogs, all of whom were to camera shy (and fast) for me to get any shots of 
Both of the pictures were created with six pictures. Three exposed for the sky and three for the bridge (+2, 0 , -2). All the HDRs were shot without a tripod, being under caffenated, well rested and having a vibration reduction lens kept the shake to a minimum
Here’s a bonus shot: while I was taking pictures of the aqueduct, a couple of canoeist came by This will get editied and promoted to the banner area of the page at some point.
You can compair this ‘normal’ shot to the HDR image and see how the HDR brings out depth in the stone work and makes the sky pop.
This was a nice little trip and was worth while. You can skip the walk and drive to the aqueduct, but, you would rob yourself some very nice scenery.
They also have a dinner cruise available in July and August (Wednesday’s and some Thursday’s 6:30pm sharp). I may have to try to negotiate an upgrade for luncheon date to this cruise
Get up, get out and do it. It’s pretty much free, and you can go to the Steam Expo Across the street. I did Betch ya’ you can’t guess what my next entry is about
