The Wayward Explorers left Newark. They passed through 3 locks in rather quick succession: Lock 28B right outside of Newark, and Locks 28A and 27 in Lyons. As they passed Lyons, they noticed a billboard advertising the town as the “Once Peppermint Capital” and wondered what city or town is the new Peppermint Capital. Retracing their earlier westward journey in reverse, they passed through Lock 26 in Clyde and pulled over after Lock 25 in the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge.
Over the years, on trips to and from Rochester, the Explorers have driven the NYS Thruway dozens of times past Montezuma Swamp and have never stopped to visit. Today, they intended to change that. They put together their folding bikes and rode the 6 miles to the Visitor Center. It wasn’t a bad ride, except for a small stretch along Route 20, which was very busy with fast-moving traffic. As they turned down the road toward the Visitor Center, they passed signs warning them to “stay in their vehicle”, and wondered if riding through on bikes was such a wise idea but saw no signs of large or dangerous animals. At the Visitor Center, they looked around at all the exhibits and the store, but didn’t find anything worth buying. Outside, they looked off the observation deck and then headed to the Seneca Loop Trail, a one-mile loop that included an observation tower with a telescope and a viewing platform. During the walk, the Explorers saw thousands of birds of all kinds, including bald eagles. They saw a little bit of other wildlife like frogs and snakes, but honestly, they had seen more squished frogs, snakes and other critters on their bike ride to the wildlife refuge. The trail brought them along the Cayuga and Seneca Canal which they had previously navigated on their way to Seneca Falls. At this point, they realized they could have boated directly to the Visitor Center without the 6-mile bike ride, but were glad for the exercise. Also, the dock on the Seneca Trail looked a little small and rickety for a 36-foot boat.
After the short hike, the Explorers did the 6-mile bike ride back to the boat. Sidekick Sue noticed even more squished critters on the way back. Captain Mark pointed out a HUGE black snake that was trying to cross busy Route 20. The Explorers did not want to look back to see if he made it safely across the road. They missed their turn back down the dead-end road that led to the dock wall at the lock, but figured out their mistake in short order when they realized they were on a bridge crossing back over the canal. So they backtracked a bit and found their way back to the route.
The Explorers had been hoping to make it to Baldwinsville, but because they had used up so much time biking and hiking, and they had lost time passing through so many locks, they no longer had time to get that far. They could have stayed at Lock 25, but decided to move up to the crumbling dock wall in Weedsport, where they had stopped to bicycle on their trip west. Like Lock 25, it was very rustic, without electricity, but at least it would bring them closer to Baldwinsville the next morning. Sidekick Sue timed the chicken for dinner so that they could use the electricity generated while the engine was still going, so they wouldn’t draw down on their battery power. After dinner, they relaxed for a bit before the mosquitos forced them to move inside and close the doors. Because they had been careful with their battery power, they were able to watch another movie selected by Captain Mark. This time, they watched “Ted” about a teddy bear owned by a guy named John (played by Marky Mark) that came to life. The movie was pretty bad, but Sidekick Sue enjoyed the star-studded cast which included the bear’s voiceover by Seth MacFarlane (that sounded just like his Peter Griffin on Family Guy) and even spotted Ryan Reynolds in an uncredited role as Guy’s (Puddy from Seinfeld) boyfriend. After the movie, she announced that she wouldn’t be watching the sequel, and spent some time trying to swat all the mosquitos that had gotten inside the boat before retiring for the night.
Train going by some silos.
The dam at Lock 25
Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge
Heron sculpture, done by the same artist (James “Jay” Seaman) that did the huge eagle sculpture that is visible from the Thruway.
Trailhead for the Seneca Trail
Sidekick Sue on the observation tower
Sidekick Sue looking at birds through the telescope. There are literally thousands of them out there.