07/07 - 07/14 - Red Rocks Pond Campground

WELCOME BACK to my second of four Hudson Islanders RV trips. I had been wanting to make this trip for awhile. Friends, Ray and Kathy are regulars here as they travel from Clermont, FL each summer to visit Kathy's family. Making this destination as one of our trips worked out nicely. 

Thanks to Kathy & Ray's travel alert and directions, RV inconveniences

were avoided by not following the on board GPS directions.  

Our very small group includes:
Ray/Kathy (72)
Charlie (212)
Dawn/John (228)

Doreen/Tony (213) arrived Saturday after completing repair

work on their rig.

This very out-of-the-way campground is 5 miles northwest of the village of Holley, named for Myron Holley, one of the Erie canal commissioners. The village owes its existence to the Erie Canal.  First settled in 1812, the rich farmlands enticed many settlers. Incorporated in 1850, soon the railroad came and afforded the residents easier travel and the farmers better shipping for their produce. A quarry business boomed in the late 1800's and brought an influx of talented immigrants to the area. 

For a full description of this campground and its attractions, click HERE.  Across the road (Canal Road) from the entrance to the campground is the historic Erie Canal. Lake Ontario is just north and Niagara Falls just 90 minutes away. The Erie Canal provided a direct water route from New York City to the Midwest. 

Winnie II on site 212

The sites and neighbors around me

John & Dawn down the road

FRIDAY EVENING the weather didn't cooperate for our small group but we did make it to Tillman's Village Inn in Albion, NY for a terrific dinner. The historic 1837 Greek revival structure provided travelers a stage coach rest stop charging $1.00 per night, $3.00 per week.  

 An amazing look back into history of the Inn is located in THIS LINK and its dinner menu HERE. Guess what I had. I've narrowed it down for you:

Apple Almond Chicken

A medley of raisins, apples, almonds and croutons carefully

wrapped inside a tender chicken breast. Baked to perfection

and finished with Mornay sauce. 

Bacon Wrapped Sugar Rubbed Pork Filet

(2) 4 oz. Brown Sugar Rubbed & Bacon Wrapped Pork

Tenderloins served with a side of Jack Daniel’s Sauce

Filet Mignon

An 8-oz center-cut of the most tender cut of beef

Broiled Fresh Haddock

Lightly breaded or plain, with lemon, butter and toasted

almonds

Colossal Fried Shrimp

Six colossal beer battered shrimp deep fried to perfection—

These shrimp are BIG!

Maryland Crab Cakes

Twin house prepared and seasoned 5-oz crab cakes. Pan

seared and served with a lemon-Parmesan dipping sauce

Answer:  

8 oz filet with a loaded baked potato

SATURDAY AFTERNOON, the only sunny day we enjoyed was spent on the Sam Patch packet boat, an 1880's replica canal boat. We drove to Schoen Place in the village of Pittsford, NY, where the narrated 90 minute tour began. We traveled to Lock E32, a working lock that has guided vessels along the canal for over a century. 

A fascinating history of the Erie Canal describes the engineering feat that began on July 4, 1817 near Utica, New York. The canal is a 339-mile waterway from Waterford (Albany) to Tonawanda (Buffalo). Including its laterals canal systems (the Champlain, Oswego, and Cayuga-Seneca Canals, the entire system mileage equals 524. There are 57 locks and 17 lift bridges along the system. Originally, the width of the canal was 40' and 4' deep. Today, on average, it measures 120' across and 12' deep. The canal was considered an engineering marvel when it first opened in 1825 with a rise of 568' along its course. Unfortunately, it caused the displacement of several Native American tribes as it traversed the ancestral homelands of several groups, including the Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga and Seneca. The wealth of information I found regarding its pick and shovel progress, the use of steam engine earth movers, the labors of immigrants from Ireland and Germany and their wages was staggering.

Canal looking east...

...looking west

Private docks are allowed

Our tour boat,

...the Sam Patch

The canal side of the quaint town, Pittsford, NY

Mr. Ray taking in the sights

Kathy and Dawn

Names not given

Dawn and John

Rules and regs a la Coast Guard. Significant point made:
While in the lock, Do Not Touch the slime that's on the wall;
an irritant and not removeable as stain from clothing.

Member of crew and narrator, Lindsay

Snacks available for purchase and theme
cruises available seasonally...

...May 21st through October 31st.

Throughout the trip, the infrastructure of the centuries old
canal is very visible and in need of repair.

A rare piece of debris floating in the canal

Storage for Pittsford's crew team

Credit to Tim Philips

Entering Lock 32 and approaching "Angel Falls"

A closer look at the eroding walls

These massive steel doors will close behind us

At our low point; in about 7 minutes we will
rise 25' and be able to exit and go on our way before
turning and returning.

While moored against the south side of the lock, the
steel doors close behind us, we get a closer look at the
"Do Not Touch" slime on the side of
the lock whose concrete façade is in need of repair.

Water enters and cause water level to rise before
the steel doors open in front of us. 

The white cables are for boats to tie up as the water rises

Barely visible among the tree branches are 3 lights 
that are lit as water level achieves 1/3, 2/3 and full
capacity. 

Observation decks are located at each lock for the viewing public

Now at the proper height, the gates open and we continue
on our way.

A short distance beyond the lock, our vessel turns 360°
and begins the trip back to our starting point.

The three lights are more visible in this shot.

Our return trip repeats the process of entering the lock, tying up to the cables on the side of the lock and waiting for steel doors behind us to close. This time, with the help of gravity, our descent takes less time. The following video capture some of that descent.

Now, heading west, some of the sights seen include the
Canal Maintenance area...

...Erie Canal Park....

...former grain storage building now converted.

Engineers have taken into account the possibility of floods or
other water related problems by having steel slabs lowered into
the canal...

...with this pulley system thus controlling the
flow of excess water (waste weir) and....

...diverting it over a spillway on the south side of the
canal and into either the Genesee River or Sandy Creek;
I don't know without a map

Here, a fellow enjoys his reading while his two
Goldens relax unbothered by the tourists floating by.

While reading up on the history of the Erie Canal, I came across a little known item that made its way into Ripley's Believe it or Not.  Everyone knows there are a number of bridges that cross the canal, but there is only one way to go underneath it, and that is on Culvert Road in Medina, NY.  Otherwise known as the Medina Culvert, the damp tunnel was built in 1823 as a cheaper solution than building a bridge across the growing canal. This point made the perfect spot for a tunnel as the waters of the canal crossed over a large ditch with 20-foot-high berms on either side of the middle ground. Essentially just connecting the little valley to existing roads the builders used the contours of the land to guide them and let the water of the canal flow right over the top of the depression, building the (one lane) tunnel road beneath.

The completed tunnel is not that large. The arch clearance is just 7-feet-6-inches so it is clearly not meant for big trucks, but it works just fine for small cars and non-basketball-players. At almost two centuries old, the masonry had seen better days. The whole tunnel drips and leaks, and is almost always in a state of damp. (Edited by Chris Clemens)

SATURDAY LATE AFTERNOON, after the boat tour, we went into Rochester to have lunch at the Rohrbach's Brewery. 

I know you can't read it but you get the idea.

Battered chicken breast w/fries and Mac & Cheese
drizzled with a bourbon sauce.
And, no, I didn't finish the fries.

A very nice ending to the only sunshine day we had.

SUNDAY AFTERNOON, a trip to Five Sons Winery. 

Aimee & Adam Mesiti
Owners who established vineyards in 2005, opened winery
and brewery in 2015 and this past January expanded their
kitchen to serving food. Sunset concert series began this summer.

Outdoor seating area overlooks the vineyard

Outdoor summer concerts held in this area.

L. to R. Tony, Ray, John, Dawn, Kathy, Doreen

Selection of 8 on tap. Stouts, Ales, IPAs, Beer and
RG's Hard Seltzer. A flight of 4 for $8.00

A selection of 9 wines from dry to sweet.
Wine tastings of 3 selections for $5.00...

...A generous pour per glass. My selection included:
Sunset Red; "a Pinot Noir style dry red wine, light and smooth."
2020 Dry Cayuga; "a bold white wine with green apple and lime peel notes.
Trinity blend; "a blend of Cayuga white, Traminette and Vignoles
brings the best of all to the table. Apple and kiwi notes.

MONDAY MORNING for breakfast we visited Sam's Diner in the village of Holley. Established in 1978, its mission, menu and service is just what you'd expect in any family owned/run business. If you visit their site, the "gallery" of menu items tells the tale. There's something delicious for every diner fan. My go-to breakfast is scrambled eggs, very, very crisp bacon and well done hash browns.

Local vagrant, One Way Charlie

After breakfast a walk and visit to Holley Falls and Holley Canal Park.

This natural looking waterfall is actually man made resulting from a waste weir on the Erie Canal. A waste weir provides a means of removing excess water from the canal, and provides a means of draining a section of the canal for repairs, for winter, or in anticipation of flooding. 

 Excess water from the canal is diverted into the East Branch
of Sandy Creek, dropping over 40 feet on the way.

A short distance from the Falls, we visited Holley's Canal Park, complete with gazebo and rest rooms. There we encountered this year's rest stop for the annual NY Parks and Trails sponsored Cycle the Erie Canal. Speaking with a participant, I learned because of the pandemic last year, the usual 600 participant event was not held. This year about 350 are making the 8-day cycling trip from Buffalo to Albany.

Vans bring their bikes to the starting point in Buffalo while the participants arrived via Coach. Friend Sean, has made a similar trip for charity. Perhaps in the comments below he'll mention or share his route and participation.

From this rest stop, they will cross the bridge and continue along the north side of the canal on the towpath toward Albany. The eight day adventure has them spending pre-arranged overnight tenting on athletic fields of local schools. They dine in the cafeterias and even having a trailer that will supply hot water showers. This year, the 8-day adventure will cost participants $1,200 each with shuttle fees at $100 per rider. 

Just after most of the cyclists left, we heard the warning bell of the drawbridge and watched the gates come down as a pleasure craft passed before us. See video here

Sign at the entrance to the park.

TUESDAY AFTERNOON, we had another threatening day of thunderstorms. Although the sun shone brightly in the morning, the clouds rolled in, the humidity rose, but we took advantage and walked the small village (2.2 sq. miles) of Brockport. "The Victorian Village on the Erie Canal" and home of SUNY Brockport is about ten miles east of the campground and has about 8,400 residents; this probably increases each school year when classes are in session. The college town was quiet on this cloudy day. 

Main St looking south

Main St looking north toward the bridge over the Erie Canal

At the corner of Water and Main Streets;
awesome architecture

A beautiful smile on a happy dog

As the clouds thickened, we made our way to the Custom House, the last building before the canal for our late lunch. And, as expected the forecasted storm arrived just as we were finishing.

Too warm and humid for outdoor dining

We made it home just in time as the scattered thunderstorms followed us and continued into the evening hours complete with weather service alerts, warnings and lightening strike information. Fortunately, as tomorrow is my last day, I packed away my chairs, lawn mat and closed the awning in anticipation of the continued rainy weather.

The nasty weather moved on around 8:30pm and it was decided one more campfire was in order. With that, I'm bringing this lengthy blog post to a close. If you've read it all and gotten to this point, you are to be congratulated. I never know who reads what unless comments are made and this was a long one. Anyway, my third Hudson Islander adventure will be at Junius Pond in Phelps, NY, so keep an eye out. Thanks to John and Ray for their Uber services. Till next time, stay well, be safe and leave a comment.